Solicitor Members

Colin Bell (Chair)

Member of the Tribunal since 2006. Chair of the Tribunal since June 2021. Admitted 1994. Sole practitioner principally in the fields of property law, wills, trusts, executries and tax law. Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Part time Tutor at the University of Glasgow School of Law.

Beverley Atkinson (Vice Chair)

Member of the Tribunal since September 2016. Admitted as a solicitor in 2001. Dual qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and England and Wales. Solicitor advocate accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in professional negligence law. Currently a Legal Director with Clyde & Co. Solicitors.  Prior to that, worked for DAC Beachcroft Scotland LLP and Brodies LLP. A Legal Member of the Parole Board for Scotland. Former Part-time tutor at the University of Edinburgh Centre for Professional Legal Studies. Former solicitor member of the Law Society of Scotland Complaints Sub-Committee. Member of The School Closure Review Panel.

Benjamin Kemp (Vice Chair)
Member of the Tribunal since January 2014. General Counsel and Director at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; formerly a partner in the Regulatory and Professional Discipline department of London law firm, Kingsley Napley LLP. Prior to that trained and worked for ten years as a solicitor with Shepherd+ Wedderburn LLP. Dual qualified in Scotland and England and Wales. Legal Advisor appointed to advise disciplinary panels of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Tutor in public and constitutional law at the University of Edinburgh.
Kenneth Paterson (Vice Chair)
Member of the Tribunal since 2006. Vice Chairman from June 2016. Admitted as a solicitor in 1973. Previously a Reporter to the Client Relations Committee of the Law Society for 3 years. Has been with Rankin & Aitken since 1977 being appointed a partner in 1979. Currently the senior partner of the firm dealing largely with private client work. Honorary Sheriff at Stranraer since 1998. Past Dean of Wigtown District Faculty of Solicitors.
Catherine Hart (Vice Chair)
Member of the Tribunal since September 2016. Vice Chair since June 2021. Admitted as a solicitor in 1991. Principal area of practice has been civil litigation. Joined Digby Brown in 2014 as Associate and Professional Support Lawyer. Senior tutor and tutor on courses on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at Glasgow University. Teaches on Glasgow University’s TCPD programme. University of Stirling Recognised Teacher & Peer Reviewer.
David Dickson
Member of the Tribunal since November 2019. David was admitted as a solicitor in 1991. He is presently the principal legal officer of the Scottish Sentencing Council. Prior to that he trained and worked as a criminal defence solicitor, then as a procurator fiscal depute, followed by a position in the Criminal Procedure Divison of the Scottish Government.
Mark Hastings

Member of the Tribunal since January 2021. Admitted as a solicitor in 2010. Principally practices in insurance litigation. Qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2018. Joined BTO Solicitors LLP in 2015 and is a Partner in its insurance litigation department. A tutor on the Diploma in Legal Practice at University of Glasgow.

Thomas Hempleman

Member of the Tribunal since September 2021. Admitted as a Solicitor in 2014 and completed his legal traineeship with Morton Fraser. Thomas joined Ross & Connel in October 2019, following a few years practising in commercial and family litigation, and is an Partner in their Private Client department. His work principally involves Wills, Powers of Attorney, administration of Estates and providing inheritance tax advice. He is a Solicitor Member of the Advisory Council on Messenger-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers and Legal Advisor for Justices of the Peace at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. He is also a Tutor on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Edinburgh.

Chris Mackay
Member of the Tribunal since 2016. Admitted 1985. Joined Burness Paull LLP in 1989 and has been a partner since 1997. Practitioner in the fields of projects and construction, and harbours/ports (and previously commercial property) and an accredited Law Society specialist in both construction and arbitration and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Vincent McGovern

Member of the Tribunal since November 2019. Vincent McGovern is a solicitor of thirty years’ experience. From 2007-2011 he served on the Law Society of Scotland’s team of solicitors to represent criminal lawyers in legal aid negotiations with the Scottish Government. In 2012 he was appointed to the Scottish Legal Aid Board and serves on their Legal Services Policy Committee and the Quality Assurance Committee. In 2016 he gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee as part of their inquiry into the role and purpose of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Sally Swinney

Member of the Tribunal since September 2018. Admitted as a solicitor in 1997. Retired solicitor, previously worked at Blackwood & Smith LLP, Peebles for 27 years. Specialised in family law. Previously undertook civil and criminal court work as well as conveyancing, wills, powers of attorney, executry and general chamber practice work. Past Chair of the Family Law Association of Scotland and Dean of the Faculty of Solicitors in the Shires of Selkirk and Peebles.

Eric Baijal

Eric Baijal was admitted as a solicitor in 2005. Member of the Tribunal since July 2024. He leads BBM Solicitors, a law firm with offices in Wick and Edinburgh. Eric is a commercial litigator and is accredited as a specialist in insolvency law by the law society of Scotland. As from 1 December 2024, he is a legal member for the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland. 

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