He is the first person bestowed with life membership of the Law Society since 2021, and just the 10th person since the millennium.

Mr Samuel will receive a special welcome to mark his life membership at the Law Society’s Annual General Meeting, which is being held online on 29 June.

He was a founding partner when Miller Samuel was established in 1973 and the firm’s first and only chairman for more than four decades, continuing in the role when it merged to become Miller Samuel Hill Brown in 2016.

Practising across all aspects of private client work, Mr Samuel retired from private practice at the end of 2021 but remains closely connected with the firm and Scotland’s solicitor profession.

Mr Samuel was convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Business of Conveyancing Committee and then long-time Vice Convener of the Property Law Committee, and Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow from 2004 to 2007.

His contributions also include 22 years as chairman of the Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre Ltd, and time spent as director of the International Lawyers Network and as a trustee and chair of a number of boards for charitable and non-profit organisations including the Merchants House of Glasgow, Children’s Classic Concerts, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland, the Queens Park Charitable Trust and the Western Club.

Law Society of Scotland president Sheila Webster said: “Michael’s contribution to Scotland’s solicitor profession has been immense and has benefitted countless people. I’d like to congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition of his long and distinguished career.

“Honorary Membership is the most prestigious accolade that the Law Society bestows, to recognise those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Scottish solicitor profession. I’m delighted to see Michael’s name added to what’s such an exclusive and distinguished list of names.”

Mr Samuel said: “I was both delighted and honoured to receive this award from the Law Society of Scotland, an organisation dear to my heart, and of which I was a practising member for 50 years. I see it as an award not only to me, but to all of my colleagues past and present over that time. You can’t achieve these things alone.

“From the start of my career, I always believed that if you set out to help people who needed to use your services, and you did that well, you had a chance to be successful in your career. I hope I have done that. My sincere thanks to everyone who has helped me over these years.”