News
4 September, 2024
Two new King’s Counsel appointments at Ampersand Advocates
Congratulations to Ampersand’s James McConnell KC and Usman Tariq KC, on taking silk. James and Usman are amongst twenty-three new silks announced today, appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of First Minister John Swinney.
The rank of King’s Counsel is generally reserved for those who have distinguished themselves in practice in the Supreme Courts. Advocates and Solicitors with Rights of Audience in the Supreme Courts are eligible to apply to the Lord Justice General, Scotland’s senior judge. Before making nominations to the First Minister, the Lord Justice General consults other judges, the Lord Advocate, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates and the President of the Law Society of Scotland.
James has a practice that mainly focusses on clinical negligence. He is also frequently instructed in inquiries with a medical element. He acts for pursuers and defenders in roughly equal proportions. He is Band 1 ranked by Chambers and Partners in Clinical Negligence and by the Legal 500 in Personal Injury and Medical Negligence.
Usman Tariq KC
Usman has extensive experience of high-value and complex commercial disputes and public law litigation. His core areas of practice include contractual, intellectual property, insolvency, banking, company and professional negligence disputes. He also specialises in administrative and public law, including judicial reviews.
He is ranked as a leading individual in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide 2024 in seven practice areas which is the joint highest number of individual rankings for the Scottish Bar.
He has held a number of professional appointments. He is appointed as junior counsel to the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett. He is a member of the legal team investigating core political and administrative governance and decision-making in relation to the pandemic in Scotland. He was involved in high-profile public hearings in January 2024 in which key individuals involved in the pandemic response in Scotland gave evidence. He is also a Standing Junior counsel to the UK Government in Scotland and in April 2024, takes on the role of Second Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland. He has served as a full-time Advocate Depute at the Crown Office between 2021 and 2022.
Usman is passionate about improving inclusion in the legal profession in Scotland. In 2017, he co-founded the Scottish Ethnic Minority Lawyers Association (SEMLA). SEMLA aims to improve ethnic diversity in the legal profession in Scotland. SEMLA has collaborated with some of the largest law firms and organisations across the UK on events and work placements for law students from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Stable Director Euan Mackenzie KC said: “I congratulate James and Usman on their well deserved appointment as King’s Counsel. They are both excellent Counsel who are held in high regard in the profession and their appointment further strengthens Ampersand’s offering of first class Senior Counsel.”
The full list of new silks can be found on the Judiciary of Scotland website here.