THE new Advocate General for Scotland has said she is “honoured” to be part of a trio of senior legal advisers who for the first time are all female.
Catherine Smith KC was speaking after being sworn in to the role at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, becoming the UK Government’s principal legal adviser on Scots law.
With the two leading legal advisers to the Scottish Government, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC and Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC, also being female, her appointment marks the first time all three advisers have been women.
Smith said she looks forward to collaborating with the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General on “areas of shared interest”.
She added: “I am honoured to join them as a Scottish law officer, the first time that the three offices have been concurrently held by women.”
Her appointment comes after a varied legal career which has seen her work first in criminal law, before going on to work in the fields of public law, personal injury and clinical negligence.
Smith has been involved in public inquiries, including representing the local government body Cosla and 29 of the 32 Scottish local authorities in the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries.
She has also acted as part-time sheriff, is a founding member and former deputy chairwoman of Justice Scotland, and has travelled extensively in the post-Soviet states to support human rights-focused activities, with this leading her to visiting Kyiv and Warsaw in the last year.
Smith said: “It is a privilege to be sworn in as Advocate General for Scotland. As a law officer in the UK Government, I have a responsibility, along with the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for England and Wales, to uphold and promote the rule of law in Government.”
