A man has been convicted of attempting to murder a senior Law Society official.

Leslie Cumming, 68, the then deputy chief executive of the Law Society of Scotland, was attacked in a lane near his home in Murrayfield, Edinburgh, in 2006.
Robert Graham, 46, denied trying to kill the accountant but after a nine-day trial, a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found him guilty.

Mr Cumming was stabbed repeatedly on January 23, 2006. He told jurors that he saw a "circle of pale face coming out of the darkness" before he was attacked.

He also described "a pounding on my back, a tattoo of blows" and feeling blood pour down his face. The attack permanently scarred Mr Cumming's face and back.
He told jurors: "I have made a very deliberate attempt to put myself back together and get on in life."

When he was attacked, Mr Cumming, who was 62 at the time, was chief accountant with the Law Society of Scotland, a role he had filled for 22 years.

John Logue, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said Graham had been paid to kill Mr Cumming. Graham had fled to Australia where he was arrested and brought back to Scotland for trial.

He said: "In 2006 Robert Graham targeted and tried to kill Leslie Cumming because he was paid to do so. Today, almost six years later, he has been found guilty of this vicious and cowardly attack after being extradited from Australia.

"He was brought to justice by the perseverance and diligence of officers in Lothian and Borders Police who tracked him down, assisted by Interpol and authorities in New Zealand and Australia. I hope that today's successful prosecution will secure the confidence of the Scottish public that those who try to evade justice will be pursued and brought before the courts."