Brandon Malone

Brandon Malone called to the Bar in 2022 following thirty years’ experience as a commercial litigation solicitor, twenty of those years as a solicitor advocate.

Brandon is also Barrister authorised to practice in England and Wales, and has rights of audience before the DIFC Court, Dubai, UAE.

As a solicitor, Brandon specialised in construction and engineering law and international arbitration.  He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and an eminent Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.  He has wide ranging experience of construction, engineering, infrastructure and energy disputes.

Brandon has a particular interest in alternative dispute resolution.  He regularly sits as an arbitrator in domestic, UK and international cases, and is recommended as a global leader in arbitration by Who’s Who Legal.  He also sits as an adjudicator and expert determiner.  He is a FIDIC Certified Adjudicator (dispute board member) and a mediator registered with RICS, IMI and CMC.

He has appeared in numerous substantive hearings in the Sheriff Court, the Outer and Inner House, and before a variety of tribunals.

Brandon also has significant experience of energy and technology disputes, and has dealt with a number of blockchain and cryptocurrency cases.  He Chairs the ICCA – New York City Bar – CPR Institute Working Group on Cybersecurity in International Arbitration.

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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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Robert Howie KC

Robert Howie KC was admitted as an advocate in 1986. He took silk in 2000. He has been involved in a large number of adjudications as Counsel, legal adviser or adjudicator. He has also acted as the Court’s reporter in several petition cases including Earl of Balfour, Petitioner 2003 SC (HL) 1 and Chisholm, Petitioner 2006 SLT 394. He regularly appears in the Inner and Outer Houses of the Court of Session. He has appeared in the Sheriff Court, the Lands Tribunal and in several Arbitrations. Robert Howie has also led in the House of Lords and the UK Supreme Court.

Robert Howie KC is ranked in the current edition of Chambers and Partners under 4 areas of practice. In Construction Law he is described as “A really great lawyer who is deserving of his great reputation and an opponent to be reckoned with… He is very good at marshalling and dealing with legal arguments.” He is also ranked in Chambers and Partners for Insolvency described as being “very commercially and tactically minded… His advice is always first-class, clear, well thought out and supported by detailed knowledge of case law.” Under Commercial Dispute Resolution “His thoroughness and knowledge are second to none… He is one of the cleverest advocates at the Scottish Bar. He’s near the top of the pile in terms of quality commercial work.” And under Professional Negligence “He has an amazing ability to come up with a left-field argument… He is very bright, very able and an inventive thinker.”

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Laurence Kennedy FCIArb

Laurence Kennedy called to the bar in 2000 having been a court solicitor for the previous five years. Since then he has maintained a busy court practice based on repeat instructions from a discrete group of instructing solicitors.

He was listed in Legal 500 as “outstanding”, “an effective advocate in court”, “excellent in an advisory role” and “noted for his technical competence and good legal and commercial analysis”.

He is described by agents as “professional and client friendly” and “user friendly from a solicitor’s point of view”. Agents also value his “low key, no nonsense approach”. He is “not afraid to give robust advice” and has “excellent client management skills”.

His day to day caseload focuses on property, commercial, partnership and contract disputes along with professional negligence and personal injury cases.

He has particular experience in areas of law affecting the media such as defamation, contempt of court and copyright. He was engaged for a number of years as a shift lawyer for a number of Scottish newspapers where he gave regular pre-publication advice.

He is an accredited arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He also sits regularly as a part time Judge of the First-tier tribunal.

For further details about his arbitration practice, please visit his website at laurencekennedy.com.

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Christian Marney FCIArb

Christian Marney’s interest and considerable experience is in professional negligence and commercial litigation; employment and personal injury reparation. He is regularly instructed in professional negligence matters in particular, though not exclusively, by the Law Society of Scotland professional indemnity insurers. He is currently pursuing and defending actions in the Court of Session and Sheriff Court on behalf of solicitors and construction and housing professionals. He has a well established track record in personal injury having acted for most of the major insurers for most of his professional career. However, he also ensures that he continues to pursue cases on behalf of individuals and succeed in securing full compensation on behalf of those injured persons. He has a longstanding interest and involvement in employment matters, both advisory and litigated. He is one of a small number of junior counsel recognised in this area at the Scottish Bar. He has advised and represented UK plc’s, Local Government and major insurance companies in all of those areas. Christian was admitted to The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2017 as a Fellow in October 2018.

Recent cases:

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Malcolm Thomson KC

Malcolm Thomson KC has had a varied civil practice, including contractual disputes, reparation (including personal injury and professional negligence claims of all sorts), child care, Judicial Review, Fatal Accident Inquiries and discipline appeals for a major police force. He concentrates now on planning and related property matters acting for various developers, land owners, objectors, planning and roads authorities and the Scottish Ministers both at inquiries and judicial proceedings. Recently he has advised and represented at inquiries both promoters of and objectors to flood prevention schemes. He also sits as an arbiter in various construction and property related disputes and was a Temporary Judge in the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary from 2002 to 2017.

He is ranked by Chambers and Partners as a leading silk for Planning and Environmental law and Administrative and Public law.

Experience

Malcolm Thomson has extensive experience in the UK Supreme Court (and formerly in House of Lords), Court of Session (Inner and Outer Houses), Sheriff Courts and at numerous planning appeal inquiries, local plan inquiries, enforcement appeal inquiries, compulsory purchase and roads related inquiries and hearings, including proceedings before the Scottish Parliament and under the Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007. He has appeared in disputed compensation claims before the Lands Tribunal for Scotland. He has also appeared at a number of Fatal Accident Inquiries.

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