Tributes paid to esteemed lawyer Ian Balfour

Mr Balfour, whose grandfather co-founded the firm in 1887, remained active after retiring as senior partner with Balfour and Manson in 1998 and, until late last year, was working as joint auditor for Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Mr Balfour was born in Edinburgh in 1932. He began his education at Edinburgh Academy in 1938, but was evacuated during the war to Hamilton, in Ontario, Canada, with his mother and his brother William, where they lived with family.

Upon his return, he completed his education at Edinburgh Academy and thereafter studied at Edinburgh University, graduating with an MA in 1953 and an LLB in 1955. In those days, an apprenticeship was served alongside obtaining a law degree. Mr Balfour began his training at Balfour and Manson in 1952, during the last year of his MA, qualifying as a lawyer in 1955 and becoming a partner in 1958.

He then spent over 40 years in general legal practice before his retirement in 1997.

Elaine Motion, chairman of Balfour and Manson, paid tribute to Mr Balfour, describing him as “a phenomenally knowledgeable and talented lawyer”.

She said: “Ian will be sadly missed by partners and staff, past and present. Through both his professional and social life he was a great friend to so many and on a personal level, I will always appreciate the opportunity and guidance Ian offered me. He was a quiet man of real stature and gravitas whose talents extended well beyond the law-one example being his historical narrative about the firm and those who have passed through it over the decades). He visited the office regularly until late last year when he retired as a sheriff court auditor.

“Everyone connected with Balfour and Manson will continue to honour this fine man by continuing the legacy that he and his family brought to legal practice in Edinburgh.”

A man of devout faith, Mr Balfour had considered becoming a lay preacher and studied for a degree in divinity from the University of London, graduating in 1959. He was a member of Charlotte Baptist Chapel on Rose Street, Edinburgh from 1963, where he later became secretary to the chapel, retiring from the role in 2000. The chapel had one of the largest congregations in Edinburgh, regularly filled to its capacity of 1,000 on Sunday mornings.

Mr Balfour accepted an invitation to be president of the Baptist Union of Scotland for the year 1977-78. This again stimulated his academic interest in theology, and he attended New College, University of Edinburgh, where he obtained a PhD in theology in 1980 after studying the life of one of the Christian Church’s fathers, Tertullian, a Roman convert to Christianity.

He was also appointed a fiscal to the Royal College of Nursing, which dealt with nursing discipline, and a fiscal to the Law Society of Scotland on disciplinary matters. He was also Secretary to the SSC Society and a tribunal chairman for Child Support.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joyce Pryde, and their four children a daughter and three sons, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Lesley, his daughter is a retired midwife, Robin is a doctor, Jeremy is an MSP and Sandy is a chartered surveyor.