Lord Doherty

Justice of the Supreme Court, The Right Hon Lord Doherty

Lord Doherty studied law at the University of Edinburgh, Hertford College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He was admitted as an advocate in 1984 and was the first recipient of the Lord Reid scholarship. At the Bar he had a predominantly civil practice, with emphases on commercial law, property law, public law, and valuation for rating; but he also practised in many other areas. Between 1990 and 1997 he was a standing junior counsel to UK Government departments. He was elected as Clerk of the Faculty of Advocates in 1990 and held that office until 1995. He took silk in 1997. Between 1998 and 2001 he served as an Advocate-depute (prosecuting counsel).

Lord Doherty became a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary in 2010. He has been a judge of the Lands Valuation Appeal Court since 2011. He was a judge of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) between 2013 and 2020, and a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal between 2015 and 2020. He was a commercial judge and the exchequer judge between 2014 and 2020, and was principal commercial judge between 2018 and 2020. He became an Inner House judge in 2020, and a judge of the Registration Appeal Court in 2025.”