William Alexander Law, known as Scottie, was born in Edinburgh on 22 August 1910, the only son of James Law, dental surgeon, and his wife Agnes, née Jarvis. He was educated at Giggleswick School and won an open scholarship to St John's College, Cambridge, where he obtained first class honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos. He proceeded on another scholarship to the London Hospital where he qualified in 1935. Junior hospital appointments in orthopaedic surgery at the London were followed by war service in the RAMC where he commanded a field surgical unit during campaigns in North Africa, Sicily and Italy reaching the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was awarded an OBE in recognition of his military service. In 1947 he was appointed consultant orthopaedic surgeon to the London Hospital and subsequently became consultant to the Royal Masonic Hospital, the Italian Hospital, and associate surgeon to the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, Oswestry. In 1948 Scottie Law spent a year with Smith-Petersen at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston learning from him the new techniques of cup arthroplasty performed for osteoarthritis of the hip, an advance which subsequently led to the development of total hip replacement, an operation which has revolutionised the lives of so many people. On his return to this country in 1949 Law introduced cup arthroplasty to London. He became an acknowledged leader in orthopaedic surgery; Hunterian Professor in 1963, Watson-Jones lecturer in 1978, President of the Orthopaedic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine and gold medallist of the British OrthopaedicAssociation. He published many articles on orthopaedic surgery, especially on osteoarthritis of the hip and ankylosing spondylitis. Outside medicine he was well known in the world of rugby, having been a Cambridge Blue, Captain and President of the United Hospitals Rugby Football Club, a Scottish trialist and a regular player for London Scottish, of which club he became vice-president. He was also a keen golfer. A dedicated Scot, Scottie Law was President of the Caledonian Society and a life governor of the Royal Scottish Corporation. He died at his home on 30 October 1989 and was survived by his third wife Patricia, a son Bruce and a daughter Alison.