Two of the north-east’s first summary sheriffs have taken up office in Aberdeen.
Margaret Hodge and Christine McCrossan were welcomed to the bar at the city’s sheriff court by their peers and future colleagues.
Sheriff Hodge, a keen hillwalker, graduated from Jesus College Oxford and Edinburgh University before she was admitted as a solicitor in 1986. She became an advocate in 1996.
She said she was looking forward to immersing herself in the north-east’s way of life.
Sheriff McCrossan graduated from Aberdeen University and, following a legal traineeship with the Crown Office in the city, she established her own practice in 2001.
She specialised in employment law and personal injury and was admitted a solicitor advocate in 2005. She is also a teaching fellow at Aberdeen University law school.
Morag McLaughlin is also due to take up office in Aberdeen next month.
The appointments are part of the modernisation of the Scottish court system.
The Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 created a new judicial office of summary sheriff to deal with some types of civil and criminal cases.
The reform aims to improve efficiency and ensure the right cases are heard in the right courts.
