Appointment of new Chair

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Brackenridge as Chair of the SLCC. The appointment will be for five years. He replaces Jane Irvine, the first Chair of the SLCC, who served from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012.

The SLCC is the single gateway for complaints against legal practitioners operating in Scotland. It investigates and resolves complaints about inadequate professional service; refers conduct complaints to the relevant professional body and provides oversight of complaint handling across the profession. The SLCC also promotes and advises on good complaint handling and makes recommendations to promote good legal practice in Scotland.

Bill Brackenridge brings considerable Corporate Governance experience to the SLCC. As a management consultant for 25 years he has extensively advised public and private sector clients. He has served as a non-Executive Director on Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd and on NHS Highland, chairing the Argyll & Bute CHP for five years. For six years he chaired the Board of the Scottish Ambulance Service. He comes to the SLCC aiming to build on its formative years and intent upon developing positive relationships with its stakeholders.

Bill commented "I'm pleased to be joining the SLCC at such an important time in its development. We're now established as the gateway for all legal complaints in Scotland but there's much more for us to do to build trust and confidence in legal services. I'm looking forward to working with the team to make us even more effective and influential in dealing with complaints and in encouraging improved standards through our powers of guidance and oversight. The legal market is changing. Our hard-won experience will contribute to maintaining and strengthening public trust and confidence in buying and using legal services."