30 Facts About Dorothy Bain

Dorothy Ruth Bain is a Scottish advocate who has served as Lord Advocate since 2021.

Dorothy Bain is the second woman to hold the office after Lady Elish Angiolini KC.

Dorothy Bain served as an Advocate Depute in the Crown Office from 2002 to 2011 and was appointed the first female Principal Advocate Depute from 2009 to 2011.

One of five children, Dorothy Bain's mother was a shorthand typist and her father was a postman.

Dorothy Bain attended the University of Aberdeen, where her older sister, Helen, was studying medicine and then her younger sister, Elizabeth, would later study psychology.

Dorothy Bain earned an LLB degree and a Diploma in Legal Practice.

Dorothy Bain worked in civil practice from 1994 until 2002.

In June 2009, Dorothy Bain became the first and highest-ranking female to hold the prosecutorial position in Scotland, as Principal Advocate Depute.

Dorothy Bain became known for her prosecution of high-profile cases such as the serial killer Peter Tobin, the Operation Algebra case which resulted in the conviction of the largest paedophile ring in the UK, as well the prosecution of four members of a drug gang for murder, and a wide-ranging 2009 child pornography case.

Dorothy Bain has been instructed in cases at all levels, including the Court of Session, Court of Criminal Appeal, High Court of Justiciary, Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the European Court of Human Rights.

In 2011, following the promotion of Frank Mulholland QC as Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain was seen as a likely contender to succeed Mulholland as Solicitor General.

Dorothy Bain represented the family of a victim of the 2014 Glasgow bin lorry crash.

Dorothy Bain was Counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in Scotland and Chair of the Police Appeals Tribunal.

On 16 June 2021, it was announced that Dorothy Bain would be nominated by Nicola Sturgeon, subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament, to take up office as Lord Advocate, succeeding James Wolffe.

Dorothy Bain entered the role of Lord Advocate during a time of immense pressure and public scrutiny of the role, following the involvement of her predecessor, James Wolffe, in the legal case regarding former First Minister Alex Salmond.

Dorothy Bain has promised to act independently and has stated she will assist the First Minister over a review of the functions of Lord Advocate.

In September 2021, Dorothy Bain made a statement to Parliament over a "radical" reform of the drug policy in Scotland, branded "de facto decriminalisation", in an effort to tackle the country's drug crisis.

In November 2021, Dorothy Bain told the Scottish Parliament's justice committee, she would consider a "precise and specific" proposal for drugs consumption rooms in Scotland.

Dorothy Bain advised the Government that holding a referendum, without a Section 30 order from Westminster, would "likely be unlawful".

Dorothy Bain wrote to the Supreme Court to rule whether Holyrood has the legal powers to hold a referendum without the UK Government's approval.

Michael Keating, a political scientist, suggested Dorothy Bain had doubts about the legality of the referendum and in order to keep her political neutrality, she sought to ask the court for a ruling.

On 22 July 2022, Dorothy Bain published the legal argument for a second referendum.

Dorothy Bain went before judges at the Supreme Court in October 2022, where she argued the case for a referendum.

Dorothy Bain emphasised holding a referendum itself was "advisory" and would have no legal impact on the future of the union and argued it would be inappropriate for the court to "speculate" on what actions the Government would take after a referendum.

Dorothy Bain established Operation Koper in her role as Lord Advocate, serving as the head of the systems of prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland.

In January 2024, it was revealed that Dorothy Bain could be brought forward by the Scottish Parliament for questioning relating to the wrongful prosecution of up to 100 Post Office branch managers in Scotland as part of the horizon scandal.

Dorothy Bain stated that ultimately Bain will have the power to decide any future steps regarding the scandal and how any questions relating to it will be handled.

Dorothy Bain further confirmed that the Post Office in Scotland "is therefore no longer able to investigate and report criminal allegations directly to the Crown and it should now instead report any allegations of criminality to Police Scotland for them to investigate".

Since Dorothy Bain assumed the role of Lord Advocate in 2021, there have been calls for the position to be reformed.

Dorothy Bain is married to Alan Turnbull, Lord Turnbull, a Scottish judge in the Court of Session's Inner House.