Ampersand welcomes Tim Young
Ampersand Advocates is delighted to welcome Timothy Young to the stable.
Tim is a very welcomed addition to Ampersand, enhancing our strong offering of junior counsel. Tim is ranked by Chambers and Partners as an Up and Coming Junior in Commercial Dispute Resolution.
Tim’s practice focuses on commercial and public law disputes. Since calling to the Bar in 2013, he has quickly developed a busy and wide-ranging practice in many areas of commercial law including commercial contract disputes (particularly construction and IT contracts), trusts, real estate, banking, insolvency, and intellectual property. He is regularly instructed in complex and high profile litigations in these areas, with senior counsel and alone.
He has, also, developed a broad experience of judicial review and statutory appeals in public and administrative law matters. He has particular experience of 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.
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Midlothian Council v Bracewell Stirling and others [2018] CSIH 21
Professional negligence action arising from house development which is said to be on contaminated land; proper construction of contract; whether the Council acted reasonably in mitigating its losses. Appeal upholding Lord Ordinary, discussing proper interruption of commercial contract.
Decision here.
Paul Reid for First Defenders and Respondents
Robert Howie QC for Pursuers and Reclaimers
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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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Fieldoak Limited (In receivership) v Citywide Glasgow Limited [2017] CSOH 138
Case concerning a dispute on waiver, assignation and novation between the pursuer, a property company now in receivership, and the defender, the letting agent (as the defender would have it) or the former letting agent (as the pursuer contends) under a management agreement. Full decision here.
David Sellar QC for successful pursuer.
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Getting the Most out of Legal Technology
Ampersand Advocates hosted a seminar on ‘Getting the Most out of Legal Technology’ on Thursday 9th November 2017.
Attendees at the seminar heard from a range of speakers from technology companies and from Ampersand members. Dana Forbes gave a practical demonstration of the creation of electronic binders of documents and how best to manage them. Jamie Gardiner offered an insight into ways in which litigation risk might be more precisely quantified, using the specialist software developed by his company, CaseQuant. Paul Reid shared practical reflections on his experiences of technology in the Scottish courts, in particular the use of LiveNote and his experiences in the Glasgow Bin Lorry Inquiry. Finally, Giles Reid examined the provision made in the Rules of Court for technology, and looked at the developments practitioners might expect to see over the coming years. Attendees also heard from Moore Legal Technology on online marketing, Premonition AI on their data on decided cases in the UK and worldwide, and Nalytics on the assistance that specialist software can provide in reviewing and analysing data.
Comments from attendees included, “The best event on legal technology that I have attended.” Giles Reid, one of the seminar organisers, said “It was really useful to hear from both those who provide and develop legal technology and also those at the sharp end of practice who use it. Increasingly, becoming familiar with the advantages and pitfalls of legal technology is something that clients expect and something where specialist knowledge can make a real difference.”
Slides from the presentations can be viewed on our event page here.
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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 2018.
Ampersand received 56 listings across 15 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. In addition to this Aidan O’Neill QC is ranked in the London Bar Guide. 4 members are noted as “star individuals”.
Noted as a Band 1 set for Clinical Negligence, Ampersand has 18 rankings in this area. The guide says “As far as top Scottish clinical negligence practitioners are concerned, the name Ampersand is synonymous with excellence. This premier stable is acknowledged to have “the widest range of counsel in medical negligence with the broadest range of experience and knowledge.”
Band 2 listings include Administrative and Public law where Ampersand’s high-level public law challenges are noted and is described as “a good stable of advocates”. In Civil Liberties & Human Rights the Band 2 listing notes Ampersand’s “considerable expertise in the civil liberties field, drawing on their experience in employment, equality and EU law”.
In Commercial Dispute Resolution Ampersand is noted as “A highly respected stable with far-reaching experience across the commercial spectrum. It boasts an impressive roster of senior counsel and upcoming juniors, and is home to strong generalists as well as leading insolvency, shipping and real estate advocates”. Ampersand’s Commercial expertise is further noted in Restructuring and Insolvency, which includes “Star Individual” David Sellar QC, stating Ampersand “combines a renowned commercial practice with numerous high-level insolvency specialists” being described as a “go-to set for insolvency matters” and “excellent commercial stable”.
Ampersand’s Personal Injury work is again acknowledged with the guide noting “an impressive breadth of personal injury knowledge to individuals, major insurers, local authorities and other government agencies. The stable’s expertise in medical issues means it is well placed to advise pursuers and defenders on the full range of personal injury cases, including stress at work, motor accidents and clinical negligence claims. The team’s “practical approach to cases” is lauded by clients, who also comment that the advocates are “approachable, good to deal with and prompt at returning calls and emails, which is important.”. The listing includes Maria Maguire QC and Graham Primrose QC as “Star Individuals”.
Ampersand is listed in 2 new areas as a set this year. In Planning and Environment Ampersand is noted as being “A highly respected stable that is emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the arena of planning and environment law. Advocates at the stable are particularly well-versed in matters involving infrastructure and renewable energy. They are frequently instructed in major inquiries, and act for a variety of clients, including developers, promoters, objectors and decision-makers. The stable also vaunts expertise in planning appeals and judicial review proceedings.” This includes “Star Individual” Malcolm Thomson QC. Ampersand is also a Band 2 set in Product Liability stating “Ampersand Advocates enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the top-ranked sets in Scotland. It undertakes product liability work to the same excellent standard as the many other areas of the law it practices in. Members here work across a wide range of industry sectors and act for both claimants and defendants. The set has a particular reputation for handling cases that arise from the healthcare sector”.
The Clerks also receive high praise noting “The whole team is very organised.” and “their clerks are excellent, very responsive and helpful”.
Ampersand’s full listings can be viewed on the Chambers and Partners website here.
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