The Right Honourable Lady Dorrian PC KC FRSE
The Right Honourable Lady Dorrian PC KC FRSE is to be awarded a Doctor of Laws (LLD) on Wednesday 3 December 2025 during the morning ceremony.
Lady Dorrian is a former Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland, the second most senior judge in the Scottish legal system, and the first woman to hold this historic office.
Serving in this role from 2016 to earlier this year, Lady Dorrian has been a pioneering figure in advancing equality and modernising judicial practice within Scotland’s courts.
A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, she was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1981 and took silk in 1994. Her distinguished career includes service as Standing Junior Counsel to the Health and Safety Executive and Crown Counsel, before her appointment as a Senator of the College of Justice in 2005.
Over the years, she has presided over many significant criminal and civil cases, earning respect for her incisive legal reasoning and commitment to fairness. Lady Dorrian has been instrumental in leading reforms to improve the experience of victims and witnesses in sexual offence cases, promoting trauma-informed approaches and sensitive court procedures.
A Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, she is also recognised for her contributions to legal scholarship and the promotion of women in law.
Through her leadership and intellect, Lady Dorrian continues to shape the development of justice in modern Scotland. She is currently a Judicial Commissioner of the Investigatory Powers Commission, Chair of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trusts and of the Scottish Arts Trust, a Trustee of the Flynn Foundation, of Switched On: the Mock Court Project, and the Scottish Book Trust.