About the Seminar:
"As head of the Scottish Judiciary, the Lord President’s priority is to build and maintain confidence in our system of justice, and in the legal profession, while safeguarding the rule of law. What does that all mean in the context of the AI revolution?"
 
Lord Pentland will cover several key themes in his speech on 3 June, including a brief overview of the international and domestic framework on Artificial Intelligence, and why the judiciary, courts and tribunals need to embrace the new technology. He will also address the risks that AI poses for the rule of law, the judiciary and the legal profession.
 
He will outline the Lord President’s role as the ultimate regulator of the legal profession and the importance of lawyers using AI appropriately.
 
“How can Artificial intelligence be harnessed by the judiciary to ensure the justice system is open, fair, accessible and maintains public trust.”
 
About the Speaker:
The Rt Hon Lord Pentland has been a judge of Scotland’s Supreme Courts (the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary) since 2008. He has presided over a number of high-profile criminal trials as well as significant civil cases and has been an appeal court judge since 2020.
Between 2014 and 2018 he was chairman of the Scottish Law Commission, the country’s independent law reform body.
 
Lord Pentland was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1982 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1995. He served as an Advocate Depute (Crown prosecutor in the High Court) between 1991 and 1994.
 
In 1995, he was appointed Solicitor-General for Scotland and held this office until the general election in 1997. He then returned to practice at the Bar, specialising in commercial law and public law.
 
Earlier in his career, Lord Pentland was standing junior counsel to the Department of the Environment in Scotland. He also held appointments as Chairman of the Police Appeals Tribunal and as Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Between April 2001 and May 2002, he was Chairman of the Public Inquiry into a serious incident of limestone mining subsidence in the Gilmerton area of Edinburgh.
 
Lord Pentland was appointed as Lord President by His Majesty the King and was sworn in at a ceremony in the Court of Session on 3 February 2025. Lord Pentland is an Honorary Bencher of King’s Inns in Dublin and Gray’s Inn in London.
 
Originally Recorded 3.6.26
CPD Time 1 Hours