Jean Clark was born in 1918. A native of Troon, she was educated at St George's School, Edinburgh. She went on to Edinburgh University and graduated MA, LLB in 1943. Soon after, she was admitted as a solicitor and then worked in private practice for many years.

In 1967 a far-sighted President of the Law Society of Scotland appointed Jean to be the Deputy Secretary in charge of the then fledging Public Relations Department and of what was to become the enormously successful Postgraduate Education Department. Jean's care and attention to detail were important elements in the success of both. On a more personal level, behind a quiet and efficient manner, she hid a delightfully mischievous sense of humour, particularly about the pretensions of the great ones of the earth, most of whom, as it turned out, she could have bought out three times over. It was a great loss to the Law Society when she retired in 1980.

Few had suspected that, through her father, one of the founders of Saxone Shoes, Jean was a woman of considerable wealth. But, in fact, during her lifetime she used her wealth to support many good causes and charities – for which she was awarded the MBE. In 1991 she established the Clark Foundation to promote the Law of Scotland and support ‘lawyers’ who wished to further their studies. The Foundation has been pursuing that aim now for seventeen years.