Patrick Shaw (legal writer)


Patrick Shaw was a Scottish lawyer and legal writer.

Life

Born at Ayr, he was the son of Charles Shaw, clerk of Ayrshire, and his wife, Barbara Wright, and grandson of Very Rev David Shaw, D.D., Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Alexander Shaw, Sir Charles Shaw, and John Shaw were his brothers. In boyhood, he lost his leg through an accident.
In 1819, Shaw was called to the Scottish bar. He lived at 62 Frederick Street in Edinburgh's New Town.
In 1848 he was appointed sheriff of chancery, and he held the post till 1869, when he resigned in failing health. He was then living at 40 Heriot Row.
He died at 36 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, on 12 February 1872. He is buried in Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh. The table form grave lies in the first northern extension set back from one of the western paths.

Family

In 1860 he married Susannah Khanim Fullarton, fourth daughter of William Fullarton of Skeldon in Ayrshire.

Works

In 1821 Shaw started with his friend James Ballantine, and later with Alexander Dunlop, a series of reports of the decisions in the court of session. In 1824 he began a similar series of reports of decisions in the House of Lords on appeal from the Scottish courts. Shaw also published supplementary digests of the decisions. His works were:
Shaw also edited the sixth edition of George Joseph Bell's Commentaries on the Laws of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1858, and the fifth edition of Bell's Principles of the Law of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1860.