Two senior counsel appointed sheriffs

Two QCs, Gillian Wade and Simon Collins, have been appointed as floating sheriffs of Tayside, Central and Fife.

Mrs Wade is a graduate of Glasgow University who initially followed a legal career as a solicitor. She was qualified to practise in Scotland and England, and was a partner of firms in Glasgow and London. She specialised in media-related matters, such as defamation, contempt of court and copyright.

She joined the Faculty in 1998, and took silk in 2013. After a spell as an ad hoc Advocate Depute, she took a full-time post in Crown Office in 2008, and went on to serve as head of the National Sexual Crimes Unit.

Mr Collins, who studied at Exeter and Edinburgh universities, also started his career as a solicitor, and became a member of Faculty in 1995, with public and administrative law an area of particular interest. He has written on subjects including anti-social behaviour, mental health, community care and criminal injuries compensation.

He was a part-time Tribunal Judge (social security appeals) from 2002 to 2006, and went on to serve as an Advocate Depute and as Standing Junior Counsel to the Advocate General. In 2011, he became a QC and was appointed a part-time sheriff, and was appointed a Salaried Judge, First Tier Tribunal in 2012.

The two appointments were made by Her Majesty the Queen, on the recommendation of the First Minister, who nominated Mrs Wade and Mr Collins on the basis of a report by the independent Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.