About Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg
Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg (born 23 June 1940), known as Derry Irvine, is a Scottish lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor from 1997 to 2003. He founded and headed 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers in the 1980s, and later became a recorder and a deputy High Court judge. A member of the Labour Party, Irvine was appointed to the House of Lords in 1987 and served as Shadow Lord Chancellor from 1992 to 1997. He was appointed to the Cabinet as Lord Chancellor by Prime Minister Tony Blair, his former pupil, after the 1997 general election, and served until his dismissal in 2003. == Early life and education == Alexander Andrew Mackay Irvine was born on 23 June 1940 in Inverness, Scotland to a roofer and a waitress. He was educated at the independent Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School in Glasgow. Irvine studied Scots law at the University of Glasgow, where he became involved in debating through the Glasgow University Dialectic Society and Glasgow University Union; he befriended Donald Dewar and John Smith through his involvement in the societies. Irvine subsequently studied English law at Christ's College, Cambridge. == Legal career == After teaching law at the London School of Economics, Irvine was called to the Bar in 1967 and joined chambers headed by Morris Finer. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1978 and founded 11 King's Bench Walk Chambers in 1981, becoming head of chambers.
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