The Scottish legal profession was saddened to hear of the untimely death of one of its most admired and respected professionals, Lord Macfadyen, who lost his battle with cancer as The Firm went to press. John Campbell and others remember the man who managed to combine all the talents of being a first rate High Court judge with all the qualities of being a generous, warm and compassionate human being.

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In April the Scottish justice system tragically lost one of its most respected members when Lord Macfadyen succumbed after his year-long battle with cancer. As a testament to the man and all that he stood for, he had continued to be a fixture at Parliament Square up until just a few days before his passing.

A graduate of Glasgow University, Lord Macfadyen was appointed as a judge in 1995 after being a temporary judge for a year. He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1969, being appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1983. He was an advocate depute from 1979 to 1982 and also held the position of Vice –Dean at the Faculty of Advocates from 1992 to 1995.

His legal ability was put to the test on some of Scotland’s biggest and most fraught legal cases, such as the controversial removal of children from Orkney in 1991/92 and he was also one of the five Scottish judges to hear the Lockerbie appeals at camp Zeist.
His ability on the bench was considered unrivalled by peers and Advocates alike, all of whom appreciated his hard work, his consideration in making tough decisions, his courtesy during proceedings and his comprehensive legal ability.

Peers told The Firm that he had the capability to become a Lord President of immense stature.

In 2004 he was named the best Judge in Scotland in a poll conducted by The Firm among members of the Faculty of Advocates, with one respondent commenting of him: “Lord Macfadyen is a first-rate judge. He is bright, straightforward, open-minded, fair and down to earth.”

On 22 April, before a specially convened 15 judge panel in the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Hamilton led a tribute to their colleague on behalf of the judiciary.

John Campbell, advocate and founder of Oracle Chambers led the tributes to Lord Macfadyen. Speaking to The Firm of his friend’s untimely passing he said: “I could write pages about Donald MacFadyen. I’ve known him for 25 years as a counsel and as a judge. He was the most extraordinary humane and thoughtful man. He was very good to junior counsel, extremely tolerant of younger people’s attempts to understand and explain the law. When he became a judge he quickly developed a reputation for being the model of what you would want in a judge; a combination of patience, understanding firmness and compassion. In civil cases with what you might call a sympathetic component, he was someone who would always try to find a way of easing any harsh consequences of a decision he had to make.

“He was a very good lawyer, in that he had an understanding of the way in which the law develops, which he could quickly apply to contemporary situations. You wouldn’t find in Donald Macfadyen any vestige of a stickler for rules. He would always try to find the human side of a situation. He was an exceptional legal luminary. He’ll be much missed.

“One of his rather endearing and slightly alarming characteristics was that he was an extremely hard worker. What you would get from Donald in a civil case was that he would raise questions on the second or third day, which meant he was keeping up with the evidence, reading it all, raising questions in his own mind, working at home. I always thought of Lord Denning when I read his judgements; Denning was a master of clarity, and you could read a Donald Macfadyen judgement from beginning to end. You could see the story and see the way he had addressed all the questions and come to a view. I always think with litigation, if you have had a fair hearing, you can’t complain.”

Sir Neil McIntosh, Chair of the judicial Appointments Board, said: “Lord Macfadyen represented the finest qualities of the Scottish Judiciary and I wish to associate the Board with the widespread regret at his passing.”

Principal of the Mackinnon stable of Advocates, Banny Mackinnon, also had fond memories of Lord Macfadyen, he said: “I remember him from his time as Vice-Dean of Faculty and my memories of him from that time are that he was a generous and gracious gentleman who went about his business in a very fair and equitable manner and who was very respectful in his dealings with Faculty staff. I was unaware that he had been ill recently and was saddened to hear he had passed at such a relatively early age.”

God speed you on your way, Donald.  You’ll clearly be missed.