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:
- Administrative & Public Law: The stable is praised for its “impressive number of highly-rated junior and senior counsel” and their involvement in significant constitutional and human rights issues. Notable practitioners include Aidan O’Neill KC, Douglas Ross KC, Ian Forrester KC, Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC, Paul Reid KC, Timothy Young, and Usman Tariq KC.
- Civil Liberties & Human Rights: Ampersand is recognised for representing both private individuals and public bodies in significant proceedings. Aidan O’Neill KC, Douglas Ross KC, and Usman Tariq KC are highlighted for their expertise in this area.
- Clinical Negligence: Described as a “go-to chambers for medical negligence work”, Ampersand’s advocates are lauded for their expert legal advice and representation in a wide range of disputes. Notable practitioners include Maria Maguire KC, Euan Mackenzie KC, Lauren Sutherland KC, Lisa Henderson KC, Mark Fitzpatrick, Simon Bowie KC, Una Doherty KC, Geoffrey Mitchell KC, Graham Primrose KC, Isla Davie KC, Jamie Dawson KC, Jennifer Nicholson-White, Philip Stuart, Vinit Khurana KC, Shane Dundas, Fiona Drysdale KC, James McConnell KC, and Paul Reid KC.
- Commercial Dispute Resolution: The stable is admired for its skilful work in high-profile commercial disputes. Robert Howie KC, Ross Anderson, Timothy Young, Giles Reid, Eoghainn MacLean, Graeme Hawkes KC, Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC, Mark Boni, Michael Way, Nicholas McAndrew, Paul Reid KC, and Usman Tariq KC are recognised for their expertise in this area.
- Company: Ross Anderson and Timothy Young are ranked as Band 1 practitioners in this area.
- Construction: Ampersand offers significant experience in advising clients on a range of building and construction works in Scotland. Robert Howie KC, Timothy Young, and Nicholas McAndrew are highlighted for their expertise.
- Employment: Aidan O’Neill KC is ranked as a Band 2 practitioner in this area.
- Information Technology: Usman Tariq is recognised as a New Silk in this area.
- Intellectual Property: Usman Tariq is recognised as a New Silk in this area.
- Media Law: Usman Tariq is recognised as a New Silk in this area.
- Personal Injury: Ampersand is highly regarded for personal injury matters, with members acting for both pursuers and defenders. Notable practitioners include Graham Primrose KC, Maria Maguire KC, Euan Mackenzie KC, Lisa Henderson KC, Simon Di Rollo KC, Douglas Ross KC, Jennifer Nicholson-White, Alan Cowan, Christian Marney, Isla Davie KC, and Shane Dundas.
- Planning & Environment: The stable is well-regarded for complex planning and environmental work. Malcolm Thomson KC, Ailsa Wilson KC, Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen KC, Marcus McKay KC, and Nicolas McAndrew are recognised for their expertise in this area.
- Product Liability: Paul Reid KC is recognised as a New Silk in this area.
- Professional Negligence: Ampersand is recognised as a leading stable for professional liability matters in Scotland. Paul Reid KC and Usman Tariq KC are highlighted for their expertise in this area.
- Public & Fatal Accident Inquiries:Ampersand offers unparalleled bench strength across seniorities in the Scottish inquiries space. Notable practitioners include Geoffrey Mitchell KC, Jamie Dawson KC, Jennifer Nicholson-White, Lisa Henderson KC, Simon Bowie KC, Susanne Tanner KC, Ayla Iridag, Michael Way, Fiona Drysdale KC, James McConnell KC, and Paul Reid KC.
- Real Estate Litigation: Ampersand offers a strong bench of well-regarded advocates active across a broad range of real estate litigation topics. Ross Anderson, Timothy Young, Giles Reid, Robert Howie KC, Mark Boni, and Michael Way are recognised for their expertise in this area.
- Restructuring/Insolvency: Ampersand is well-regarded for handling a wide range of restructuring and insolvency matters. Robert Howie KC, Ross Anderson, and Usman Tariq KC are highlighted for their expertise in this area.
- Tax: Julian Ghosh KC is ranked as a Star Individual, while Ross Anderson is ranked in Band 2 for this area.
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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Ampersand Advocates Welcomes Joanna Cherry KC
Ampersand Advocates is thrilled to announce the return of Joanna Cherry KC to practice at the Scottish bar. Joanna, a distinguished advocate with a remarkable career spanning law and politics, is joining Ampersand Advocates. She brings with her a wealth of experience in human rights, public law, criminal law, constitutional matters, medical-legal matters and in fatal accident inquiries.
Called to the bar in 1995 and taking silk in 2009, Ms. Cherry has established herself as a formidable presence in the legal world. Her extensive experience includes serving as a standing Junior to the Scottish Government and as an advocate depute. Prior to her political career, she built a successful appellate practice, regularly appearing before the UK Supreme Court as well as handling complex medical-legal cases and fatal accident inquiries.
Joanna served as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South West from 2015 to 2024. During that time, she was the front bench spokesperson for her party on justice and home affairs from 2015 to 2021. Thereafter she chaired parliament’s influential Joint Committee on Human Rights .
Her parliamentary tenure was marked by significant legal achievements, including her involvement in high-profile constitutional litigation that took her to both the European Court of Justice and the UK Supreme Court. Notably, she led the Scottish litigation that resulted in Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament being ruled unlawful.
Joanna’s exceptional work has been widely recognised. She was awarded the Herald’s “Best Scot at Westminster” in 2019 and Holyrood magazine’s equivalent award in 2021. She is also an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple. The Legal 500 have recognised her as a leading silk in the criminal field and in personal injury, medical negligence and professional negligence where she was described as ‘Fearless in her pursuit of a satisfactory outcome for the client.’
Ampersand’s Practice Manager, Alan Moffat, expressed enthusiasm about Joanna joining the Stable: “We are delighted to welcome Joanna to Ampersand. Her expertise in human rights and public law, combined with her recent experience in high-level constitutional matters, along with her medical and FAI experience, will be an invaluable asset to our stable. Joanna’s addition reinforces our commitment to providing the highest caliber of legal representation to those instructing counsel.”
Ampersand is a leading Scottish Stable with recognised experience across Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury, Public and Planning law, and Commercial and Alternative Dispute resolution. Joanna Cherry’s inclusion in its ranks with 27 other senior counsel and 34 junior counsel further enhances Ampersand’s reputation as a leading force for those looking in instruct Scottish Counsel.
Ampersand is a tier 1 set with the leading legal directories across multiple practice areas and is the Scottish “Stable of the year” at the Legal 500 Scottish Awards 2023.
You can view Joanna Cherry KC’s profile here.
For any enquiries about instruction Counsel, please contact the Ampersand Clerking Team: ampersandclerks@advocates.org.uk.
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Joanna Cherry KC
Joanna Cherry KC called to the bar in 1995 and took silk in 2009. Joanna has established herself as a formidable presence in the legal world and has experience in human rights, public law, constitutional matters, criminal, medical-legal matters and in fatal accident inquiries. Her extensive experience includes serving as a standing Junior to the Scottish Government and as an advocate depute. Prior to her political career, she built a successful appellate practice, regularly appearing before the UK Supreme Court and handling complex medical-legal cases and fatal accident inquiries.
Joanna served as the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh South-West from 2015 to 2024. During that time, she was the front bench spokesperson for her party on justice and home affairs from 2015 to 2021. Thereafter she chaired parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Her parliamentary tenure was marked by significant legal achievements, including her involvement in high-profile constitutional litigation that took her to both the European Court of Justice and the UK Supreme Court. She led the Scottish litigation that resulted in Boris Johnson’s prorogation of Parliament being ruled unlawful.
Joanna’s work has been widely recognised. She was awarded the Herald’s “Best Scot at Westminster” in 2019 and Holyrood magazine’s equivalent award in 2021. She is also an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple.
Prior to entering politics, the Legal 500 had recognised Joanna as a leading silk in the criminal field, and in personal injury, medical negligence and professional negligence, where she was described as “fearless in her pursuit of a satisfactory outcome for the client.”
Joanna has returned to full-time practice and is available for instruction.
Selected cases:
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New panel of Standing Junior Counsel to the Advocate General for Scotland announced
Ampersand Advocates is pleased to note 6 members have been confirmed on the new panel of Junior Counsel to the Advocate General for Scotland, following the recent appointment process. The list includes Graham Maciver who remains as First Standing Junior, a new appoint of Scott Clair and renewed appointments for Ross Anderson, Giles Reid, Ayla Iridag and Alan Cowan. The appointments are for 4 years.
Full details of all appointments can be found on the UK Government’s website here.
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Ampersand welcome Brandon Malone
Ampersand is delighted to welcome Brandon Malone to the stable, following his calling to the Bar today.
On Brandon’s arrival, Stable Director Euan Mackenzie KC, said: “I am delighted to welcome Brandon to Ampersand. He is a renowned lawyer with an impressive CV and accomplishments before coming to the Bar. He will be an asset to the Stable. I wish him all the best in his career as an Advocate”. Ampersand’s Practice Manager, Alan Moffat added “I am delighted to welcome our newest member of Ampersand. Brandon’s arrival brings the membership to 61 and the experience which he brings is a fantastic fit for Ampersand’s core areas of practice, including our increasing range of ADR offering. He will be a real asset to those looking to instruct counsel. I am sure that joining Ampersand will offer rewarding opportunities and collaborative support”.
Brandon calls to the Bar 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.
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.
For further information about Brandon’s practice view his profile here:
To instruct Brandon, please contact our Ampersand Clerking Team: ampersandclerks@advocates.org.uk.
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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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