Valerie E. Stacey QC

Year of Call: 1987

Year of Silk: 1999

Devil Masters: The Hon. Lady Smith, John Mitchell QC, the late Sheriff Hamish Stirling

Qualifications: LLB (Hons) Edinburgh University

Biography:
Valerie Stacey called at the bar in 1987 having practised as a solicitor since qualifying in 1978. Her practice covers a broad spectrum of law, being mostly civil but including criminal work both at first instance and on appeal. She is trained as an advocacy instructor and has taken part in training for advocates since 1994. She has been involved in Faculty of Advocates committees for many years and is now Vice Dean of Faculty. As an Advocate Depute from 1993 to 1996 she led for the Crown in trials and in the Court of Criminal Appeal. From 1996 until taking silk in 1999 she was standing junior to the Home office in Scotland, dealing with immigration cases and other judicial review matters as well as fatal accident inquiries.  She sat as a Tribunal Chairman from 1987 until 1993, and between 1997 and 1999 she sat as a temporary Sheriff.  Since taking silk in 1999 Mrs Stacey has continued to appear in many cases and inquiries in the Sheriff Court, in the Court of Session both at first instance and in the Inner House, and has also appeared in the House of Lords. She has appeared in NHS and ICAS tribunals. She has drafted pleadings on behalf of the Scottish Executive in an application by a citizen to the European Court of Human Rights.

Cases:
Fatal accident inquiries into e-coli poisoning, prison suicides, and various NHS cases; HMA v McKean 1997 SC (J) 32, provocation in murder; Buchanan v McLean 2000 SLT 928, Human Rights Act 1998 and legal aid; M v Cook 2003 SC  52, consent to treatment under mental health legislation; Thomson v Kvaerner Govan 2004 SC (HL) 1 personal injury

Appointments:
Member, Sentencing Commission for Scotland since 2003
Vice Dean of Faculty of Advocates since 2004
Member, Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland since 2005.
Member, Policy Committee of Bar Issues Commission, IBA since 2005.