Terra Firma Chambers was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Lord Wallace of Tankerness on 29th January.

Better known to everyone at TFC simply as Jim, Lord Wallace called to the Bar in 1979, taking silk in 1997.  He is best known for his immense contribution to politics, both at Holyrood and Westminster where he was MP for Orkney and Shetland for many years.  He was the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and was instrumental in the inception of the Scottish Parliament where he was elected as an MSP in 1999.  He served as Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice in the first coalition government, holding the former position from 1999 until 2005.  During this period he served as acting First Minister on three separate occasions. He was made a life peer in 2007 and served as the Advocate General for Scotland in the coalition UK Government from 2010 to 2015.

At his funeral service, held today at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney MSP Liam McArthur described him as "a man of integrity, sincerity and humility" while Orkney MP Alasdair Carmichael said: "Jim Wallace was a great man, but he was never a grand one - always approachable, always thoughtful, always kind”.

Jim will be sorely missed by all who knew him.