Frances McMenamin has been a Member of the Faculty of Advocates since 1985, specialising almost exclusively in criminal law, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998.
She is a graduate of Strathclyde University, with both B.A. and LLB degrees and began her legal career as an apprentice with Hughes, Dowdall & Co in Glasgow in 1974. She qualified as a solicitor in 1976 and was a Procurator Fiscal Depute, working in Paisley, Crown Office and Glasgow. She left the Fiscal Service in 1984 to begin “devilling” at the Scottish Bar.
Since being admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in June 1985 legal appointments she has held include Temporary sheriff (1991 – 1997) and Advocate Depute (1997 – 2000), but her main practice, now spanning many years, has been defending in High Court Criminal trials.
She has extensive experience in both examination-in-chief and cross examination of vulnerable witnesses of all ages and in a wide variety of serious cases. As a result, she has been invited to lecture on many occasions to legal audiences on related legislation and the practicalities of dealing with such witnesses in legal proceedings.
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