Ian Duguid KC – Black Chambers

Ian M Duguid KC

Year of Call: 1988

Year of Silk: 2000

Ian Duguid is one of the most experienced, renowned and highly-regarded senior counsel at the criminal bar. He has gained a broad range of expertise through a varied career including several years of service with the Attorney General’s Chambers in Hong Kong as a Senior Crown Counsel, as a Standing Junior Counsel to the Ministry of Defence and as an advisor to His Majesty’s Government (United Kingdom) on offending and security related matters.

He has acted as both prosecution and defence counsel in the High Court and Appeal Court in some of the country’s most notorious recent prosecutions, notably in two recently filmed and televised documentaries featuring the trial proceedings. He has also recently represented public bodies in notable cases before the Employment and Investigatory Powers Tribunals.

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Areas of Practice

Criminal Trials covering the full spectrum of criminal offences tried in both the Sheriff Court and the High Court of Justiciary
Post conviction proceedings including Proceeds of Crime and Criminal Appeals
FAI’s and Public Inquiries
Health and Safety
Employment Law & Professional Disciplinary Proceedings
Road Traffic Violations
Wildlife Crime
Personal Injury

Publications

Editor (Scotland) of ‘Butterworths Road Traffic Service’ 2002-2010

Testimonials

Diligent, charismatic and builds a strong rapport with commercial clients. He has an innate ability to grasp complex technical issues in difficult areas. His skilled cross examination, polite manner and impressive jury speeches are bound to improve the chances of success for any client facing trial or seeking to mitigate sentence.

Outstanding KC whose knowledge of the law and ability to intricately examine witnesses is a skill which quite frankly, very few have.

Although best known for his work in high profile murder trials, he has a burgeoning practice in the fields of corporate crime and regulatory law. Having instructed him in multiple health & safety fatality matters in recent years, I would recommend him to anyone looking for counsel in these areas.

Diligent, organised, compassionate, a hugely skilled (if need be ferocious) cross-examiner and gifted with a seemingly natural ability to deliver compelling, articulate and persuasive closing arguments. He is, and remains, my first choice of Counsel.

If you have seen Ian Duguid on his feet, it is no surprise that he is regarded as one of the country’s leading KCs. Devastating in cross, and commanding the ear of the court, he is utterly captivating in front of the jury.

Everyone, myself included was left mesmerised by the way you closed the defence. A true masterclass.

I have had the privilege of instructing him in multiple high profile criminal cases and his excellence shines through. His rapport with all court personnel and accused persons is natural and unforced. An unquantifiable talent.

Appointments & Memberships

Ad Hoc Advocate Depute 1991-2013
Standing Junior Counsel to the UK Government, Ministry of Defence 1991-2000
Part Time Sheriff 2001 to present date
Legal Assessor to the Nursing and Midwifery Council 2003-2006
Chair of Mental Health Tribunals (Compulsion and Restriction Order cases) 2017 to date
Independent Counsel appointed by Chief Constable of Police Scotland to review Operation Sandwood (review of Lockerbie Bombing prosecution) 2016 – 2018
Member of the Faculty of Advocates Faculty Council 2003-2008
Convenor of the Faculty of Advocates Fees and Legal Aid Committee 2005-date
Chairman of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association 2006-2010
Faculty Services Limited Board Member 2009 to date
Director of Black Chambers – 2008 to 2024

Selected Cases

HMA -v- Avril Jones – defended one of the 2 accused in the notorious case of the murder of Margaret Fleming by her 2 cares, serialised by the BBC in 2020 in “Murder Trial”.

Representatives of the late Abdelbaset Al Megrahi -v- HMA and the Advocate-General for Scotland – appeared for the UK Government in the 2020 application by the “Lockerbie Bomber’s” relatives to posthumously appeal the conviction following an SCCRC reference.

W -v- The Chief Constable of Police Scotland – appeared for the respondent in this privacy case before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in 2022, regarding the protection of journalistic sources related to published articles concerning a prominent investigation into an unsolved murder (EC).

HMA -v- Alfredo Ciociola – defended an Italian tourist in 2022, accused of causing the death of 5 persons by dangerous driving in a road traffic accident in the Scottish Highlands (convicted of causing death by careless driving)

HMA -v- Kashif Anwar – 2023 notorious murder trial of an accused who was convicted of pushing his pregnant wife off “Arthur’s Seat”, Edinburgh while on their “honeymoon”. The case is serialised in a Channel 4 documentary.

HMA -v- Robert O’Brien – defended the first accused in a 2023 “cold case:’ murder trial following the death of his 14 year old girlfriend and the recovery of her body from a river in 1996. The case is serialised for the BBC documentary series, “Murder Trial” in 2024.

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