All Case Studies
Head of Legal Services Placement for the Scottish Parliament
JMC Legal was instructed by the Scottish Parliament, based at Holyrood in Edinburgh, to run the search for a new Head of Legal Services, a role responsible for a 25-strong team of qualified lawyers and split between the day-to-day legal running of Parliament and impartial advisory support to politicians on parliamentary process. The brief called for a deliberately wide search across private practice and other regulated sectors, delivered against a formal, HR-led process with fixed deadlines and independently scored assessments. Daniel Tudor supplied thirteen fully vetted candidates against a target of eight to twelve, five of whom progressed to on-site interview at Holyrood, with three assessed by the panel as appointable to the Head of Legal Services role. The Scottish Parliament's first-choice candidate accepted the offer, and the process ran to the pre-agreed schedule from instruction through to signed offer.
Name of Company
Scottish ParliamentSector
Public Sector / In-HouseLocation
EdinburghConsultant
Daniel TudorThe Background
The Scottish Parliament's legal services function sits separately from the Scottish Government and is led by a Head of Legal Services overseeing a team of around 25 qualified lawyers. The outgoing Head of Legal Services was retiring after roughly 12 years in the role. The team covers two distinct areas of work: day-to-day operational matters such as supplier agreements and the legal running of Parliament, and a more specialist advisory function supporting politicians on parliamentary process, including what constitutes devolved versus reserved matters, the implications of international agreements, and legal support to committees and investigations. All of this work is carried out on a strictly non-partisan basis.
JMC Legal was approached directly by the Scottish Parliament's HR department following a recommendation from a lawyer in the client's network who had previously worked with the firm.
The Challenges
Recruiting a Head of Legal Services into a public sector leadership role of this kind carries a different set of demands to a typical private practice search.
A deliberately wide brief.
The client wanted to see candidates from parliamentary and public law backgrounds alongside people from private practice and other regulated industries such as banking and pharmaceuticals, across a range of specialisms including employment, commercial and corporate. This was as much about being seen to run a thorough and impartial process as it was about finding the strongest field of candidates.
A formal, government-standard process.
Every stage had to be documented and approved before the search began, including a full candidate information pack, scoring and weighting criteria, and sign-off from the Parliament's most senior official, the Clerk and Chief Executive. Timelines were fixed well in advance and could not move.
Difficult timing.
The application deadline fell the week immediately after the Scottish local elections, and a number of target candidates with public sector backgrounds had spent the preceding weekend working on election verification on top of a full working week, before being asked to complete a demanding application process.
A demanding application stage. Every candidate had to submit a CV, a 1,600-word application statement addressing the Scottish Parliament's core values, and a two-hour technical assessment, all of which was to be anonymised before being sent to the selection panel.
The Solution
Daniel Tudor managed the process end to end from kick-off to delivery of the search.
A fully documented process, built before the search began.
Working within the Scottish Parliament's HR-led framework, the information pack, scoring criteria and timeline were agreed and signed off at the most senior level before a single candidate was approached.
A genuinely broad search, delivered to target.
Against a request for 8 to 12 candidates, JMC put forward 13, drawn from parliamentary, private practice and regulated-industry backgrounds.
Close candidate management.
Each candidate's application statement was reviewed and returned with feedback before submission, giving every candidate the chance to put forward their strongest work rather than being assessed on a first draft. JMC also coordinated and administered the two-hour technical assessments and anonymised every submission ahead of the panel's review.
The Result
Five candidates were selected for a 1.5-hour on-site interview at the Scottish Parliament's Holyrood site, of whom three were ranked as appointable to the Head of Legal Services role.
The Scottish Parliament's first-ranked candidate was offered the role and accepted, with vetting completed and a start date confirmed some six to eight weeks later.
The entire process, from initial instruction to signed offer for the Head of Legal Services position in Edinburgh, ran to the schedule agreed at the outset, with no delays between stages.
Get in Touch with Sean
Whether you are a public sector organisation looking to make a senior in-house legal appointment, or a lawyer considering a move into a role with genuine national significance, Daniel Tudor works across in-house and public sector legal recruitment. Get in touch for a confidential conversation.
