Ian S. Forrester KC LLD
Ian Forrester KC is a renowned practitioner in the field of European law, specialising in competition, intellectual property, customs, antidumping, pharmaceutical regulation, football, the precautionary principle, broadcasting, computer software and due process. He was educated and trained in Scotland, Louisiana, New York and Brussels and has been a member of the bars of Scotland, New York, England and Brussels.
Mr Forrester returned to practice in Scotland in 2021. From 2015 until 2020 he sat for the UK on the bench of the General Court of the European Union hearing about 200 cases concerning competition, access to documents, trademarks, plant varieties, public procurement, employment, and other European Union questions. His mandate came to an end with Brexit.
He has been an arbitrator in proceedings under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce, International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, Court of Arbitration for Sport and has argued cases before courts in Scotland, England, Belgium, Serbia and France, as well as the EFTA court, the ECtHR in Strasbourg, and the EU courts in Luxembourg. He has acted for a number of important entities, including BBC, Canon, DuPont, European Commission, Fujitsu, Intel, Liberal Democrat Party, Microsoft, Scottish Football Association, Toyota, UEFA, as well as a number of indigent prisoners.
He has extensive experience in arbitration or mediation matters, either as advocate for a party, or as expert witness on European law, or as arbitrator/ mediator, from 1983 to 2014, and since his departure from the General Court of the European Union in 2021. The arbitrations have mostly been conducted under the auspices of the ICC in Paris, or the CAS in Lausanne; and once before the ICSID in Washington. The ICC cases involved disputes about investment contracts, trade secrets, hotel construction, stolen technology, and a variety of other commercial conflicts. The CAS matters involved player transfers, treatment of injured players, broadcasting rights and the conduct of elections to governing bodies.
His leading competition cases include Magill (compulsory copyright licensing); Bosman (football transfers); Microsoft (computer servers); IMS (compulsory licensing); GlaxoSmithKline (parallel trade in pharmaceuticals); Les Laboratoires Servier (settlement of patent disputes); Chalkor/Halcor (due process and judicial review).
European Court of Human Rights cases concerned forcing a citizen to speak on pain of punishment even if the answer itself reveals punishable conduct (Al Fayed and Harrods: Fayed v The United Kingdom); press sources (Hans Martin Tillack v Belgium); prisoner’s rights (Kalashnikov v Russia); fair trial and right to property (Karic and Djordjevic v Serbia). He helped to achieve the liberation of Louis Henry Burns, an indigent prisoner, on appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal from a conviction based upon a coerced confession.
During his practice he has been a consistently top ranked counsel by the leading Legal Directories in the UK and European editions of the guides. In the 2023 Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide he is Band 1 ranked in Public Law matters. Chambers say: “Ian Forrester KC’s return to private practice is a highly significant development for the Scottish Bar. Until 2020 he sat for the UK on the bench of the General Court of the European Union. To the Faculty of Advocates he brings immense experience of legal practice in a host of areas including competition and international trade law.”
Further detail about his practice, visit: ianstewartforrester.com.
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Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC
Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC has a civil practice with particular emphasis on commercial law, planning and environmental law and public law. She is currently ranked in five separate practice areas by Chambers UK and is Legal 500 Scotland Awards 2023 Silk of the Year. She was the Legal 500 Scottish Bar Junior of the Year in 2020.
Since calling to the bar in 2009 Laura-Anne has been instructed in a variety of commercial matters including company and insolvency matters, contractual disputes, shipping matters and tax appeals. She has represented both developers and planning authorities in planning matters, petitioners and respondents in a range of judicial review proceedings, and interested parties and core participants in fatal accident and public inquiries.
Laura-Anne has extensive advocacy experience. Before calling to the Scottish Bar she practised as an Advocate in South Africa and she called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2008. She has appeared in the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Session (Inner and Outer House), the Scottish Land Court, the Sheriff Court and various tribunals and inquiries.
She was on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s panel of counsel from 2015 to 2023 and was a Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Government from 2015 to 2021.
In March 2022 Laura-Anne was appointed as Co-Lead Counsel to the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry.
Selected Cases
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Aidan O’Neill KC
King’s Counsel at the Scottish Bar, Bar of England and Wales and Bar of Ireland. A wide ranging legal practice in both London and Edinburgh, with particular experience and expertise in commercial judicial review, environmental/Aarhus law and in employment/equality law. A specialist in EU law, in human rights law and in UK constitutional law. Awarded the Legal 500 UK Bar Award for Scottish Silk of the year for 2020 and EU law Silk of the year in 2015 and Scottish Legal Awards 2017, 2018 and 2019 Silk of the year.
A highly experienced pleader before the top courts. Senior counsel in almost thirty cases to date from across the UK before the UK Supreme Court/ House of Lords, as well before the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.
Previously teaching fellow at Princeton and Edinburgh universities. Author of substantial academic articles, blog posts and legal practitioner texts.
Selected recent Cases
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Graham Maciver
Graham Maciver works primarily throughout the fields of public and administrative law, including principally judicial review, human rights and immigration law. Graham’s other areas of practice include commercial and regulatory law (directors disqualification and tax), personal injury and international law.
Graham has been a Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland since 2012 and was appointed to the newly created post of Second Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland in 2021, and now First Standing Junior in 2024.He has been on the Public International Law Panel to the Attorney General since 2014 and Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel since 2019. Junior Counsel to Scottish Hospitals Inquiry since 2023.
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Ross G. Anderson
Ross Anderson is ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners (2024) for Commercial Dispute Resolution and Real Estate Litigation. He is also ranked by Chambers for Restructuring and Insolvency, and Tax. He is ranked in the Legal 500 (2024) as a Band 1 Leading Junior in Commercial Disputes and in Administrative and Public Law. He is also ranked for Property and Construction.
“He is a first-rate junior counsel – a go-to advocate in commercial, property and sports disputes. He is excellent to work with.” “He is incredibly intellectually sharp, and his opinions and analysis are first rate.” (Chambers 2023)
“Ross is excellent with clients; he has a brilliant ability to appease and calm clients while also being firm, decisive and straight-talking. He is very thorough and has a fantastic sense of commerciality. He is very able on his feet and he has got an amazing ability to get to grips with vast quantities of documentation and huge amounts of detail” (Chambers, 2021, Commercial Dispute Resolution)
“he is extremely good, but he is also a very good communicator and an excellent advocate.” (Chambers, 2020, Commercial Dispute Resolution)
“Highly intelligent, great with clients and very approachable.” (Chambers, Commercial Dispute Resolution, 2020)
“Very impressive ability to translate academic skills into practical advice to clients. Good on his feet as well” (Chambers, 2019, Real Estate Litigation)
“He’s a junior with an extremely good sense of commerciality and pragmatism and has an excellent manner when dealing with solicitors and clients.” “He’s very good on particularly complex technical disputes.” (Chambers, 2018, Commercial Dispute Resolution; Real Estate Litigation)
“He has a fantastic ability to get to grips with the commercial reality of a dispute, as well as the legal and factual issues.” (Chambers, 2017, Commercial Dispute Resolution)
Ross’s practice focuses on commercial dispute resolution, company and insolvency law, property law, trusts and tax. He appears regularly in the Commercial Court. Ross is a standing junior counsel to HM Revenue & Customs where he appears regularly in UK tribunals as well as in the Court of Session. He is also experienced in public law and human rights cases.
Selected cases:
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Vinit Khurana KC
Vinit Khurana KC is the only practising member of the Scottish Bar dually qualified in law and medicine. He has the unique distinction of having practised as a medical General Practitioner for over a decade as well as being an Advocate since 1999. He took silk in 2018.
Vinit has a wide ranging practice involving both appearance and advisory work. He has experience of acting for and against private individuals and corporations. He also has experience of acing for and against public bodies. He regularly acts for and against health boards in professional negligence and personal injury cases.
Vinit specialises in all aspects of Medical Law including clinical negligence, judicial review, professional disciplinary matters, regulatory work and mental health. He is one of the most experienced practitioners at the Scottish Bar in relation to Fatal Accident Inquiries having appeared at over 20 such Inquiries since 2000. Since calling in 1999 his medical knowledge has proven to be a valuable asset in a wide variety of cases. His instructions have encompassed both civil and criminal work. Examples of the breadth of his instructions include: fraud cases brought by Health Boards against Optometrists before the NHS Tribunal; the chairing of the NHS Classification Appeal Committee in respect of disciplinary matters; appearances on behalf of the National Appeal Panel in judicial review petitions for entry to the pharmaceutical list; and advisory work in connection with many other matters related to the provision of healthcare including competition law issues in the provision of dispensing services by pharmacists and GPs, optometric and pharmaceutical services regulation, contractual arrangements between Health Boards and GP primary care providers, mental health matters and ECHR issues in the areas of organ donation and treatment refusal.
Vinit was the Chair of the Faculty of Advocates Sub-Committee which responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the reform of mental health legislation. He has also responded on behalf of the Faculty of Advocates to Scottish Government consultations on organ donation and transplant. He is currently a member of the Faculty Committee that oversees all of the Faculty’s responses to Scottish Government consultations.
Throughout his career Vinit has been prepared to work in new areas. He enjoys new challenges. He is a conscientious and hard worker. This has allowed him to gain an understanding of the particular circumstances of and the legal background to the cases in which he has been instructed. As well as appearing in court in complex, high profile and urgent matters, he regularly provides written advice on a wide variety of matters.
Vinit was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2019. He can accept instructions in England and Wales via his clerks at Whitestone Chambers.
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