Terra Firma Chambers are delighted to announce that Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC, is to become a practising member of the Chambers.  The former Lord Advocate has opted to continue her career at the Scottish Bar and will become the latest of a number of high profile members affiliated to the stable.

Dame Elish made history in 2001 when she became the first woman, the first solicitor and the first procurator fiscal to be appointed as the Solicitor General for Scotland. She created another piece of history when she became the first solicitor to be created a Queen’s Counsel.

In 2006 when Lord Boyd of Duncansby stepped down as Lord Advocate Dame Elish succeeded him to become the first woman to hold office as Scotland’s senior Law Officer.

She created another legal first in 2008 when she and Frank Mulholland QC, the then Solicitor General, were admitted as members of the Faculty of Advocates.  In a speech welcoming them to the Bar Lord Hamilton , the Lord President of the Court of Session, said: “So far as I have been able to ascertain, this is the first occasion on which a serving Lord Advocate or a serving Solicitor General has been admitted to the public office [of advocate].”

Dame Elish stepped down from her role as Lord Advocate after the May 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections and will begin this new phase of her career when the legal term starts in September.

This month Dame Elish was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to the administration of justice in Scotland and she has also been appointed by the Scottish Government as Chair of a new Commission set up to examine the issue of how female offenders are dealt with in the criminal justice system.

Dame Elish said: “Joining Terra Firma represents an interesting change of direction for me and an exciting new challenge. I am delighted to be joining a group of QCs and advocates who have established such a high reputation over the last few years for the quality of their legal advice and expertise.

“In its role of providing independent legal advice the Faculty of Advocates has been an essential and unique part of Scottish life for hundreds of years. The role of the advocate is as vital in Scotland today as it has ever been and I am very much looking forward to playing a part in that.”

Roy Martin QC, Chairman of Terra Firma, said the Chambers was pleased to be adding such an experienced and high profile legal figure to its numbers.

“In her time in the prosecution service Dame Elish has been required to exercise great skill and judgment in dealing with major issues of law, administration and public policy.

“I am confident that her experience and strengths will complement the wide-ranging skills that clients of Terra Firma have come to rely on and expect.”

Emma Potter, Terra Firma’s Practice Director, added: “Dame Elish joins Sir Menzies Campbell QC and Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC (now the Advocate General) as one of the leading figures on the legal scene who have joined Terra Firma in recent years.”