The new members, who will provide expertise in areas including finance, technology and strategic planning, are:

• Ian Duddy: CEO to the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, former diplomat and senior leader in the Foreign Office and previous chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.
• Anne Follin: Current chairperson of Home-Start Falkirk with a background in aviation strategic planning. Current board member of Transport Scotland and previous lay member of the Law Society’s Client Protection Fund.
• Katherine Graham: Head of people technologies at NatWest, with experience in security and transformation. Ms Graham has six years non-executive experience providing support around strategy.
• Charles Ilako: Chartered accountant and strategic planner, with experience in risk management. Mr Ilako is a current Independent Board Finance and Investment Committee member at the Law Society of England and Wales and was a partner at PwC for 10 years.
• Patricia Matheson: HR associate director in the NHS, with a degree in business law and HR and extensive experience in senior level positions in finance and education.
• Dr Bruce Nelson: Wide-ranging non-executive experience, building on a 40 year career at the University of Edinburgh in professional services roles covering finance, HR, admissions and strategic planning.

Law Society of Scotland chief executive Diane McGiffen said: “Welcome to our new Council members. We’re pleased to be adding their expertise and experience to our governing body.

“Lay members bring a unique and important perspective to Council. As we move into the second year of our five-year strategy, I am looking forward to working alongside our new members to see how we can improve and deliver on our current operations and future goals.

“I’d like to sincerely thank our previous lay members – Sue Carter, Graham F. Watson, Christine Walsh, Derek McIntyre and Professor Aisha Holloway – for the enormous contribution they’ve made, particularly those who’ve served with distinction for many years.”