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Ampersand Advocates welcomes 2 new members: Sarah McWhirter and Tony Convery

Ampersand is delighted to welcome Sarah McWhirter and Tony Convery to the stable, following their call to the Bar on Friday, 27th June 2025.

On the new members’ arrival, Stable Director Isla Davie KC, said: “We are delighted that Sarah and Tony are joining Ampersand. They are already highly regarded as lawyers, and this is the start of incredibly promising careers for both at the Bar. Not only does their considerable experience lend itself well to our existing practice areas, but they are also lovely people and we look forward to welcoming them into the stable.”

Ampersand’s Practice Manager, Alan Moffat added “I am delighted to welcome our newest members of Ampersand. Their addition to our set brings the membership to 61 and the experience which each of them brings is a fantastic fit for Ampersand’s core areas of practice. They will be a real asset to those looking to instruct counsel. I am sure that joining Ampersand will offer them rewarding opportunities and collaborative support”.

Sarah and Tony featured in Ampersand’s “& the Devils in the Detail” Hey Legal Live chat in May. You can watch clips of Sarah and Tony discussing their practice areas here.

Sarah McWhirter

Sarah specialises in clinical negligence and personal injury actions. She has extensive experience in complex and high-value claims. She has particular expertise in birth injury, spinal injury, amputation and fatal claims.

Prior to calling to the Bar, Sarah specialised in clinical negligence and personal injury work for over 10 years. Latterly, Sarah was Head of Clinical Negligence (Scotland) and a Principal Lawyer (partner) at a large UK-wide firm. She was ranked ‘Band 1’ in Chambers and Partners for Clinical Negligence: Mainly Claimant (2025). Sarah has experience of representing both pursuers and defenders.

As a solicitor Sarah, appeared in the All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court and regularly dealt with cases raised in the Court of Session.

During devilling, Sarah enhanced her existing experience in clinical negligence and personal injury work. She expanded her knowledge of specialist personal injury claims, including industrial disease and historical child abuse. She also gained experience in other areas of law, most notably mental health, professional regulation and public law.

Sarah is the Course Organiser for the Personal Injury elective course on the Diploma in Professional Legal Practice at the University of Edinburgh.

Tony Convery

Tony specialises in commercial litigation and public law. He calls to the Bar as the Lord Reid Scholar. That Scholarship is awarded annually to the outstanding candidate. He previously worked at a leading commercial law firm.

Tony has considerable commercial litigation experience, including in professional negligence, company and property law disputes. He also has experience of group proceedings, procurement litigation and proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Tony has a broad public law practice. As well as core constitutional and administrative law, Tony has experience in: (i) equality and human rights, (ii) planning and (iii) information law (including data protection and freedom of information). He has a wealth of experience in advising on legislative competence challenges.

Tony also has experience of acting in environmental, regulatory, education and media law disputes, as well as inquiries. He provides advice on trade/financial sanctions and related regulatory schemes.

Tony was a research assistant to Professor Jim Murdoch CBE in relation to the fourth edition of the leading textbook, Human Rights Law in Scotland. He has also published in his own right. He is a tutor at the University of Glasgow.

For further information about their practices view their profiles on the Ampersand Advocates website: Our People – Ampersand Advocates

To instruct either of them, please contact the Ampersand Clerking Team: ampersandclerks@advocates.org.uk.

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Tony Convery

Tony Convery specialises in commercial litigation and public law. He called to the Bar in 2025 as the Lord Reid Scholar. That Scholarship is awarded annually to the outstanding candidate. He previously worked at a leading commercial law firm.

Tony has considerable commercial litigation experience, including in professional negligence, company and property law disputes. He also has experience of group proceedings, procurement litigation and proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Tony has a broad public law practice. As well as core constitutional and administrative law, Tony has experience in: (i) equality and human rights, (ii) planning and (iii) information law (including data protection and freedom of information). He has a wealth of experience in advising on legislative competence challenges.

Tony also has experience of acting in environmental, regulatory, education and media law disputes, as well as inquiries. He provides advice on trade/financial sanctions and related regulatory schemes.

Tony was a research assistant to Professor Jim Murdoch CBE in relation to the fourth edition of the leading textbook, Human Rights Law in Scotland. He has also published in his own right. He is a tutor at the University of Glasgow.

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The ‘For Women Scotland’ judgment – An academic discussion

Ampersand’s Aidan O’Neill KC recently spoke as part of an academic discussion with the University of Cambridge on the ‘For Women Scotland’ UK Supreme Court judgment.

The online debate considered the recent Supreme Court case of ‘For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers’ which was handed down on 16 April 2025, featuring Aidan O’Neill KC who appeared for For Women Scotland. In the discussion Aidan reflected on his experiences of the case, the judgment and participate in a debate of the issues it raises going forward. He was followed by a response from Dr Lena Holzer.

You can view the recording on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eNdE38zU. Aidan also provided a paper in advance which can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ev5sMHHW

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For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers UKSC/2024/0042

The Supreme Court has today handed down judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers allowing For Women Scotland’s appeal. It held that statutory definition of “sex” (and of “man” and “woman”) under the Equality Act 2010 (EA) is biological such that the issue of a gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 does not alter a person’s sex for the purposes of the EA. The Supreme Court considered that its interpretation would not cause disadvantage to trans people and explained the scope of the protections against direct discrimination, harassment and indirect discrimination which trans people have under the EA.

Ampersand’s Aidan O’Neill KC acts for the Appellant, For Women Scotland, instructed by Balfour+Manson LLP.

The Judgment can be found here: Judgment (HTML version)

The Court’s press summary can be found here: Press summary (HTML version)

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Supreme Court hands down judgment on definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010

The Supreme Court has today handed down judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers allowing For Women Scotland’s appeal. It held that statutory definition of “sex” (and of “man” and “woman”) under the Equality Act 2010 (EA) is biological such that the issue of a gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 does not alter a person’s sex for the purposes of the EA. The Supreme Court considered that its interpretation would not cause disadvantage to trans people and explained the scope of the protections against direct discrimination, harassment and indirect discrimination which trans people have under the EA.

Aidan O’Neill KC acts for the Appellant, For Women Scotland, instructed by Balfour + Manson.

The Judgment can be found here.

The Court’s press summary can be found here.

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Ampersand Advocates excels in Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide 2025

Ampersand Advocates has once again demonstrated its exceptional standing in the Scottish legal landscape, securing top-tier rankings across multiple practice areas in the newly published Chambers and Partners UK Bar Guide 2025. The stable has been recognised as a Band 1 set in Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury, Planning & Environment, and Public and Fatal Accident Inquiries, while achieving Band 2 rankings in Administrative & Public Law, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Commercial Dispute Resolution, Construction, Professional Negligence, Real Estate Litigation, and Restructuring/Insolvency.

This performance underscores Ampersand’s breadth and depth of expertise, with the stable boasting a total of 11 set rankings and an impressive 101 individual rankings across 18 areas of practice for 41 members, which includes 6 “star individual” rankings.

Key highlights from the guide include:

In additional to these Scottish bar listings, Ampersand has members recognised in the London Bar where Julian Ghosh KC is Band 1 ranked in 3 tax areas, Aidan O’Neill KC is Band 2 listed for European Law, and Susanne Tanner KC has a spotlight listing for Independent Investigations in the All Circuits region.

The Ampersand clerks have again garnered widespread praise for their exceptional clerking services, with numerous sources highlighting the team’s efficiency, responsiveness, and proactive approach. The clerks are described as friendly, helpful, and pragmatic, offering first-class service that aligns with the commercial realities of litigation. Overall, Ampersand’s clerking team is recognised for delivering a consistently high standard of service.

These outstanding rankings reaffirm Ampersand Advocates’ position as a leading stable in Scotland, offering exceptional expertise across a wide range of practice areas. The stable’s commitment to excellence and depth of talent backed by exceptional clerking, continues to give instructing agents confidence when instructing an Ampersand advocate.

All of the Ampersand rankings can be viewed on the Chambers and Partners website here.

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