It all started at the University’s law clinic

Dundee-born Lynda Clark has held many impressive titles throughout her long and illustrious career.

Currently known as The Rt Hon. Baroness Clark of Calton, with a judicial title Lady Clark of Calton, some of her previous roles have included Judge at the Court of Session in Scotland, Privy Councillor, and MP.

In the 1970s, Lynda was a law lecturer at the University of Dundee, shortly after completing her LLB at the University of St Andrews in 1970, followed by a PhD at the University of Edinburgh.

As a young academic with a passion for stimulating debate around the theory and socio-legal aspects of law, Lynda says she was ‘happily teaching away’ at the University of Dundee.

That was until she took charge on her first case, in 1975, through the University’s law clinic, the Dundee Legal Advice Centre, which had recently opened offering free legal advice to the community and ran until the 1990s.

“I hadn’t been in a solicitor’s office or dealt with clients at that point, my first experiences of that were through the law clinic,” she said.

“A man who came into the law clinic had a problem in employment law. There wasn’t much expertise in that area of law in the city at the time – but he’d come to the one place where there was some knowledge.” Employment law was at the time the subject of many reforms. The Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974 had just come into force, and the theory and background of these changes were part of the law course.

“I looked at his case and thought he had been treated really badly,” she said, “but that a legal remedy was available under new law. I felt sorry for him and was determined to help him.

“That was when I did my first oral advocacy. It gave me a taste of law in action that I’d not had before.”

The law clinic was a new concept then, having been set up by the late Professor Ian Willock, a well-renowned Professor of Jurisprudence and law lecturer at the University of Dundee, who also taught Lynda as a student. Alongside other staff, law students and volunteer solicitors, Lynda continued to become more involved with the clinic, then based in an empty shop unit, near the Hilltown.

It was a dynamic time of reform in many areas of law due to public campaigning from various workplace unions and many pressure groups focusing on issues such as child protection laws and sex discrimination laws.

Inspired by Professor Willock’s teaching style, Lynda encouraged her students to think beyond ‘black letter law’ and consider the social setting and context of the issue to help understand the legal principles.

“I was always interested in the bigger picture – how and why have we got to this stage? I’d encourage all students to think of their subject in a wider context.

“If I was teaching again I would want to inspire students to see that no matter which subject they are studying, they can and should be making a difference in their fields.”

Lynda was called to the Bar in 1977 and took silk in 1989, becoming the third woman in Scotland to be made QC (Queen’s Counsel). But with her strong spirit for change, Lynda’s next ‘calling’ came in 1997 when she stood as a Labour candidate and was successfully elected as the MP for Edinburgh Pentlands. She was re-elected in 2001.

Her passion for legal reform took her deep into the legislative side of politics, and she was made a minister as the first Advocate General for Scotland in 1999.

This role included advising the UK Government on Scottish legal issues from a UK perspective, and new powers and duties under the Scotland Act 1998 which introduced devolution to Scotland, with a reconvened Scottish Parliament.

After her parliamentary appointment, Lynda went on to become a Judge in the Court of Session, dealing with both civil and criminal cases and was later appointed to the Appeal Court. She also became chairwoman of the Scottish Law Commission, which looks at legal reform.

Lynda now sits as a cross bench peer in the House of Lords after retiring as a judge in 2019. She sat on the Court of the University of Dundee for a few years until 2021 and was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 2007.

You can find out more about the University of Dundee Law Clinic (UDLC) by visiting the University of Dundee Law Clinic website.