Joanna Cherry is set to return to legal practice, with the KC joining Edinburgh’s Ampersand Advocates.
The former SNP MP — who lost her seat in July’s general election — had a distinguished law career before entering Parliament in 2015.
She was first called to the bar in 1995 and took silk in 2009 Ampersand’s practice manager, Alan Moffat, said they were enthusiastic about Ms Cherry’s joining: “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 calibre of legal representation to those instructing counsel.”
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Ms Cherry served as a Standing Junior to the Scottish Government and as an Advocate Depute before her political career.
During her time in Westminster, she was the front bench spokesperson for her party on justice and home affairs and took the Tory government to both the European Court of Justice and the UK Supreme Court. She also led the Scottish litigation that resulted in Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament being ruled unlawful.
Shortly after the election, Ms Cherry — who lost her Edinburgh South West seat to Labour — said she would be stepping away from frontline politics.
The KC was one of 39 SNP politicians who lost their seat on July 4, with just nine party MPs elected to Westminster.
In a brutal assessment, she said her party must not ignore the “enormity” of its general election defeat.
Ms Cherry was an outspoken critic of the SNP's gender reforms and independence strategy.
Writing in The National, she said she received “some real pelters” from colleagues.
She wrote: “A culture of hate against those who dare to disagree has been allowed to flourish in the SNP without anyone in authority having the courage to address it and it has poisoned our discourse and prevented proper debate.”
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