Solicitors awarded OBEs in New Year Honours list

Joan Aitken

Joan Aitken was the Scottish Prison Complaints Commissioner (Ombudsman) from 1999 until her appointment as a Traffic Commissioner.

Ms Aitken has served as a part-time chairman of employment tribunals, disability appeal tribunals and child support appeal tribunals in Scotland.

As a solicitor she has worked in both private practice and local government. She is a former member of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland and for many years was editor of The Journal. She is a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Sheriff Colin Scott Mackenzie has been awarded an OBE for services to the community in the Western and Northern Isles. Sheriff Mackenzie served in Lerwick and Kirkwall from 1992 until 2004 and thereafter in the Western Isles until retiring in 2014.

He is a director of Counselling & Family Mediation – Western Isles and also chairman of the Ui Church Trust (Urras Eaglais na h-Aoidhe), which looks after the site of St Columba’s Church at Uidh, on the Isle of Lewis.

He has also served as the chairman of the Western Isles Gallipoli Commemoration Committee.