Joyce Horsman

Ms Horsman will be joining from Fife Law Centre. She qualified as a solicitor in 2003 and has worked at the Scottish government, Shelter Scotland the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service as well as in private practice.

Mr Kinghorn, 71, who helped found the centre in 1994, retires after almost 26 years.

He said: “I spent 20 years working in private law as a Jack of all trades but I felt I wanted to move into something where I would be working with people who needed representation they weren’t receiving.

“We started with a blank sheet of paper – no clients – and seeing how the law centre would work. It became apparent there was a big need for support with eviction cases for rent arrears. We discovered they weren’t being represented so we started to develop quite rapidly into representing them in court, which was quite new at the time.”

Mr Kinghorn said that many problems still remain the same.

He said: “We are entirely non-profit and became a charity in our own right. Client numbers increased and clients began to know where we would be on each day of the week.

“Nobody was ever turned away. I always made a policy that anybody who needed help would be seen. When we live in an economy where wages are generally low, zero hour contracts and agency working, this can play havoc with people’s finances.

“We have had to deal with lots of changes but in the main, some of the original problems still remain. Without volunteers on our management board, then and now, we couldn’t have functioned, so I want to say a huge thank you to them.”

He added that his role had been an “enormous privilege”.

“We did see very sad cases with people facing difficult times with health problems and things and we always tried to do our best for them and get them into a good place in their lives.

“As a lawyer you do develop a thick skin but I’m a human being too so sometimes I would get angry or upset about the circumstances some clients faced.

“I just try to use my skills to help them without getting personally involved. I found it an enormous privilege to do the job and I will miss it a lot.

“What I will miss most is the clients because I met some amazing people dealing with difficult circumstances with great courage.

“I could never in my wildest dreams imagined doing it for 26 years but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.”

Marjory Stewart, the newly-appointed chairwoman of the centre, said: “The board of Dundee North Law Centre would like to express their gratitude to Peter for his long and loyal service to the project.

“We would also like to wish him all the best for his retirement.”