The announcement that incumbent Solicitor General Frank Mulholland is to succeed Elish Angiolini as Lord Advocate has been described as "deeply regrettable" by academic Professor Robert Black QC, who said that Mulholland's career background as a civil servant was not suitable for the role, given the requirement on the incumbent to undertake "long overdue" scrutiny of the Crown Office.

He said it was "sad that the new majority SNP Government has not taken the opportunity to return to the wholly desirable convention of appointing an advocate or solicitor from private practice to fill the office."

Black had previously concluded that the appointment of predecessor Elish Angiolini, a "Crown Office staffer" had been a "disastrous experiment."

"This appointment is not unexpected, but it is to be regretted. Virtually the whole of Frank Mulholland's career has been spent as a Crown Office civil servant. This is not, in my view, the right background for the incumbent of the office of Lord Advocate, one of whose functions has traditionally been to bring an outsider's perspective to the operations and policy-making of the department," Black said.

"Sir Humphrey Appleby was an outstanding civil servant of a particular kind, but his role was an entirely different one from that of Jim Hacker and no-one would have regarded it as appropriate that he should be translated from Permanent Secretary of the Department of Administrative Affairs to Minister (or, indeed, from Cabinet Secretary to Prime Minister).

"The appointment by the previous Labour administration in Scotland of Elish Angiolini as Solicitor General and then as Lord Advocate was a mistake, both constitutionally and practically, as was her retention as Lord Advocate by the SNP Government (though the political reasons for her re-appointment were understandable). It is sad that the new majority SNP Government has not taken the opportunity to return to the wholly desirable convention of appointing an advocate or solicitor from private practice to fill the office of Lord Advocate.

"The much-needed casting of a beady eye over the operations of the Crown Office is not to be expected from this appointee. This is deeply regrettable since such scrutiny is long overdue."

Mulholland's name had been touted by confidantes of Angiolini's as a possible successor since the day she announced her retirement from office, and Mulholland has been developing his profile since then by making policy announcements that had previously been reserved to Angiolini. His confirmation in the role had been anticipated for several months.

The Firm understands that Derek Ogg QC or Dorothy Bain QC may succeed Mulholland as Solicitor General, although Ronnie Clancy's name has also been touted in the event that either decline.