Law Society of Scotland appoints new General Counsel

The Law Society of Scotland has announced that Sarah Drummond is being appointed the organisation’s first ever General Counsel.

The professional body for more than 13,000 Scottish solicitors is embarking on a significant period of change, including major reforms to the way it regulates following the Scottish Parliament’s passing of new legislation last spring.

As part of this, the Law Society announced last year that it would move forward with creating a new General Counsel role to lead on legal and governance issues across the organisation.

Following an open and competitive process, Sarah Drummond will join the Law Society from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) where she has worked for the last 10 years, most recently as the Head of Legal Services, having also served for an extended period as interim General Counsel. She previously worked in private practice, first at Tods Murray and then at Shepherd & Wedderburn. She will start the Law Society in March.

The news comes on the back of other senior appointments announced last month, with Jan Cutting to start as the Law Society’s new Executive Director of Member Experience and Jessica MacDonald starting as Executive Director of Operations.

Law Society Chief Executive, Ben Kemp said: “As a professional body and regulator in a growing legal sector, it is vital that we have clear and effective governance in place and strong in-house legal capability to support delivery of our strategy, for members and the public.

“I am pleased that we have managed to attract somebody of the calibre and talent of Sarah Drummond as the Law Society’s first ever General Counsel. She brings huge knowledge and expertise from working in private practice and also from another major professional body.

“Coupled with our other recent executive director level appointments, 2026 will mark a significant strengthening of our staff team to the benefit of all those who depend on us and the services we provide.”