Prior to entering elected politics, Ms Whitham worked in community youth and homelessness roles and ran three businesses as a sole trader, in addition to spending over a decade as a Women’s Aid worker in Ayrshire, supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.

More recently, she served as the Depute Leader of East Ayrshire Council and was also COSLA’s Community Wellbeing Spokesperson, where her remit included housing and homelessness.

David is an actuary, who works for his professional body, the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, where he leads the Actuarial Monitoring Scheme.

Having previously worked as a pensions scheme actuary for over 30 years, he brings a wealth of relevant experience and a successful track record of balancing client service whilst following detailed regulations.

David has worked with solicitors in a multitude of professional and family matters, providing him with extensive first hand knowledge of the impact of the work of solicitors; and a clear understanding of what excellence in customer experience looks like.

David is Convener of the Law Society of Scotland Regulatory Committee which oversees all aspects of the regulation of Scottish solicitors and comprises solicitor and non-solicitor members.

Alison is the co-founder of Hook Tangaza following the merger of Hook International and Tangaza Advisory Services in 2016. Alison leads on Hook Tangaza’s technical assistance, trade and regulatory work.

Before setting up Hook International in 2011, Alison was the Director of International at the Law Society of England and Wales where she played a leading role in advocating for more open legal markets and working with government to develop an export promotion strategy for UK legal services.

Earlier in her career, Alison worked for the European Commission, both in London and Brussels and for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and Lagos. She graduated in economics from the University of Edinburgh and holds a Masters in Economics from Warwick University and an MBA from the Open University. In 2008, she was recognised in the Lawyer ‘Hot 100’.

Brian Inkster is the founder and CEO of Inksters. He is a Solicitor and Notary Public.

Brian originally comes from Shetland where he still maintains strong business and personal links. He has lived in Glasgow since 1991 but travels regularly on business throughout Scotland and especially the Highlands and Islands. He has established offices for Inksters in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Eigg, Forfar, Glasgow, Inverness, Lerwick, Portree, Thurso and Wick.

Brian was referred to as ‘a one man Scottish legal institution’ in the Recommended Law Firm Guide 2010.

He is an award winning lawyer including being named Solicitor of the Year in 2006 and Managing Partner of the Year in 2014.

Brian as a lawyer concentrates on property related work and specialises in particular in crofting law and the law of servitudes (easements).

Brian also has an active interest in entrepreneurship, marketing, technology and corporate social responsibility in relation to running a law firm. He is often asked to speak on these topics at conferences, summits and retreats.

Paul Sinclair has been a provider of senior level counsel, messaging and speechwriting to British Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers and CEOs. He is a former journalist with expertise in crisis management.

Neil joined as the Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission in July 2015.

His previous background combines significant experience of regulation and complaints, and of the Scottish legal services market. Neil currently sits on the Council of the Advertising Standards Authority, involved in both the governance of the organisation and in adjudication on complaints within the £20 billion UK advertising industry. He is the Senior Independent Director and Chair of their Audit and Risk Committee.

In 2009 he was appointed by the Privy Council to sit on the General Dental Council, the regulatory and complaints body for 104,000 dental professionals in the UK and he served two terms on the Board (demitting in September 2017) as well as chairing the Remuneration Committee. Between 2004 and 2015 Neil worked with the Law Society of Scotland, latterly as their Director of Representation and Professional Support. He has previously held a number of other Executive and Non-Executive Director roles in organisations spanning the legal sector, healthcare, consultancy, and oil and gas. He holds a Law degree from Edinburgh University, and a Masters in Quality Management from Birmingham University (focussing on a comparative analysis of regulatory quality systems for doctors and lawyers). He has just stepped down (August 2022, following a six-year trustee term) as the Chair of Changing the Chemistry, a peer network of over 700 members supporting diversity of thought on UK boards.

Rachel joined the senior leadership team of the Law Society of Scotland as Executive Director of Regulation on 18 May 2020. Rachel is a qualified solicitor and has worked in private practice in Scotland for more than 25 years, initially as a Corporate solicitor before moving into risk and knowledge management. For the last 15 years she has held senior leadership positions in several firms, including as Director of Risk and Knowledge of a large Scottish firm. Rachel has also served on various Boards and was a volunteer on the Law Society of Scotland Education & Training Committee.