Ministers and Officials of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Key legal personnel & their roles

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is a part of the Scottish Government. To see where we fit into the Structure of the Scottish Government, please refer to the organisation chart on their website

The Lord Advocate

The Lord Advocate is the Ministerial Head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and the head of the systems of criminal prosecution and the investigation of deaths.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in May 2007.

He has been a prosecutor throughout his career, having joined the Procurator Fiscal Service in 1984, working in Glasgow and Edinburgh offices before taking up policy and managerial posts in the Crown Office.

In 1997 he became the first member of staff from the Procurator Fiscal Service to be appointed as an Advocate Depute (a dedicated trial prosecutor, and legal counsel to the prosecution service).

On completing his term as an Advocate Depute in 1999 he returned to the fiscal service, and was appointed District Procurator Fiscal for Edinburgh in 2001.

In 2003 he broke new ground again by becoming the first serving member of the Procurator Fiscal Service to be appointed as Senior Advocate Depute, and prosecuted numerous significant and high profile criminal cases and appeals. He became a QC in 2005.

He was appointed Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders in January 2006, and selected by the Scottish Government to be Solicitor General in 2007.

As Solicitor General he was the second most senior prosecutor in Scotland, and with the Lord Advocate provided legal guidance to the Scottish Government. He has personally prosecuted numerous important criminal and appeals cases.

Detailed information about the role and functions of the Lord Advocate.

Solicitor General

The Solicitor General is the Lord Advocate's Deputy.

Immediately prior to her appointment as Solicitor General for Scotland, Lesley Thomson was the Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow and Strathkelvin. From May 2008 she led a staff of over 300 across the Glasgow area, prosecuting some of the most high profile cases in the busiest courts in Europe.

She has 25 years experience as a prosecutor, having previously been District Procurator Fiscal for Selkirk, District Procurator Fiscal for Edinburgh, and Interim Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian & Borders, and led on Trial advocacy and Deaths investigation within COPFS.

She is an acknowledged specialist in the prosecution of serious crime, including organised crime and financial crime. She is an expert in the Proceeds of Crime legislation, and published the leading textbook on criminal confiscation ("Confiscation: A Practical Guide to Confiscating Crime Proceeds") in 1999.

She joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 1985, and held a number of roles in Procurator Fiscal’s Offices in Greenock, Paisley, and Glasgow before her appointment as Procurator Fiscal for Selkirk

Crown Agent

Catherine Dyer

The Crown Agent's principal role is as the civil service head of the legal staff in the COPFS and legal advisor to the Lord Advocate on prosecution matters. The Crown Agent also holds the post of Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (QLTR).

Catherine Dyer is a highly experienced, well respected prosecutor and was joint author of the Pryce-Dyer report which marked the beginning of a major modernisation programme for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 2002.

She has experience both in the Crown Office, and in leading Glasgow, our largest Area.

Advocate Deputes

Advocate Deputes prosecute cases in the High Court. The Advocate Deputes, together with the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General, comprise Crown Counsel.

Area and District Procurators Fiscal prosecute crimes locally throughout Scotland on behalf of the Lord Advocate.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service