Muriel was born on 21st September 1899 at 2 Yarrow Gardens, Glasgow, to Isabelle and Claude Jeffrey. Her father was a solicitor, a partner in Weir Grieve & Jeffrey. It was a well- regarded city firm whose senior partner, William Weir Grieve became the Sheriff-Clerk to the county of Lanarkshire. Muriel began her studies in the Faculty of Law in the session 1919-1920. Her undergraduate record was respectable and she took 6th place in Evidence and Procedure and a Distinction certificate in Civil Law. She graduated B.L. in April 1924. Her legal connections stood her in good stead. After her apprenticeship she went on to pursue a career as a solicitor. She was the first woman member of the Faculty of Procurators and one of the first women to attain a partnership in a law firm (her father’s, Grieve&Jeffrey). Later in life, in 1958, she married James Hunter Johnston, also a solicitor. She died on 3rd April 1995 in Sheffield, aged 94.
Sources
GU Archives, Matric, Calendars, Grad Roll, General Council
Index Iuridica (1940)
Scotland’s People
William Weir Grieve, Index of Glasgow Men (1909) www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk [accessed 11th April 2020]
CoSS Petitions List CS46 1924/5/42
