Appreciation: Michael Scanlan

Michael Scanlan, past President of the Law Society of Scotland, who died on 20 October, was one of the most admired, respected and popular figures in the Scottish legal community.

He led his profession during its 50th anniversary year, hosting a truly international conference in Edinburgh in 1999, welcoming legal professionals from across the world to celebrate with his friends, colleagues and peers in Scotland.

One of those present was Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA. Michael introduced himself saying “Hello, I’m Michael. We have a very informal jurisdiction here in Scotland, so what should I call you?”

“Justice Day O’Connor will be just fine,” came the slightly frosty reply.

Born in Glasgow in 1946, Michael initially studied engineering at the University of Glasgow. Yet after two years of struggling with equations, his mother realised that a career in law was the path for him.

He was apprenticed to the late Terry Russell and learned his profession on the job, working full time, attending lectures at the University of Glasgow and sitting Law Society of Scotland exams.

The hard work that would be a hallmark of his career paid off and he was admitted as a solicitor in 1971, soon becoming a partner in Russells, the firm he was to stay with all of his career.

Quickly building a reputation as a court practitioner of flair and skill, he brought his court experience to bear as both a lecturer in evidence and procedure at the University of Strathclyde and as a temporary sheriff.

When he took to the bench, he abandoned court work, becoming instead a private client lawyer, where his friendliness, wit and charm proved a natural asset to this branch of law.

He stood down as temporary sheriff in 1996 to concentrate on his work as a Society Council member, and his popularity and approachability saw him elected as President in 1999.

In his presidential year, Michael’s ambition was to forge strong links between the Council and members across Scotland and his year was marked by him visiting each and every faculty in Scotland, from Orkney to Dumfries and all points in between.

Without a doubt, the highlight of his presidency was his monthly columns in the Journal, where his bemusement at the trappings of office and ready stream of surreal anecdotes about growing up in Glasgow and his family entertained readers across Scotland and beyond.

He always said that the proudest moment of his time with the Society was being a guest at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. He was invited to take part in the historic procession from Holyrood to the Mound with the great and the good of Scottish society. Alas, this part of the invitation never got to him and he spent two lonely hours in the gallery of the Parliament chamber, with only an equally bemused William Hague for company, whose invitation to join the parade also got lost in the post.

Though his term of office ended in 2000, his commitment to his profession remained. He served on both the Scottish Committee of the Administrative Justice & Tribunals service and the Judicial Appointments Board.

He finally retired in 2013, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, spending his short, but well-earned, retirement enjoying the company of friends and family. He died peacefully in the Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret, herself a lawyer of considerable renown, his son Michael and his grandson Benjamin, who was the light of his life.