Four new members for legal aid board

Two solicitors and two non-solicitors appointed

News, 18 August 2006

Four new members have been appointed to the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Denise Loney, a partner in Semple Fraser LLP in Glasgow, qualified as a solicitor in 1987. Her area of expertise is civil litigation.

Joseph Hughes qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and set up his own practice in 1986 specialising in criminal court work. A solicitor advocate (criminal), he is currently the senior managing partner in JC Hughes, solicitors, Glasgow. Mr Hughes is legal convenor for the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, legal convenor of the Additional Support Needs Tribunal, and has recently been appointed chair of the Scottish Charity Appeals Panel.

Professor Mahendra Raj has been professor of finance at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen since 1996. He has held several public and voluntary appointments and is currently a member of the Reporting Panel of the Competition Commission for the United Kingdom, member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland and a lay adviser to Grampian Police.

Les Campbell is a chartered accountant and is currently the Director of Finance and Corporate Services at Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). Prior to joining GHA in August 2003 he spent more than 25 years in the private sector including posts with British Energy, Scottish Power and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The appointments of Joseph Hughes, Mahendra Raj and Les Campbell will run from 1 September 2006 to 31 March 2011, and that of Denise Loney from 1 January 2007 to 31 March 2011.

The positions are part-time and attract a remuneration of £8,328 a year for a time commitment of 42 days per year.