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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“Ampersand houses ‘an excellent group’ of advocates” – Strong showing for Ampersand in latest Legal 500 listings

Ampersand is delighted to be once again be recommended as a top-tier set by The Legal 500 UK Bar Directory.

The guide says “Ampersand houses ‘an excellent group’ of advocates, who handle a broad spectrum of practice areas, including commercial, planning, property and public law. The stable is particularly noted, however, for its very strong personal injury and clinical negligence team.”

32 Ampersand advocate’s are listed in The Legal 500 UK 2017 guide to outstanding counsel published on 11 October 2017.

Civil liberties, human rights, public inquiries, and public and administrative law (including local government) – Civil liberties, human rights, public inquiries, and public and administrative law (including local government) – Leading silks
– Aidan O’Neill QC A natural orator.
– Dorothy Bain QC Hardworking, determined and confident in court
– Douglas Ross QC Very intelligent and personable.
– Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen Very bright and a pleasure to work with.

Commercial litigation

– Alan Dewar QC A formidable practitioner.
– Craig Sandison QC A standout silk.
– Robert Howie QC An incredibly bright and extremely talented silk.
– Ronald Clancy QC Highly recommended for a broad spectrum of commercial cases.
– Eoghainn MacLean Determined in court.

Company and insolvency

– David Sellar QC A first-choice silk for complex company and insolvency matters.

Employment – Employment

– Russell Bradley Very experienced in TUPE, restrictive covenants and whistleblowing cases.

Intellectual property, information technology and media

– Craig Sandison QC Brilliantly clever and tenacious in court.
– Usman Tariq He has considerable experience on his feet.

Personal injury and medical negligence

– David Stephenson QC He is great to work with due to his unflappable demeanour.
– Euan Mackenzie QC A meticulous silk with a first-class intellect.
– Graham Primrose QC He has impressive technical knowledge.
– Hugh Campbell QC Very experienced across the spectrum of disease and injury cases.
– Lauren Sutherland QC A highly dedicated silk.
– Lisa Henderson QC She has fantastic attention to detail and notable client empathy.
– Maria Maguire QC Her remarkable grasp of the facts enhances her focus on a case.
– Simon Di Rollo QC A very effective court performer.
– Archie MacSporran Very experienced in complex and high-value clinical negligence cases.
– Christian Marney Well known for acting in personal injury matters.
– Fiona Drysdale Hardworking with a very detailed approach.
– James Dawson He has a sound understanding of complex scientific material.
– Una Doherty Reliable and well organised

Planning, environmental and licensing

– Ailsa Wilson QC Highly experienced in regulatory environmental disputes.
– Malcolm Thomson QC A patrician of planning law.
– Marcus McKay QC Recommended for cases involving renewable energy.
– Laura-Anne van der Westhuizen Painstaking and great with clients.

Property, construction and agriculture

– Christopher Haddow QC Recommended for a broad range of property matters.
– Robert Howie QC A go-to silk for construction law matters.
– Eoghainn MacLean Willing to explore every possibility to assist his clients.

Full listings can be viewed here.

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Daniel Kaizer v Scottish Ministers [2017] CSOH 110

Claim against Scottish Ministers as being responsible for the Scottish Prison Service where prisoner seeks damages claiming that an attack was implementation of a threat made to him by Porter in the gym around a week prior to the attempted murder and reported to a prison officer at the time. Decision here.

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Una Doherty KC

Una Doherty KC has been ranked in many editions of the Legal 500 UK Bar Directory for Personal Injury and Medical Negligence. At the Legal 500 Scotland Awards 2024 held in November 2024 she was named Silk of the Year.

2025 edition (Band 1 ranking): “Una is one of Scotland’s most experienced and specialised counsel in the field of medical law. Nothing fazes her. She is calm and collected as well as extraordinarily thorough. She will not shy away from running complex arguments, and has an ability to unpick and clearly present complicated evidence.”
2024 edition: “Una is acutely intelligent with a meticulous and analytical approach. Her negotiation skills are excellent, and her legal analysis second to none.”
2023 edition: “Una is incredibly calm and instils confidence She is determined and dependable, and has the ability to cut straight through the superfluous and immediately identify the issues at the heart of an action.”
2021 edition: “Una has an incredible eye for detail and getting into the minutiae of a case. She runs consultations, negotiations and court hearings very well, making her a go-to senior counsel.”
2019 edition: “Extremely reliable, quick-witted and efficient.”
2018 edition: “A high calibre advocate.”
2017 edition: “Reliable and well organised.”
2016 edition: “An impressive ability to assimilate a lot of technical information very quickly.”
2015 edition: “Great attention to detail and particular strengths in high-value medical negligence claims.”

She has also been ranked for clinical negligence in many editions of Chambers UK Bar Guide.

2025 edition (Band 1 ranking): “Una has experience of the most complex and difficult cases, and in spite of her understated demeanour she will not back away from the challenge of running a difficult case or argument.” “Una Doherty is very conscientious, responsive and has huge attention to detail. In court she is very confident and she has a wealth of experience.”
2024 edition (Band 1 ranking): “Una is very skilled in technical cases. She is robust during consultations and also good with clients.” “Una’s great strength is the ability to deal with details of complex cases, but with a sufficient degree of passion.” “The speed with which she got on top of the detail was really impressive. She has the capacity to simplify complex legal and factual issues. She is a really good litigator who has done several trials for the office.”
2023 edition: “Una works with impressive detail, knowledge, diligence and insight.” “She deals with difficult situations with ease.” “Her written work is always clear and concise.” “She has a very good eye for detail.”
2022 edition: “She is meticulous in her preparation and attention to detail. She turns around work extremely efficiently.” “She is extremely thorough and diligent.”
2021 edition: “She is always extremely well prepared and is very thorough. She’s pragmatic and always puts the clients first.” “She is very meticulous, approachable and practical.”
2020 edition: “She is a thoughtful and diligent advocate.” “Her attention to detail is second to none. She’s also great with clients and is quick to spot issues.”
2019 edition, ranked as a new silk: “Very knowledgeable and very thorough.”
2018 edition: “She grasps legal concepts very well, is very tenacious in court, gives very clear advice and is hands-on.” “She has a very broad grasp of how things work on both the defendant and claimant side and is very effective in reaching sensible settlements.”
2017 edition: “Very able and efficient. She’s insightful and good at analysing cases.” “She’s always very well prepared.”

Una has also been ranked as a Leading Silk in Crime and Regulatory in the 2025 edition of the Legal 500 UK Bar Directory.

2025 edition: ‘Her advocacy style is understated yet powerful due to her thoroughness and cogent reasoning.’

She has also been ranked as a Leading Silk in Administrative and Public Law in the 2024 edition of the Legal 500 Bar Directory.

Una has a varied civil practice which covers a range of reparation disputes, although her main areas of practice are in personal injury and clinical negligence claims. She is instructed both for pursuers and for defenders and acts for clients ranging from individual litigants to insurers and public bodies. She is regularly instructed by the NHS Central Legal Office. She has extensive experience of high value personal injury claims including those involving catastrophic brain injuries. In the area of clinical negligence, she regularly acts in multi-million pound claims, including cerebral palsy cases. She is currently instructed in the UK and Scottish Covid-19 Inquiries, and the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, representing NHS National Services Scotland. In 2023, Una was leading counsel for the respondent, and presented the oral submissions in the Supreme Court, in McCulloch and others (Appellants) v Forth Valley Health Board (Respondent) [2023] UKSC 26. During the hearing, the Court described this as the most important clinical negligence appeal in years. The Court refused the appeal.

She was an Ad Hoc Advocate Depute from 2013 to 2023, and in that role prosecuted criminal cases in the High Court.

She was a Legal Assessor to the General Teaching Council of Scotland from 2017 to 2021, advising panels on questions of law and procedure in Fitness to Teach proceedings.

In 2017, she completed an International Arbitration Law course, and was a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators from 2017 to 2021.

Una took silk in 2018.

In 2020, Una qualified as a mediator.

In 2021, Una was appointed as a Legally Qualified Chair by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). In that role Una chairs panels with social service and lay members to decide whether workers’ fitness to practise is impaired.

Recent selected cases:

Confidentiality prohibits the details of the numerous claims which have settled without recourse to the courts or in the course of proof.

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Stephen Bell

Stephen Bell called in 1996 after 13 years in practice as a solicitor during which he was a litigation partner in firms in Edinburgh and Aberdeen. He has a wide ranging civil practice, including family law (both financial provision and child law), commercial law and reparation. He is regularly instructed in professional negligence cases, including medical negligence. He acts for and against private individuals and corporations. He also has experience of acting for and against local authorities, particularly in adoption applications. He provides written advice on a wide variety of matters.

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Louise Milligan

Louise Milligan has extensive advocacy experience specialising in personal injury litigation. She acts for pursuers and defenders in many cases involving personal injury and medical negligence. Prior to the Bar, Louise qualified as a solicitor in both Scotland and New South Wales in Australia. She also holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from Edinburgh University. In addition, Louise has over 20 years advocacy experience including Inner and Outer House and Sheriff Court appearances in motions, proofs, jury trials, procedure rolls and reclaiming motions.

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