Career
Clark read law at Queens College,St Andrews during its transition to independence as the University of Dundee School of Law,graduating in 1970 with an LL.B. (Hons) from St Andrews,and subsequently gained a PhD in criminology and penology from the University of Edinburgh in 1975 presenting the thesis "Bail decision-making :law and practice in Scotland". [1] [2] She was a lecturer in Jurisprudence from 1973 at the University of Dundee until she was called to the Scottish Bar in 1977. She took silk in 1989,and was subsequently called to the English Bar in 1990 as a member of the Inner Temple.
Politics
Clark first stood for election to Parliament at the 1992 general election,where she unsuccessfully contested the North East Fife seat held by Menzies Campbell of the Liberal Democrats. At the 1997 general election,she was elected to the House of Commons for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency,unseating the Conservative Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,Malcolm Rifkind. Rifkind was one of the high-profile losses on election night for the Conservative Party,who experienced their worst defeat since the 1906 general election and lost all their seats in both Scotland and Wales.
In May 1999,Clark was appointed as the first-ever Advocate General for Scotland,a new post created by the Scotland Act 1998 to advise the Crown and Government of the United Kingdom on Scots law.
She stood down at the 2005 general election,allowing Secretary of State for Transport Alistair Darling to contest the new Edinburgh South West constituency. [3]
On 13 May 2005,it was announced that Clark would be created a life peer,and on 21 June 2005 the title was gazetted as Baroness Clark of Calton,of Calton in the City of Edinburgh. [4]
On 18 January 2006,Lady Clark of Calton resigned as Advocate General,pending an expected judicial appointment. She was replaced as Advocate General by Neil Davidson,QC [5] (now Lord Davidson of Glen Clova).
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