Beltrami, Joseph, 1932-2015, lawyer

Joe Beltrami was born on 15 May 1932 in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire. He was educated at St Aloycious' College in Glasgow, then studied law at the University of Glasgow and completed a legal apprenticeship with the local firm of Baird Smith Barclay and Muirhead. He set up his own legal firm, Beltrami & Company, in Glasgow in 1958. Willie Dunn joined him as a partner shortly afterwards and the business soon established a large clientele. Beltrami specialised in criminal law and first came to public prominence when he successfully defended Walter Scott Ellis, who was accused of murder in 1961. In a similarly high-profile case, Beltrami defended Patrick Meehan, who was accused and wrongfully convicted of murder in 1969. After a 15-year battle, which also involved a campaign by the television commentator, Ludovic Kennedy, Beltrami and Nicholas Fairbairn succeeded in having Meehan's conviction quashed. Meehan was granted a Royal Pardon and received a large compensation payment and Beltrami subsequently published a book about the case, entitled 'A Deadly Innocence'. Beltrami was also known for representing Arthur Thompson, the self-styled Glasgow gangster, for over four decades. In 1993 he became the first Solicitor-Advocate to plead in the Court of Criminal Appeal. He died in Glasgow on 24 February 2015.

Glasgow, Scotland

ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

Created by Anne Cameron, February 2019.

Alasdair Steven, 'Obituary: Joseph Beltrami, SSC, BL, Lawyer', in The Scotsman, 25 February 2015 < https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-joseph-beltrami-ssc-bl-lawyer-1-3700451>, accessed February 2019.