He becomes the most senior legal adviser to UK government on Scots Law.
As a UK Law Officer, he will provide legal advice to UK government departments on policy and legislation affecting Scotland and the Scottish devolution settlement. This includes the exercise of statutory functions under the Scotland Act. Mr Keen will also represent the UK government in courts and tribunals in Scotland.
He will be supported by The Office of the Advocate General, which consists of lawyers and administrative staff with offices in Edinburgh and in London.
The Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, said:
This is a key job for Scotland and Richard is exactly the right person to take it on. He is one of our most respected and experienced legal minds and will have a central role in supporting the UK government in Scotland, not least as we work to strengthen devolution to the Scottish Parliament.
Biography
After being admitted to the Faculty in 1980 Mr Keen was a Standing junior counsel to the DTI in Scotland from 1986 to 1993, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993. He has served as Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (2000 to 2004) and as Chairman of the Police Appeals Tribunal. A founding member of the Scottish Public Law Group, he has engaged with JUSTICE, has built links between the Scottish and Irish Bars, and is an active participant in the annual Four Jurisdictions Law Conference. In 2007 he became Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Mr Keen has been regularly instructed in the Commercial Court; in the Inner House (the Court of Appeal in Scotland) and in the Supreme Court in a range of Commercial and Public Law cases. He is highly regarded for his advocacy particularly in complex commercial litigation and cases involving extensive expert evidence in areas including science, engineering and economics. He is also regularly instructed in matters of insurance, company law and civil fraud, and acted in the key Scottish public law cases Petition of Axa General Insurance Ltd and Others (2012) and Imperial Tobacco Ltd v The Scottish Government [2012] UKSC 61.
Other notable cases include being instructed for the contractors in respect of the Piper Alpha disaster and leading the defence of Lamin Fhimah at the trial of Megrahi and Fhimah in respect of the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing. More recently he acted for Weir Group plc in the claims and prosecution arising out of breaches of the UN Iraq sanctions.
In early November 2013 it was announced that Mr Keen would be appointed as the new chairman of the Scottish Conservative party. Following this he stood down as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates. He is also a member of the bar in England and Wales, and practises in London. Mr Keen lives in Edinburgh and is married with two children, a son and daughter.
from Announcements on GOV.UK http://ift.tt/1G6aeqn
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق