Top Rankings success in latest Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide
Ampersand has again received top tier rankings across a number of areas of practice in the latest published guide to the legal profession, Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide 2019.
Ampersand received 56 listings across 17 areas of practice, ranking as top tier (band 1) in Clinical Negligence as a Set, and band 2 in Administrative & Public law, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Planning & Environment, Personal Injury, Product Liability and Restructuring/Insolvency as a Set. 4 members are noted as “star individuals”.
Noted as a Band 1 set for Clinical Negligence, Ampersand has 16 rankings in this area. The guide says “Ampersand enjoys an excellent reputation in the field of Scottish clinical negligence litigation. It houses a large number of advocates who specialise in the pursuit and defence of clinical negligence cases, including both QCs and juniors. Matters commonly dealt with include brain and spinal injury claims as well as fatal accident inquiries. Members are skilled at handling high-profile group actions, such as the recent suits regarding vaginal mesh implants. Sources highlight the stable’s impressive offering in the area and the “great strength and depth” of its advocates.” The listing includes Maria Maguire QC as a “Star Individual”.
Band 2 listings include Administrative and Public law where Ampersand’s frequent level public law challenges across a wide range of practice areas noted. In Civil Liberties & Human Rights the Band 2 listing notes Ampersand as a “dynamic group of public law and human rights advocates” and that “Ampersand Advocates is particularly well known for advising on the ECHR and the intersection between UK and EU law.”
In Commercial Dispute Resolution it states “Ampersand Advocates offers a strong bench of versatile and well-regarded commercial dispute resolution practitioners. The stable houses a number of silks and juniors experienced in general commercial litigation, with proficiency in disputes concerning insolvency, professional negligence and construction in particular. Advocates are also noted for their abilities in contentious matters involving planning, commercial contracts and intellectual property, often representing large companies and financial institutions”. Ampersand’s Commercial expertise is further noted in Restructuring and Insolvency, which includes “Star Individual” David Sellar QC, stating Ampersand “Home to leading silks for restructuring and insolvency in Scotland. They are regularly instructed by insolvency administrators, directors and shareholders in a variety of matters ranging from the interaction of insolvency law with public regulatory schemes to allegations of wrongful trading. The advocates have good expertise in relation to jurisdictional matters.”
Ampersand’s Personal Injury work is again acknowledged with the guide noting “A well-reputed personal injury stable on the Scottish Circuit, noted for its expert handling of complex catastrophic injury and fatal claims on behalf of both pursuers and defenders. It is regularly instructed by several leading Scottish law firms, as well as major insurers and government agencies.” It also notes that our “members also have experience appearing before fatal accident inquiries, representing health boards, doctors and hospitals, as well as bereaved families and individuals. Ampersand’s advocates are regularly involved in high-value and complex personal injury claims, and have litigated cases in the Sheriff Courts, the Court of Session and the Supreme Court.” The listing includes Maria Maguire QC and Graham Primrose QC as “Star Individuals”.
In Planning and Environment it states “Ampersand Advocates includes a number of advocates who specialise in planning and environmental law. It excels in handling judicial reviews and planning challenges, and has substantive expertise in the communications, transport and energy sectors. Its clients include local councils, conservation bodies and developers.” This includes “Star Individual” Malcolm Thomson QC. Ampersand is also a Band 2 set in Product Liability stating “A prominent player in product liability matters, with additional bench strength in the areas of personal injury and professional liability. Members routinely act in cases involving defective medical devices and claims relating to industrial product liability. They are experienced in the representation of defenders and pursuers, both in individual cases and in group actions.”
The Clerks also receive high praise again stating “the clerking is excellent” noting “the clerking team is very responsive and experienced. The quality shines through.” and “team is very accommodating and helpful. The clerks respond to enquiries timeously”.
Ampersand’s full listings can be viewed on the Chambers and Partners website here.
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“Ampersand’s advocates attract praise for their ‘excellent depth and breadth of knowledge’” – in latest Legal 500 UK Bar listings
Ampersand is delighted to be once again be recommended as a top-tier set by The Legal 500 UK Bar Directory in their latest listings for 2018 published today.
The guide says “Ampersand’s advocates attract praise for their ‘excellent depth and breadth of knowledge’ across a range of areas, particularly in the field of personal injury and clinical negligence. Practitioners also have expertise in planning, commercial, property and regulatory law. The ‘very user-friendly’ and ‘proactive’ Alan Moffat (‘when there are challenges he finds a solution’) leads the ‘efficient, friendly and helpful’ clerking team.”
Ampersand has 34 listings across 8 areas of practice in the Legal 500 UK 2018 guide.
Civil liberties, human rights, public inquiries, and public and administrative law (including local government)
Practitioners at Ampersand report an uptick in cases involving human rights matters, alongside public inquiry work and EU law cases. Members of the stable continue to act in the long-running Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
Aidan O’Neill QC – ‘Immensely intelligent and tremendous on his feet.’
Dorothy Bain QC – ‘Her practice covers the purview of civil and public law matters.’
Douglas Ross QC – ‘Intellectual, analytical, perceptive and thorough.’
Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen – ‘She is diligent and industrious.’
Commercial litigation
Ampersand’s practitioners are instructed across a broad spectrum of commercial disputes. Recent case highlights include up-and-coming junior Giles Reid appearing in the Court of Session in a matter relating to the enforcement of a judgment made in a Belgian court; the Court of Session found the enforcement of a demand for payment could not take place due to a lacunae in the law.
Alan Dewar QC – ‘Highly experienced across a range of commercial disputes.’
Craig Sandison QC – ‘A brilliant commercial silk.’
Robert Howie QC – ‘Exceptionally persuasive on his feet.’
Eoghainn MacLean – ‘Enthusiastic and conscientious.’
Giles Reid – ‘He has remarkable oral advocacy skills.’
Usman Tariq – ‘Very good on his feet.’
Company and insolvency
Ampersand’s advocates are instructed across a range of liquidation and insolvency matters, including director disqualifications, shareholder disputes and asset recovery matters.
David Sellar QC – ‘His knowledge of insolvency law is outstanding.’
Employment
Ampersand’s recent caseload includes unfair dismissal cases, TUPE and discrimination matters.
Russell Bradley – ‘He is proactive, commercial and precise.’
Intellectual property, information technology and media
In 2017, Usman Tariq at Ampersand successfully represented the respondents in CCHG Ltd (t/a Vaporized) v Vapouriz, an appeal resulting from a dispute between two prominent UK e-cigarette retailers over their respective trade marks; this case marked the first time the Court of Session heard an appeal from the UK Intellectual Property Office under the Trade Marks Act 1994.
Craig Sandison QC – ‘His practice includes trade mark disputes and defamation matters.’
Usman Tariq – ‘He has the ear of the court.’
Personal injury and medical negligence
Ampersand has ‘excellent depth and breadth of knowledge’ across the medical negligence and personal injury fields, with members handling a broad range of matters including birth injuries, brain and spinal injuries, cerebral palsy claims, as well as fatal and catastrophic injuries.
David Stephenson QC – ‘Very well known for representing NHS bodies in clinical malpractice matters.’
Douglas Ross QC – ‘He has encyclopaedic legal knowledge.’
Euan Mackenzie QC – ‘Highly methodical and brilliant in court.’
Graham Primrose QC – ‘Very experienced in personal injury reparation cases.’
Lisa Henderson QC – ‘She is extremely hardworking, with extensive experience in high-value personal injury cases.’
Lauren Sutherland QC – ‘She is a very conscientious and personable silk.’
Maria Maguire QC – ‘A formidable advocate who commands respect.’
Simon Di Rollo QC – ‘An expert on clinical negligence matters.’
Archie MacSporran – ‘Recommended for cerebral palsy and brain injury cases.’
Brian Fitzpatrick – ‘A tenacious negotiator.’
Christian Marney – ‘Robust and intellectual.’
Fiona Drysdale – ‘Recommended for catastrophic injury cases arising from road traffic accidents and medical negligence.’
James Dawson – ‘He has a very analytical eye.’
Una Doherty – ‘A high-calibre advocate.’
Planning, environmental and licensing
Members of Ampersand have solid experience in planning and environmental law matters. Energy and infrastructure projects form core areas of instruction for the team, with recent cases pertaining to challenges to wind farm and power line developments.
Ailsa Wilson QC – ‘A resourceful and determined advocate.’
Malcolm Thomson QC – ‘He commands the respect of the bench.’
Marcus McKay QC – ‘He is very experienced in renewable energy matters.’
Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen – ‘A safe pair of hands.’
Property, construction and agriculture
Practitioners at Ampersand have expertise in contractual matters as well as landlord and tenant disputes, among other areas.
Robert Howie QC – ‘He holds the ear of the judiciary.’
Eoghainn MacLean – ‘A very meticulous advocate.’
Full listings can be viewed here.
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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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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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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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