Catherine Smith, Baroness Smith of Cluny

Catherine Anne Smith was born on 4 May 1973 in Edinburgh as the youngest of three daughters. Her father, John Smith, was at that time the member of Parliament for North Lanarkshire, and later served as the leader of the Labour Party from 1992 until his death in 1994. Her mother, Elizabeth Smith (), was made a life peer and appointed to the House of Lords as Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill in 1995. Her elder sister, Sarah Smith, is a BBC journalist. Smith was educated at Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh. She studied history and law at the University of Glasgow, gaining Master of Arts (MA) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees, followed by a Diploma in Legal Practice (DipLP) from the University of Strathclyde. ==Career==

After working as a paralegal in Sydney, Smith was a solicitor in Glasgow and Oban from 1999 to 2004. Smith has sat as a part-time sheriff since 2022. She has primarily worked in reparation and public law, specialising in cases involving personal injury, clinical negligence and judicial review. Prior to her appointment as Advocate General for Scotland in 2024, she was a member of Compass Chambers. Between 2012 and 2021, she was Standing Junior Counsel to the Advocate General, serving under Lord Wallace of Tankerness, Lord Keen of Elie and Lord Stewart of Dirleton. Smith was appointed to the panel of counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2015, and has been an advocate member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council since 2020. Her appointment marked the first time that all three Scottish law officers were women, alongside Dorothy Bain (Lord Advocate) and Ruth Charteris (Solicitor General for Scotland). ==References==