Kirsty Hood KC (Scot) 2021 (England & Wales), 2001 (Scotland, QC 2015)

About Kirsty

Kirsty Hood KC (Scot) was called to the Scottish Bar in 2001 and took Silk in 2015.

She was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2021 and joins Normanton Chambers to further develop her specialist area of practice in International Private Law (IPL), particularly intra-UK cross-border matters, this being the field in which Kirsty obtained her PhD and in which she is known for her thought leadership in her publications and seminars with regard to matters involving:

• questions of jurisdiction
• choice of law
• recognition of judgments

Kirsty remains based in Scotland and is now available for work in England & Wales. In addition to her IPL and cross border expertise, she enjoys a varied civil practice in the following areas:

• Personal Injury (including accidents at work, road traffic and fatalities)
• Commercial
• Land and Property
• Contentious Probate
• Public Law and Regulatory

She is also regularly instructed in all aspects of Family Law with an international or cross-border element.

Kirsty is approachable and has a reputation for her hard work, her excellent judgment and problem-solving ability.

Publications:
Kirsty’s publications are in the area of international private law (and its interaction with the UK’s constitutional structure) and court procedure. In particular:
• Author of Conflict of Laws within the UK (OUP, 2007)
• Contributor to Wilkinson & Norrie, The Law Relating to Parent and Child in Scotland (3rd edn., W Green, 2013)
• Author of “’International’ Rules in an Internal Setting” in Ruiz Abou-Nigm, McCall-Smith & French (eds), Linkages and Boundaries in Private and Public International Law (Hart, 2018)
• LexisNexis Lexis PSL Public Law (online service) – provided material for Practice Notes on: ‘The Mechanics of Devolution: an overview’, ‘Structure and operation of the Scottish Parliament: overview’, ‘Structure and operation of the Welsh Assembly: overview’, ‘The process of decision making in Northern Ireland’, ‘Structure and operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly: overview’, ‘Jurisdiction in Scotland – overview’, ‘Determining jurisdiction in Scottish civil proceedings – checklist’, and ‘Factual evidence in Scottish civil litigation’
• Contributor of the `Cross-border Jurisdiction’ section in Scottish Family Law Service (looseleaf, LexisNexis, 2015 to date)
• Contributor of the ‘Court of Session’ chapter in Greens Scottish Lawyer’s Factbook (looseleaf, W Green)
• Author of ‘Families in a Family of Nations: Intra-British Islands Recognition of Adult Relationships’ 2020 Jur Rev 153
• Author of ‘Drawing Inspiration? Reconsidering the Procedural Treatment of Foreign Law’ (2006) 1 J Priv Int L 181.

Teaching/training
Kirsty’s teaching interests also lie in the fields of international private law, and court procedure. She has:
• led seminars on the international private law aspects of family law as part of the International Private Law Honours course at Edinburgh University (Session 2006/07 to 2015/16, & Session 2017/18), and on conflict of laws within the UK (Session 2014/15)
• led seminars on certain international private law aspects of family law as part of the International Family Law Honours course at Glasgow University (Session 2014/15 to 2015/16 & Session 2017/18)
• led the seminar on international private law aspects of family law on the European Young Lawyers Programme at Edinburgh University (2004 – 2006).
• lectured on ‘Evidence, the Process of Litigation and Diligence’ on the Civil Jurisdiction and Evidence course at Glasgow University (Session 2005/06 to Session 2011/12, Session 2013/14).
• trained Instructor; Assessor (Faculty of Advocates).

Other Information
• Clerk of Faculty, Faculty of Advocates (Oct. 2014 to April 2019)
• Clerk to the Examiners & Depute Clerk, Faculty of Advocates (2009 – 2014)
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Board: Advocate Member (Jan. 2014 to Dec.2021)
• Civil Courts Review: was a Member of the Policy Group (2007 – 2009)
• Member of the Franco-British Lawyers Society (Secretary of Scottish Committee: 2006 – 2014).
• Appointed to Guernsey Financial Services Commission’s Panel of Senior Decision Makers (Aug. 2016)

Education
• LL.B (First Class Hons) (University of Glasgow)
• Dip LP (with Distinction) (University of Glasgow)
• PhD (University of Glasgow)

Personal
Kirsty has visited all the continents of the world except Antarctica. At home, she ‘enjoys’(?) watching her favourite football team from the comfort of her armchair.