Spencer Patrick holds a Bachelor of Laws degree. A Bachelor of Laws is a first degree in law, and in Scotland legal study and professional practice operate within a distinct system that rests on the College of Justice, established by James V in 1532 to recognise judges and lawyers as separate from the state.
Spencer Patrick's documented career centres on Maclay Murray & Spens, a commercial law firm in Glasgow, where Spencer Patrick worked as a partner. A predecessor partnership, George Smith & Murray, was formed in 1869 by David Murray and George Smith, and after Smith's death it took the name Maclay, Murray and Spens. The firm is generally dated to 1871, when David Maclay, David Murray and John Spens founded it as the first law firm in Scotland with a specifically commercial practice.
By the time of its merger announcement with Dentons in July 2017, the firm was one of the few remaining large independent Scottish law firms and operated offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. Its practice spanned areas such as financial services, energy, and transport and infrastructure, reflecting the commercial character on which the firm had been founded.
Spencer Patrick was admitted to the bar in Scotland in 1969. Spencer Patrick also holds the office of notary public and is a Writer to the Signet, a membership in the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet, a body that traces its origins to the royal signet and was formally established in 1594 as part of the College of Justice.
Spencer Patrick is a Writer to the Signet, a member of the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet. The society is a private association of Scottish solicitors that dates to 1594 and forms part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally held special privileges in preparing documents that required the royal signet, and the society has since become an independent, non-regulatory association that maintains the Signet Library in Parliament House, Edinburgh.
Spencer Patrick is also a member of the Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow. The Faculty was incorporated before 1668 and serves the legal profession in Glasgow and West Central Scotland, providing members with access to a law library, continuing professional development, and an auditing service. Its library has been maintained since 1817 and has been housed in the Faculty's building in central Glasgow since 1857.
