Monarch Elizabeth II Name Anne Lady Full Name Anne Mather Role Judge | Spouse(s) David Alexander Smith Profession Advocate | |
Nominated by Henry McLeishAs First Minister Born 16 March 1955 (age 69) ( 1955-03-16 ) Alma mater University of Edinburgh | ||
Education University of Edinburgh | ||
Anne Mather Smith, Lady Smith, (born 16 March 1955) is a Scottish lawyer, and a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
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Early life
Anne Mather was educated at Jordanhill School and Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls, before attending the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh, where she graduated with an LL.B. (Hons.). She served a two-year apprenticeship with Shepherd and Wedderburn WS, and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1980. She married David Alexander Smith WS in 1979.
Legal career
Smith worked as Standing Junior Counsel to the Countryside Commission, before becoming a Queen's Counsel in 1993.
She served as a Temporary Sheriff from 1995 to 1999, as Chairman of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse from 1998 to 2000, and as an Advocate Depute from 2000 to 2001. In April 2001 she was blamed by Donald Findlay QC for falling dress standards in the courts. In 1997, she had been the first woman to appear before the Court of Session in trousers; Findlay said that "The drop in standards began when female lawyers were allowed to wear trousers in court. They are all right for going to Tesco in, but not suitable dress for ladies to wear in court."
In November 2001, Smith was appointed a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, the Supreme Courts of Scotland, taking the judicial title, Lady Smith. Filling the vacancy created by Lord Gill's promotion to Lord Justice Clerk, she was only the third woman to be appointed to the College of Justice.
Personal life
She married David Alexander Smith, a solicitor, in 1979, with whom she has a son and a daughter. She plays piano and flute, and her other interests include aerobics, skiing, swimming, gardening and walking.