Gillian Black , Consultant

Prof Gillian Black joined SKO as a Consultant in January 2026, bringing her expertise in family law from academia, where she has been Professor of Scots Private Law at Edinburgh University since 2020. In 2021, Gillian was appointed as an Officer of Arms to the Court of the Lord Lyon, and in 2024 was promoted to Carrick Pursuivant in Ordinary. She is regarded as a leading expert in relation to the Scots law of arms, including the succession to titles, chiefships and coats of arms. 

Gillian has researched and written on adult relationships, children’s rights, the parent/child relationship, and privacy in family law. Her published work includes analyses of legal parental status and the significance of genetics, including the impact of donor conception and surrogacy. She has also explored the legal significance of sex to the creation and termination of adult relationships, and privacy concerns arising from Scotland’s current divorce laws. Gillian regularly provides training and CPD to the profession and judiciary. Her PhD (completed in 2009) examined issues of identity and privacy in the context of publicity and image rights. Prior to moving to academia in 2004, Gillian qualified as a solicitor at Shepherd & Wedderburn WS, working in the field of commercial contracts, IP, and data protection.

Gillian is currently on secondment from Edinburgh University to the Scottish Law Commission, where she is the Commissioner leading on projects reviewing civil remedies for domestic abuse and the law of executry (succession).

Gillian Black on LinkedIn