Ann Paton, Lady Paton, (born 1952) is a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. She is a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

, sitting in the

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

and the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...

of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

. In 2019 she became the Chairman of the

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal sy ...

. Paton is currently Scotland's longest-serving female judge and was the second woman ever appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice, after

Lady Cosgrove Hazel Josephine Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove, KC CBE (née Aronson; born 12 January 1946), is a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as a Senator of the College of Justice from 1996 to 2006. She was the first woman appointed to the College of Justi ...

Early life

Born Ann McCargow in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1952, she was educated at the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Laurel Bank School Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (m ...

for Girls. She was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

in 1969. She studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

(

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

) and was awarded the John MacCormick Prize for the most distinguished law graduate of 1974. She married James Paton in 1974, and was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

in 1977.

Legal career

Paton was appointed Standing Junior Counsel to the

Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer The King's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer is an officer in Scotland who represents the Crown's interests in ''bona vacantia'', ''ultimus haeres'' and treasure trove. The K<R holds two offices, both instituted at the foundation of the Court ...

in 1979, and to the

Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic ...

in 1981. She

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1990 and served as an

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...

from 1992 to 1994. She was a member of the Working Party responsible for the 3rd edition of the Ogden Tables (1998). From 1995 to 2000, she was a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and Director of the Scottish Council of Law Reporting from 1995 until her appointment as a Judge. She was appointed a

in 2000, a judge of the

Supreme Courts of Scotland The College of Justice includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, and ...

. She was promoted to the

of the

in 2007, and appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. She sits in the Second Division. Lady Paton was a member of the Parole Board for Scotland from 2003 until 2007. She chaired the Personal Injuries User Group in the Court of Session from 2003 to 2008. She chairs the Judicial Studies Working Party in Scotland responsible for the Scottish Equal Treatment Benchbook: Guidance for the Judiciary (1st edition 2002; 2nd edition 2008).

Publications

Paton's first publication on joining the Scottish Bar was a Map of the Sheriffdoms and Sheriff Court Districts in Scotland, published by W. Green, Law Publishers in association with John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. She was Joint Assistant Editor of Gloag and Henderson, ''The Law of Scotland'', from the 8th edition (1980) to the 10th edition (1995). In 1983, Paton co-authored ''A Casebook on Damages in Scotland'' with Robin McEwan, later a fellow judge as Lord McEwan. She undertook two subsequent revisions as sole author; the first in 1989, as ''Damages in Scotland'', and the second in 1997, as ''Damages for Personal Injuries in Scotland''. She continues as sole editor of the work which is now in

loose leaf A loose leaf is a piece of paper of any kind that is not bound in place, or available on a continuous roll, and may be punched so as to be organized in a ring binder. Loose leaf paper may be sold as free sheets, or made up into notepads, where ...

form. She was the author of the Faculty Digest 1971–80, a survey of cases decided in the Scottish Courts during that decade.

Personal life

Lady Paton married Dr James Y. Paton in 1974; they have no children. Her interests include sailing, music and art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, Ann 1952 births Living people People educated at Laurel Bank School Alumni of the University of Glasgow 20th-century King's Counsel Paton Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish women judges Scottish King's Counsel

Early life

Legal career

Publications

Personal life

See also

References