New figures reveal top earning advocates as legal aid spending in Scotland reaches record level
Tony Lenehan KC has been named Scotland’s highest-earning legal aid advocate for the third consecutive year, according to figures published by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB).
Mr Lenehan earned £490,000 in legal aid fees during 2024–2025, representing an increase of £40,000 compared to the previous year. The figures form part of SLAB’s annual report, which also revealed record legal aid spending of £169 million across Scotland.
Fellow advocate Donald Findlay KC was the second highest earner, with legal aid payments totalling £370,000, up £26,000 on the previous year. In third place was Mark Allison, who received £366,000, while Mark Stewart KC was fourth with £350,000.
Brian McConnachie KC ranked fifth, earning £340,000, followed by Thomas Ross KC, Joseph Scullion, and John Brannigan, whose respective legal aid earnings were £340,000, £324,000, and £307,000.
The new figures were disclosed as part of SLAB’s comprehensive breakdown of legal aid expenditure, detailing payments to advocates, solicitor advocates, and law firms across Scotland. The data also provides comparisons with previous years, highlighting fluctuations in earnings and workloads among top advocates.
Embed from Getty Images
The full list, published in SLAB’s annual report, covers the twenty highest-earning advocates and sets out their earnings for each of the past three financial years. Separate tables identify top-earning law firms and solicitor advocates, offering a broader view of how publicly funded legal representation is distributed within the justice system.
In response to the figures, Mr Lenehan, who serves as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said that legal aid was a cornerstone of access to justice in Scotland.
He stated: “Legal aid plays a vital role in ensuring access to justice for those who need it but cannot pay for it. The fees are paid according to the amount of work done, so high total fees represent a huge amount of work done by those advocates in providing this important public service.”
Mr Lenehan emphasised that the figures should be viewed in context, noting that gross earnings for self-employed advocates are not equivalent to salaried income. “Although the top earners’ figures make for dramatic reading as they are reported, it should be borne in mind that for self-employed people like advocates, a gross figure of, say, £120,000 is broadly equivalent to being paid an employee’s salary of under £50,000,” he said.
The report’s publication comes amid ongoing concerns about the sustainability of Scotland’s legal aid system and the ability of lawyers to continue providing publicly funded representation. The legal profession has repeatedly warned that declining real-terms funding and rising costs risk undermining access to justice for vulnerable people.
Earlier this year, senior figures within the Scottish legal community described the legal aid system as being at “breaking point,” warning that further underfunding could deter younger lawyers from entering publicly funded work.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board, a non-departmental public body responsible for administering legal aid in Scotland, said the record £169 million spent in 2024–2025 reflected both increased demand for representation and adjustments to legal aid rates.
The figures for top-earning advocates show that criminal defence specialists continue to dominate the upper end of the earnings table, reflecting the intensive workload and extensive court commitments involved in serious criminal cases.
The latest data provides insight into how Scotland’s legal aid budget is distributed among the bar and supports calls for a wider review of funding rates, workload balance, and recruitment into publicly funded legal work.
SLAB said it would continue to publish detailed annual data to ensure transparency about how public money is spent in supporting legal representation. The full report and tables are available via the board’s website.