New North sheriff principal appointed
He will replace Sir Stephen Young who has retired.
The newly appointed sheriff principal was in Wick on Friday as part of a tour of all the courts in his jurisdiction.
“There are challenges ahead, not least due to the public spending cuts,” he told the Caithness Courier.
“But these challenges also can be changed into opportunities, particularly in relation to the reform of civil justice.
“One of the most important roles of a sheriff principal is to make sure the needs and concerns of the citizens of Grampian and Highlands and Islands are taken into account in decisions made in Edinburgh,” he said. “I regard that as one of my most important roles.”
Pyle was admitted as a solicitor in 1976 and as a solicitor advocate in 1994.
He became partner at Dove Lockhart in 1978 and senior partner at Wilson, Pyle & Co in 1980. From 1990 to 1999 he was senior partner at Henderson Boyd Jackson, where he was head of litigation and joint managing partner for corporate and commercial matters.
From 1998 to 1999 he was a temporary sheriff and from 2000 he was a full-time sheriff in courts in Tayside and the Highlands.
Prior to his new appointment, he was also a member of the Scottish Court Service board.
“I’m very pleased to come back to the Highlands, having been a sheriff in Inverness,” said Sheriff Pyle.
“Obviously it’s a huge part of the country but it is also undoubtedly the best of part of the country, in my mind.
Sheriff principals head each of Scotland’s six sheriffdoms. They perform judicial duties in sheriff courts as well as administrative functions, and hold powers of appointment.
