Honorific-Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
Lord Woolman | |
Office: | Senator of the College of Justice |
Term Start: | March 2008 |
Term End: | May 2023 |
Nominator: | Alex Salmond As First Minister |
Appointer: | Elizabeth II |
Predecessor: | Lord Philip |
Office2: | President of the Scottish Tribunals |
Term Start2: | August 2020 |
Term End2: | 30 April 2023 |
Appointer2: | Lord Carloway As Lord President |
Predecessor2: | Lady Smith |
Birth Date: | 16 May 1953 |
Birthname: | Stephen Errol Woolman |
Residence: | Edinburgh |
Alma Mater: | University of Aberdeen |
Profession: | Advocate |
Stephen Errol Woolman, Lord Woolman, [1] (born 16 May 1953),[2] is a Scottish legal academic, and a retired Senator of the College of Justice.
Woolman was educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh[3] and studied law at the University of Aberdeen. He was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law of the University of Edinburgh from 1978 to 1987, serving as Associate Dean from 1981 to 1984. He published the first edition of his work on Contract in 1987, being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates the same year.[4] [5]
Woolman served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Office of Fair Trading (1991 to 1995), the Procurement Executive of the Ministry of Defence (1991 to 1995), and the Inland Revenue (1996 to 1998). He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1998[6] and served as Advocate Depute from 1999 to 2002. He was keeper of the Advocates' Library and a trustee of the National Library of Scotland from 2004 to 2008, and chairman of the Scottish Council of Law Reporting from 2007 to 2008.
He was appointed Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the High Court of Justiciary and Court of Session, the Supreme Courts of Scotland, in 2008, as Lord Woolman. He sat in the Inner House of the Court of Session.[4] [5] He also served as President of the Scottish Tribunals, replaced by Lady Wise.[7] He was formerly deputy chairman of the Boundary Commission for Scotland (2009 - 2015).
He holds an honorary LLD from the University of Aberdeen[8] and was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022.[9] He retired in May 2023.[10]
Lord Woolman married Helen Mackinnon in 1977, with whom he has two daughters.