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.

[1] Born Ann McCargow in Glasgow in 1952, she was educated at the independent Laurel Bank School for Girls.

[2] Paton was appointed Standing Junior Counsel to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in 1979, and to the Office of Fair Trading in 1981.

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.

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).