Leading advocate Aidan O’Neill KC has been named Lawyer of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2026, sponsored by Law Society of Scotland. The prestigious award recognises an outstanding legal career spanning almost four decades and recent wins in the last year in the complex areas of public and constitutional law.
Of particular highlight has been his work on significant recent cases at the highest levels of the courts. This includes his successful advocacy before the UK Supreme Court in the For Women Scotland case, as well as a successful judicial review concerning transgender prisoner guidance, a case which has subsequently had an impact on government policy.
Aidan will be presented with the award at the Scottish Legal Awards dinner on Thursday 17 September 2026 at DoubleTree by Hilton, Glasgow Central, when Scotland’s legal profession comes together to celebrate excellence and achievement across the sector.
Called to the Scottish Bar in 1987, Aidan was appointed Queen’s Counsel – now King’s Counsel – in Scotland in 1999. He was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1996, taking silk there in 2017, and joined the Irish Bar in Dublin in December 2020.
His status as King’s Counsel in both Scotland and England and Wales makes him a “double silk”, a distinction held by only a small number of practitioners in the UK.
Over the course of his career, Aidan has developed a wide-ranging litigation and legal advisory practice across the UK. His work demonstrates particular expertise in competition law, commercial and constitutional judicial review, environmental and Aarhus law, and employment and equality law, alongside specialist knowledge of EU law, human rights law and UK constitutional law.
A highly experienced appellate advocate, Aidan has appeared extensively before the UK’s senior courts. During the first decade of the UK Supreme Court, following its establishment in October 2009, he ranked among the top ten barristers across the UK by number of appearances as leading counsel.
His legal practice has also extended to the European courts. He has appeared on a number of occasions before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, both before Brexit and, through his membership of the Irish Bar, since the UK’s departure from the EU. He has also appeared before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Aidan O’Neill KC will receive the Lawyer of the Year award at the Scottish Legal Awards 2026 on Thursday 17 September at DoubleTree by Hilton, Glasgow Central.