News
2 June, 2017
Ampersand welcomes new member
Ampersand is delighted to welcome Alan Cowan to the stable who called at the bar today.
Alan comes to the bar with considerable experience. Prior to calling to the bar, Alan was a solicitor in private practice for over 20 years. He was a partner with Simpson & Marwick from 2001 and a solicitor advocate from 2004. As a solicitor advocate, Alan appeared regularly in both the Inner and Outer Houses of the Court of Session. He has conducted numerous proofs, debates and appeals. In addition, he was frequently instructed to appear with Senior Counsel.
During his career as a solicitor, Alan had a varied civil practice. His principal areas of expertise were personal injury, employment law and commercial litigation. He is also experienced in the fields of property damage, defamation, professional negligence and valuation rating appeals. He has an interest in family law and gained further experience in that area during his devilling. He intends to continue to practice in these areas.
At the calling ceremony, the Dean of Faculty, Gordon Jackson, QC, said that the newly called advocate’s had become part of a great national institution.
“The Faculty of Advocates has played, throughout its existence, a significant role in the legal and cultural life of this nation, and it is my clear intention to emphasise and increase that sense of national involvement,”
In another part of the admission ceremony, the newly called advocate’s made the declaration of allegiance before Lord Ericht in the Court of Session.
Lord Ericht said: “You join a noble profession, a profession of excellence, of integrity, of service to the people of Scotland, and a profession which will be enriched by what you each bring to it from your distinguished careers as solicitors.
“As advocates, you join me and my fellow senators, my clerk and her fellow clerks, and the Writers to the Signet and Solicitors in the Supreme Courts as members of the College of Justice…When Parliament House was built, two statues stood above the main entrance, a statue of justice and a statue of mercy. It used to be said that their original location on the outside of the entrance was symbolic because within this building there was no justice and no mercy.
“You now have a part to play in ensuring that that can never be said again, and in ensuring that the College of Justice, working together, brings justice and mercy to the people of Scotland.”
Alan is a welcome addition to the depth of counsel on offer at Ampersand