Scottish lawyer and filmmaker with a clear commitment to the disadvantaged. He was born in Calcutta, India, and studied Philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and Law at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow. In the mid-eighties he traveled to Nicaragua, where he lived for nearly three years. He worked for a local human rights organization and travelled widely in El Salvador, during its civil war, and Guatemala.

After his time in Central America, Laverty met Ken Loach, with whom he wrote Carla's Song, his first screenplay, film with Robert Carlyle in the lead role. This collaboration continued in My Name is Joe, which earned Peter Mullan the Best Actor Award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Screenwriter of the film directed by Icíar Bollain También la Lluvia.