Catherine Smith, Baroness Smith of Cluny

The Right Honourable
The Baroness Smith of Cluny
KC
The Right Honourable The Baroness Smith of Cluny KC
	Smith in 2024
Advocate General for Scotland
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 29 August 2024
Prime Minister	Sir Keir Starmer
Preceded by	The Lord Stewart of Dirleton
Member of the House of Lords; Lord Temporal
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 9 October 2024; Life peerage
Personal details
Born	Catherine Anne Smith; 4 May 1973 (age 51); Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party	Labour
Parents	John Smith (father); Elizabeth Bennett (mother);
Relatives	Sarah Smith (sister)
Alma mater	University of Glasgow (MA, LLB); University of Strathclyde (DipLP);

Catherine Anne Smith, Baroness Smith of Cluny, KC (born 4 May 1973), is a Scottish lawyer and life peer who has served as Advocate General for Scotland since 2024. She is the youngest daughter of former Labour Party leader John Smith.

Early life and education

Catherine Anne Smith was born on 4 May 1973 in Edinburgh^[1] 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.^[2] Her mother, Elizabeth Smith (née Bennett), 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.^[3]

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.^[1]^[4]

Career

After working as a paralegal in Sydney, Smith was a solicitor in Glasgow and Oban from 1999 to 2004.^[1] She was called to the bar as a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 2007, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2021.^[5]^[6]

Smith is a founding member and former deputy chair of JUSTICE Scotland. Prior to her appointment as Advocate General she worked as an advocate for Edinburgh-based law firm Compass Chambers.^[6] She has also served as counsel to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.^[7] Between 2012 and 2021 she served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Advocate General under Jim Wallace, Richard Keen and Keith Stewart.^[6]

Smith's principal areas of judicial work are reparation and public law, specialising in personal injury, clinical negligence and judicial review cases.^[8]

Smith was created Baroness Smith of Cluny, of Cluny in the City of Edinburgh on 9 October 2024 as part of her appointment as the Advocate General for Scotland.^[9]

Personal life

Smith is the daughter of John Smith, late leader of the Labour Party, and of Elizabeth Smith. Her elder sister is the BBC North America editor Sarah Smith.

Smith is a trustee of the John Smith Trust and co-founder and chair of the John Smith Centre for Public Service at the University of Glasgow.^[8] In the former capacity she visited Kyiv and Warsaw in October 2023 to support rule of law and human rights projects.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Smith, Catherine Anne". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U296727. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ McSmith, Andy (13 May 1994). "John Smith obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
^ Lester, Nick; Roberts, Lizzie (10 October 2024). "John Smith's youngest daughter joins her mother in the Lords". The Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
^ "Catherine Smith KC". John Smith Trust. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ "Queen's Counsel Appointments". Judiciary of Scotland. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Catherine Smith KC". Compass Chambers. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ Administrator. "Catherine Anne Smith". www.advocates.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
^ ^a ^b "Catherine Smith KC appointed as Advocate General for Scotland". Scottish Legal News. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
^ "Advocate General for Scotland: Labour give Catherine Smith role". The National. 2024-08-29. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-08-29.

External links

This United Kingdom law-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This biography of a life peer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[WW-1] "Smith, Catherine Anne". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2023. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U296727. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[2] McSmith, Andy (13 May 1994). "John Smith obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2024.

[Lester2024-3] Lester, Nick; Roberts, Lizzie (10 October 2024). "John Smith's youngest daughter joins her mother in the Lords". The Times. Retrieved 10 October 2024.

[JST-4] "Catherine Smith KC". John Smith Trust. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[5] "Queen's Counsel Appointments". Judiciary of Scotland. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2024.

[Compass_Chambers-6] "Catherine Smith KC". Compass Chambers. Retrieved 30 August 2024.

[7] Administrator. "Catherine Anne Smith". www.advocates.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2024-08-29. Retrieved 2024-08-29.

[Scottish_Legal_News-8] "Catherine Smith KC appointed as Advocate General for Scotland". Scottish Legal News. Archived from the original on 29 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.

[9] "Advocate General for Scotland: Labour give Catherine Smith role". The National. 2024-08-29. Archived from the original on 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-08-29.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]