Roderick Francis Macdonald, Lord Uist is a Scottish judge. As a Senator of the College of Justice, he is a member of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest court.

Early life

Macdonald was educated at St Mungo's Academy, a Roman Catholic

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

 state school in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, and at the University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 Faculty of Law. (LL.B. Hons.). He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates

Faculty of Advocates

The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...

 in 1975.

Legal career

Macdonald served as an Advocate Depute from 1987 to 1993, from 1990 as Home Advocate Depute. He was appointed Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 in 1989. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1997 (Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

). From 1995 to 2001, he was Legal Chairman of the Pension Appeal Tribunals for Scotland, and from 1995 to 2000 was a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, and of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel from 1997–1999. He was appointed a Temporary Judge in 2001, and in 2006 was appointed a full-time judge of the Court of Session

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

 and High Court of Justiciary

High Court of Justiciary

The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...

, Scotland's Supreme Courts

College of Justice

The College of Justice is a term used to describe the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies.The constituent bodies of the supreme courts of Scotland are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, and the Accountant of Court's Office...

, as a Senator of the College of Justice

Senator of the College of Justice

The Senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of Senator: Lords of Session ; Lords Commissioner of Justiciary ; and the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court...

. He took the judicial title, Lord Uist, and sits in the Outer House

Outer House

The Outer House is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted to it by the other more senior part, the Inner House...

.