Lady Tait was sworn in by the Lord President, Lord Pentland, in a ceremony at the Court of Session yesterday. After administering the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath, Lord Pentland invited Lady Tait to take her seat on the bench.

He said: “It is my great pleasure to welcome Fiona Tait as the newest senator of the College of Justice. Lady Tait has been a successful and hard-working member of the judiciary; she is widely respected.

“The office of senator of the College of Justice is an important one but it is also very fulfilling and rewarding, and I am confident that you will enjoy it. On behalf of the whole court I congratulate you on your appointment and wish you every success in the next stage of your distinguished career.”

Lady Tait was appointed an appeal sheriff in the Sheriff Appeal Court and a temporary High Court judge in 2020. She is member of the Jury Manual Committee and the Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council.

In 2006, she was appointed as a part-time sheriff. She became a full-time sheriff in January 2011, initially sitting as a floating sheriff. She then sat as a resident sheriff at Perth from July 2013 and in Edinburgh from August 2016.

Lady Tait graduated from the University of Edinburgh with first class honours in law. She was a highly-regarded solicitor and partner in private practice, specialising in family law, until 2009.