Our People
Patrons

Roddy Dunlop QC
Dean of Faculty, Faculty of Advocates
Roddy has a wide and varied caseload and has appeared at every level within the Scottish civil court system. Roddy is Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and won Legal 500’s Scottish Silk of the Year in 2019.
Roddy is the only Scottish silk to be ranked in seven separate practice areas by Chambers UK, who place him as a Band 1 Silk in multiple areas. Roddy has a keen interest in promoting equality and diversity at the Scottish Bar.
Founders

Ryan Whelan
Senior Associate, Gibson Dunn
As well as being the founder of PBS, Ryan is an associate in the London and Dubai offices of Gibson Dunn. Ryan was voted LexisNexis Legal Personality of the Year (2020) and is the AllBright ChangeMaker Man (2020).
Ryan specialises in international arbitration and litigation. He has been recognised in the FT’s Innovative Lawyers list (2019), as the Law Society Gazette’s Lawyer in the News (2019), and as The Time’s Lawyer of the Week (2018).

Aideen Byrne
University of Edinburgh Law School
Aideen is the Pro Bono & Clinical Legal Education Coordinator at the University of Edinburgh’s Law School. Aideen works to facilitate access to justice and educate tomorrow’s legal professionals.
Aideen began her career by studying law and politics at Dublin City University before going onto assist with research addressing violent online political extremism at the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence.

Jonathan Goodyear
Board Member, Aberdeen Law Project
As well as being co-founder of PBS, Jonathan is a law student at the University of Aberdeen and intends to qualify as a solicitor. Jonathan is passionate about pro bono and particularly interested in corporate and technology law.
Steering Committee

Emma Boffey
Associate, CMS
Emma is an Associate in the litigation team of CMS, specialising in commercial dispute resolution and avoidance. During her university studies, Emma was a case manager at the Strathclyde Law Clinic.
Emma has been recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ by the Legal 500 2020 and is also ranked by Chambers & Partners. In 2019, Emma was named ‘Junior Solicitor of the Year’ at the Herald Law Awards.

Victorie-Anne Gomez-Llorens
Co-student Director, Aberdeen Law Project
Victorie-Anne, originally from France, is a student at the University of Aberdeen’s School of Law. She hopes to pursue a career in corporate law but also has a keen interest in intellectual property and medical law.
Victorie-Anne is the Deputy Student Director of the award-winning student founded, led and operated Aberdeen Law Project, a pro bono organisation that educates, represents and advises the economically disadvantaged.

Helena Siebenrock
Co-student Director, Aberdeen Law Project
Originally from Germany, Helena is a law student at the University of Aberdeen. She is passionate about social equality, particularly in regards to access to justice, and has a keen interest in human rights and environmental law.
Alongside her studies, she is actively involved in volunteering with the elderly and assisting in local animal shelters. Helena is an Assistant Deputy for the award-winning student founded, led, and operated Aberdeen Law Project.

Jamie Perriam
Director, University of Edinburgh Pro Bono Soc.
Jamie is a graduate-entry student at the University of Edinburgh Law School. He previously spent several years working in the media industry and holds an English degree from the University of St Andrews.
Jamie is the first Director of the University of Edinburgh’s Pro Bono Society, a student group dedicated to improving access to justice and clinical legal education opportunities for other students.

Leigh Gapinski
Legal Counsel, Thought Machine
Leigh is commercial counsel for Thought Machine, a fintech startup. Leigh is responsible for a variety of commercial contracts relating to their product as well as providing day to day legal support to the entire business globally.
Prior to moving in house, Leigh worked as an associate at Linklaters where she built up international experience working in both London and Singapore on complex transactional projects and advisory matters.

James Anderson
Former Student Director, Strathclyde Law Clinic
James recently graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a Diploma in legal practice having previously completed the LLB. James is the former Student Director of the award-winning University of Strathclyde Law Clinic.
James is incredibly passionate about access to justice and is heavily involved with the Scottish University Law Clinic Network, an organisation that brings together and supports law clinics across Scotland.

Eilidh McDermott
Dep. Dir., University of Edinburgh Pro Bono Soc.
Eilidh is a final year LLB student at the University of Edinburgh and is deputy director of the University’s Pro Bono Society. Eilidh has a keen interest in raising awareness of the importance of access to justice.
Eilidh is particularly passionate about providing free legal services to those in marginalised communities. In her free time Eilidh has been actively involved in providing EU settlement scheme support as a volunteer.

Ruth Douglas
Head of Legal Policy, Charity Comm. for E&W
Ruth worked for with the Civil Service working in the Scottish Government, Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and for the Advocate General for Scotland before joining the Charity Commission for E&W as a Senior Lawyer.
Ruth has a keen interest in pro bono and is involved in a range of different volunteer roles. Ruth volunteered at the CAB whilst at the University of Glasgow and was an adviser at Edinburgh’s FLAC during her Diploma.

Amy Walsh
Senior Associate, Harper Macleod
Amy joined Harper Macleod’s newly formed Business Development team in 2012 where she is now a senior associate. Amy specialises in identifying and implementing new business opportunities and strategies within the firm.
Amy sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s subcommittees for both Complaints and Practicing Certificates and also tutors on the Commercial Awareness course on the Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Glasgow.

Kirstie Webb
Trainee Solicitor
Kirstie recently gained her Diploma in Professional Legal Practice from the University of Strathclyde. During her time at university, Kirstie was the Student Director at Strathclyde’s award-winning law clinic.
Kirstie has always been extremely passionate about helping those most in need and hopes to continue to play a part in increasing and providing access to justice in her role as a trainee solicitor.

Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe
Lecturer in Law, Glasgow Caledonian University
Seonaid is a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University. In this role she supports the Law Clinic and works on a number of projects using law for the common good. She has a particular interest in public interest litigation in Scotland.
Seonaid has a master’s in International Law and previously worked at the ICC in the Netherlands. She is also the co-founder of RebLaw Scotland, a movement which uses law as a tool for social justice.