Joanna Cherry KC

Ms Cherry brings with her a wealth of experience in human rights, public law, criminal law, constitutional matters, medical-legal matters and in fatal accident inquiries.

Having called to the bar in 1995 and taken silk in 2009, she has served as a standing junior to the Scottish government and as an advocate depute. Prior to her political career, she built a successful appellate practice, regularly appearing before the Supreme Court as well as handling complex medical-legal cases and fatal accident inquiries.

She served as the MP for Edinburgh South West from 2015 to 2024 and was the front bench spokesperson for the SNP on justice and home affairs from 2015 to 2021. Thereafter she chaired Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights .

Her parliamentary tenure was marked by high-profile constitutional litigation that took her to both the European Court of Justice and the Supreme Court. She led the Scottish litigation that resulted in the prorogation of Parliament being ruled unlawful.

She is an honorary bencher of the Middle Temple and has been recognised by the Legal 500 as a leading silk in the criminal field and in personal injury, medical negligence and professional negligence where she was described as “Fearless in her pursuit of a satisfactory outcome for the client.”

Ampersand’s practice manager, Alan Moffat, said: “We are delighted to welcome Joanna to Ampersand. Her expertise in human rights and public law, combined with her recent experience in high-level constitutional matters, along with her medical and FAI experience, will be an invaluable asset to our stable. Joanna’s addition reinforces our commitment to providing the highest caliber of legal representation to those instructing counsel.”