Our President for 2026/7 is:

Lord Woolman

He will propose the Toast to Sir Walter at our 117th Annual Dinner on 6th May 2027.

Stephen Woolman was educated at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh and studied law at the University of Aberdeen. From 1978 to 1987 he lectured in the Faculty of Law at the University of Edinburgh, serving for three years as Associate Dean of the Law School. During this period he began work on what would become his widely respected text Woolman on Contract, first published in 1987 and now regarded as a leading authority on Scots contract law. He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1987, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998, and served as an Advocate Depute between 1999 and 2002. He subsequently held a number of senior legal appointments, including Keeper of the Advocates Library, Chairman of the Scottish Council of Law Reporting, and Deputy Chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland.

In 2008 he was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, taking the judicial title Lord Woolman. He served in both the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary, becoming a judge of the Inner House in 2020. From 2020 until his retirement from the bench in 2023 he was President of the Scottish Tribunals, overseeing an important period of development within Scotland’s tribunal system. In recognition of his distinguished contribution to Scottish law and public service, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022 and holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Aberdeen.