James Wolffe QC was appointed Lord Advocate in June 2016.

Responsibilities

The Lord Advocate is the senior Scottish Law Officer. He or she is head of the systems for the prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths in Scotland; and exercises those functions independently of any other person. All prosecutions on indictment run in the Lord Advocate’s name. The Lord Advocate also has a number of statutory functions, including in relation to extradition and mutual legal assistance with other jurisdictions.

Biography

James Wolffe became an advocate in 1992. He was First Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Ministers from 2002 to 2007; and became a Queen’s Counsel in that year. From 2007 to 2010 he served as an Advocate Depute. From 2014 to 2016 he was Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

 

Speeches

Tackling Transnational Crime: A Scottish Perspective, 29 January 2018