Alison was enrolled as a solicitor in 1996. She worked in civil litigation in private practice for four years before being employed as a Reporter to the Children’s Hearings. Having recognised the need for a specialist, outreach, legal representation service for children and young people in Scotland, Alison co-founded Clan Childlaw in 2008 and continues to be employed as its Chief Executive and Principal Solicitor. Alison is a member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council Family Law Committee.
She is a court reporter and curator ad litem in relation to contact and residence disputes in the sheriff court and a curator ad litem and reporting officer in relation to adoption and permanence proceedings. Until recently she was also a safeguarder in the children’s hearings system, a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Access to Justice Committee and a member of the City of Edinburgh Council’s Child Protection Committee. In 2021, Alison became a Law Society of Scotland Certified Specialist in Trauma Informed Practice.
Alison loves most sports and enjoys camping and walking in the Scottish hills.
