Scottish Arbitration Centre holds annual training day
The Scottish Arbitration Centre held its annual arbitrator training day in Edinburgh on 7 November, which featured Ampersand’s Usman Tariq.
The event, which was sponsored by FTI Consulting, saw delegates from various professions attend, with speakers including Sir David Edward QC, Honorary President of the Centre; Lindy Paterson QC, Chair of Domestic Subcommittee of Centre’s Arbitral Appointment Committee and Barrister at 39 Essex Chambers; Leigh Herd, Honorary Secretary of CIArb Scottish Branch; Craig Tevendale, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills; and Fiona Menzies, Business and Development Manager at the Centre.
The focus for the afternoon workshops was intellectual property disputes, delivered by John Mackenzie, Partner, Shepherd and Wedderburn, and Usman Tariq, Advocate at Ampersand Advocates. They said:
“We were delighted to deliver a workshop at the Scottish Arbitration Centre’s Annual Arbitrator Training Day to promote the use of arbitration in IP / IT disputes.
While IP disputes have traditionally been litigated in the courts, there is increasing use of arbitration for IP disputes around the world. There are several advantages of arbitrating IP disputes in Scotland which will appeal to both Scottish and international businesses.
Confidentiality and the need for an early decision from an informed decision-maker can be of paramount importance to businesses, particularly in the fast-moving world of technology. Arbitration will appeal to businesses as they can resolve their dispute without fear of putting commercially sensitive material in the public domain which can happen in court proceedings. In contrast to the trend in England, the parties retain absolute anonymity in Scotland even if court proceedings follow the arbitration. Arbitration can offer the parties control over the procedure and an earlier decision than in the court process together with extremely limited rights of appeal which provides the parties more certainty about the duration of the process and finality in the dispute. The parties also have the autonomy to choose their decision-maker and can appoint an arbitrator with the necessary expertise and qualifications for their dispute. If parties choose to arbitrate, most of the remedies that are available in court proceedings will be available to the arbitrator and the parties also retain the right to seek interim orders, such as interim interdict (an interim injunction), by making an application to the court at any time during the arbitration process. All of these factors will appeal to businesses as well as third party funders. In addition, arbitration can be particularly effective for resolving international IP disputes as it can avoid multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitral awards can be enforced around the world.
Whilst not every IP case will be suitable for arbitration, many disputes are suitable and advisers are encouraged to consider whether arbitration offers their clients the best prospects of an efficient and beneficial outcome to their disputes.”
Andrew Mackenzie, Chief Executive of the Centre, who chaired the event, said:
“We are delighted to have hosted another successful arbitrator training day. I am particularly pleased that we continue to attract a mix of professionals to our annual event, with advocates, solicitors and surveyors exchanging experiences in best practice.
It was particularly valuable to explore the advantages of arbitrating IP disputes in Scotland, and I am grateful to John and Usman for all their input with the event. Scotland’s arbitration system has provision for breach of confidence and also anonymity for parties in respect to any reference to our Court, meaning that sensitive disputes that are subject to Scottish arbitration have the benefit of privacy, unlike in many other jurisdictions. Therefore, I hope our unique system will attract more arbitration to Scotland.”
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Ampersand advocates appointed as Global Ambassadors for the Scottish Arbitration Centre
Ampersand’s Lisa Henderson QC and Susanne Tanner QC have been appointed as Global Ambassadors for the Scottish Arbitration Centre.
Find out more here – https://www.cdr-news.com/categories/people-and-firms/9466-lidw19-flying-the-flag-for-scottish-arbitration
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Timothy Young
‘Timothy is a very astute operator who commands the confidence of clients and solicitors alike.’ (Chambers (2024) – Commercial Dispute Resolution)
‘His intellectual prowess and ability to quickly and competently ascertain the critical considerations of a case and the best strategy moving forward is matched with a formidable style of advocacy.’ (Chambers (2024) – Construction)
‘Timothy understands issues and is good on his feet. He is popular with both solicitors and clients and robustly puts forward his clients’ positions.’ (Chambers (2024) – Company)
‘Tim’s ability to break down complex problems and legal arguments and get to the nub of the issue is second-to-none.’ (Legal 500 (2024) – Property, Planning and Construction, Band 1)
‘He is one of the best advocates at the Bar. He is very bright and very user-friendly’ (Chambers (2023) – Commercial Dispute Resolution)
‘Tim is excellent. He is regularly instructed in public law matters and his written work is exceptional.’ (Chambers (2023) – Administrative and Public Law)
Tim Young is a leading junior counsel with particular emphasis on commercial and public law disputes.
He has acted in many of the most complex and high-value commercial disputes of recent years. He has a broad expertise in commercial contract disputes (particularly construction and IT contracts), trusts, property (including agricultural and crofting matters), banking, insolvency, and shipping and maritime law. He is also a contributing editor to leading practitioner texts in these areas, the Companies Law (reissue) and Shipping and Maritime Law (reissue) volumes of The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia.
He also has substantial experience of judicial review and statutory appeals in the field of public and administrative law, particularly dealing with human rights challenges, malicious prosecution cases, public procurement disputes, and professional discipline matters. As well as appearing in Court, he has appeared in a wide variety of tribunals, committees, and disciplinary hearings.
Tim has also been appointed as a Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Government, and regularly appears in the courts for the Scottish Government.
He graduated with a first class honours from the University of Strathclyde. Throughout his career, he has maintained links with academia through tutoring Business Entities and Constitutional Law at both the University of Edinburgh and Napier University, and as an external examiner at Robert Gordon University. He is also the Deputy Editor of the official law report series in Scotland, Session Cases.
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Ampersand’s Laurence Kennedy achieves arbitration Fellowship
Ampersand Advocate, Laurence Kennedy, has been admitted as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. This is an internationally recognised accreditation reserved for those who have demonstrated a high degree of skill in all aspects of arbitration practice and award writing.
Laurence is an experienced tribunal judge and has more than 20 years’ experience of conducting cases in the civil courts. This makes him ideally placed to manage and determine a wide range of civil disputes falling within his broad field of expertise.
Laurence has been an Advocate since 2000 but is based in central Scotland and regularly practises in Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow as well as the Northern isles. He sees arbitration as providing an increasingly attractive alternative to litigating in the civil courts.
“A well conducted arbitration combines the best case management practices of the commercial court with the flexibility and informality typically found in judicial tribunals. Add the ability of an arbitrator to engage independent experts as part of the decision making process, and to award costs based upon full commercial rates, then the benefits of arbitration are obvious.
“Many experienced litigators may be reluctant to try arbitration because it is unfamiliar but that should not put them off. The legal framework is very straightforward, there are no rigid rules or practices to follow and the arbitrator will direct the parties on what they are expected to do at each stage of the process.”
Laurence is available to act as arbitrator throughout the whole of the UK and internationally. He is a member of Ampersand Advocates and operates his own website at www.laurencekennedy.com
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Kathryn Ferguson
Kathryn Ferguson joined Ampersand in 2018 and has completed Paralegal qualifications in both Conveyancing and Wills and Executries. Prior to joining the team Kathryn worked for a global law firm supporting the Commercial Real Estate and Litigation teams.
Kathryn brings a can-do approach and is always willing to assist in all aspects of instructing counsel.
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Usman Tariq KC
Usman Tariq 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, and has experience of advising clients on sanctions law. He has appeared at all levels of the Scottish court system, including the UK Supreme Court.
The breadth of his experience and expertise is recognised in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide 2025 in which he is ranked as a leading individual in eight practice areas. This is the highest number of individual rankings for the Scottish Bar. He was recognised as Advocate of the Year at the Law Awards of Scotland 2017 and the Legal 500’s Junior Counsel of the Year at the Scottish Bar at the Legal 500 UK Awards 2019.
He has held a number of professional appointments. Since 2022, he is appointed as 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. 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 has gained significant experience of acting in public inquiries. He was also a Standing Junior counsel to the UK Government in Scotland for nine years and latterly served as Second Standing Junior to the Advocate General for Scotland before his appointment as silk. He has served as a full-time Advocate Depute at the Crown Office between 2021 and 2022.
He has been described in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide as being “universally respected at the Bar, including by opponents and the judiciary” and a “very highly regarded practitioner” who has “the ear of the court” and is “very popular with the judiciary”. He is ranked in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide 2025 for the following eight practice areas: (i) commercial dispute resolution; (ii) intellectual property; (iii) information technology; (iv) media law; (v) restructuring / insolvency; (vi) professional negligence; (vii) administrative and public law; and (viii) civil liberties and human rights. He is also ranked in the Legal 500’s UK Bar Guide 2024 for commercial disputes and administrative and public law.
He acts in cases across the commercial spectrum. He is ranked in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide 2025 and in the Legal 500 UK Bar Guide 2024 for commercial disputes. He is described in the Chambers & Partners Bar Guide 2024 as “an absolute standout advocate, a superb all-rounder who is great with clients” and whose “legal analysis is outstanding”. His expertise in professional negligence claims is recognised by Chambers & Partners who note that he has a “reputation for his handling of professional negligence claims, primarily against firms of solicitors”. He also undertakes a significant amount of work in the field of personal and corporate insolvency. Chambers & Partners note that “he is regularly instructed to act for administrators, liquidators and trustees, among other parties, in complex corporate and personal insolvency cases”.
He has developed a market-leading reputation for intellectual property disputes. He has been described by the Legal 500 as “The best all-round IP junior in Scotland”. Chambers & Partners has noted that he is a “real standout in IP” and “well deserving of his reputation as a go-to IP barrister”. In addition to appearing in most of the leading IP cases in the Court of Session over the past decade, he has experience of conducting proceedings in the UK Intellectual Property Office. He also has a leading reputation for Information Technology disputes. He is the only junior counsel in Scotland recognised by Chambers & Partners for expertise in this practice area. Chambers & Partners note that he “garners critical acclaim in the market for his abilities in a host of cases including those involving the IP rights in games, television and related merchandise”. He has acted in high-profile cases in the gaming industry, including for Sony Interactive Entertainment and Naughty Dog in relation to the hack of servers and leak of footage from the “Last of Us Part II” video game before its release, and Rockstar Games in relation to modding of the software of the “Grand Theft Auto V” video game.
He has significant expertise in administrative and public law as well as civil liberties and human rights. He is ranked in both the Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 UK Bar directories for administrative and public law. In his role as a Standing Junior counsel to the UK Government in Scotland, he has advised and represented a number of UK government departments including the Cabinet Office, Home Office, Department of Work and Pensions, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero and the Ministry of Defence. He is described by Chambers & Partners as having a “busy public and administrative law practice, in which he acts mostly for central government”. He is also described as a “well-regarded civil liberties and human rights advocate” who is “particularly adept at judicial reviews concerning EU, human rights and immigration law”. He has significant experience of EU law, including having advised on the applicability of the sanctions regime.
He has experience of alternative dispute resolution as counsel in mediations and arbitrations. He has been appointed as the arbitrator in commercial disputes. He has also been a legal member of the Scottish Football Association’s Judicial Panel.
He is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange programme in which emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields are invited to the U.S. to meet with professional counterparts and cultivate lasting relationships. In 2022, he spent time in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Portland and Montana meeting with various federal and state governmental bodies, NGOs and stakeholders in a human rights project on Advancing Minority Rights in Europe.
He is a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland (YAS). YAS aims to bring together young professionals from all sectors to work together on projects that benefit Scotland and the world.
He 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. The group is supported by the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates. 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. In 2021, he was appointed to the Law Society of Scotland’s Racial Inclusion Group which undertook a systematic review of racial inclusion in the profession and produced a report with recommendations. In 2023, he was appointed to the Scottish Government’s Future of the Legal Profession short-life working group. The purpose of this group is to examine the evidence and propose improvements to address the challenges of recruitment and retention in the profession and to provide support for the planning, collaboration and improvement of legal services in Scotland.
He called to the Bar as the Faculty’s Lord Reid scholar for 2010/2011. This scholarship is awarded annually to the outstanding candidate to the Bar. He is a graduate of the University of Glasgow and the University of Cambridge.
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