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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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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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Ampersand Advocates Achieves Top Rankings Across Multiple Practice Areas in Legal 500 2025 Guide

Ampersand Advocates is delighted to once again be recommended as a top-tier set across multiple practice areas by The Legal 500 UK Bar Directory in their latest listings for the 2025 guide. The Stable has again achieved impressive rankings across five key practice areas, solidifying its position as a leading Scottish Set.

Ampersand has been listed as tier 1 in Administrative & Public Law, Personal Injury & Medical Negligence, Crime and Regulatory, and Property, Planning & Construction. The stable also secured a tier 2 ranking in Commercial Disputes. This comprehensive recognition spans an impressive 34 Senior Counsel rankings and 21 Junior Counsel rankings, including 2 rising stars, across the Scottish Bar listings.

Administrative and Public Law (Tier 1) Ampersand’s expertise in this area is highlighted by the rankings of Douglas Ross KC, Aidan O’Neill KC, Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen KC, Susanne Tanner KC and Paul Reid KC (2023 silk). The stable’s juniors Timothy Young and Ross Anderson are also recognized, with Michael Way noted as a rising star. Usman Tariq KC’s appointment to silk in September 2024 further strengthens the team.

Personal Injury and Medical Negligence (Tier 1) An impressive roster of silks includes Simon Bowie KC, Una Doherty KC, Lisa Henderson KC, Euan Mackenzie KC, Maria Maguire KC, Geoffrey Mitchell KC, Graham Primrose KC, Lauren Sutherland KC, Alan Dewar KC, Vinit Khurana KC, Douglas Ross KC and Fiona Drysdale KC (2023 silk). Jennifer Nicholson-White, Ayla Iridag, and Shane Dundas are recognized as leading juniors. James McConnell KC took silk in September 2024, further bolstering the team’s expertise.

Crime and Regulatory (Tier 1) The stable’s strength in this area is evidenced by the rankings of Simon Bowie KC, Lisa Henderson KC, Jamie Dawson KC, Una Doherty KC, Susanne Tanner KC, Geoffrey Mitchell KC, Paul Reid KC (2023 silk), and Fiona Drysdale KC (2023 silk). Ayla Iridag and Jennifer Nicholson-White are noted as leading juniors, with Michael Way recognized as a rising star. James McConnell KC and Usman Tariq KC were appointed to silk in September 2024.

Property, Planning and Construction (Tier 1) Robert Howie KC, Ailsa Wilson KC, Marcus McKay KC, and Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen KC are all ranked as leading silks. Eoghainn MacLean, Nicholas McAndrew, Ross Anderson, Timothy Young and Giles Reid are recognized as leading juniors.

Commercial Disputes (Tier 2) The stable’s commercial disputes team is led by silks Robert Howie KC, Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen KC, and Paul Reid KC (2023 silk). Ross Anderson, Eoghainn MacLean, Mark Boni, Timothy Young and Nicholas McAndrew are ranked as leading juniors, with Michael Way noted as a rising star. Usman Tariq KC’s appointment to silk in September 2024 adds further depth to the team.

Ampersand Advocates is also recommended in the Employment and Private Client and Family categories, with Aidan O’Neill KC ranked as a leading silk in Employment and Mark Boni recognised as a leading junior in Private Client and Family.

The Stable’s clerking team, led by Alan Moffat, received high praise for their efficiency, responsiveness, and proactive approach.

These rankings reflect Ampersand Advocates’ continued excellence and dedication to providing top-tier legal services across a wide range of practice areas in Scotland.

Full listings, for all of Ampersand’s rankings can be viewed on the Legal 500 website here.

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Sean White

Sean White called to the Bar in 2024, having enjoyed a varied civil litigation practice as a solicitor.

He practices mainly in commercial litigation, with particular interest in construction and property disputes, commercial contracts and professional and clinical negligence.

Sean came to the Bar with already impressive representative experience, having appeared in various courts and tribunals in Scotland, where he has conducted proofs, debates and other contentious and non-contentious hearings for pursuers and defenders. He has represented businesses and individuals in a range of complex and high-value cases.

Before calling to the Bar, Sean worked as a Senior Solicitor in the commercial disputes team of a well-known Scottish firm, where he focussed principally on construction and energy sector disputes. During this time, he worked on many Court of Session litigations and gained experience in different forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration and adjudication.

He previously trained and worked with an Edinburgh-based litigation firm, during which time he represented clients in a range of cases, covering commercial contracts, professional and clinical negligence, personal injury, interdict and judicial review, amongst other things.

During devilling, Sean gained further experience in construction, property, professional and clinical negligence, commercial contract, company and insolvency litigation.

Selected cases:

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Amelia Mah

Amelia Mah called to the Bar in 2024 having trained at an international commercial law firm with a particular focus on commercial and real estate litigation. She was the recipient of the Lord Hope and Faculty scholarships whilst devilling.

In private practice, Amelia worked on large commercial disputes, including breaches of contract, procurement and group litigation. She also has experience with insurance and reinsurance matters, particularly in professional negligence defence. Amelia also practised in real estate litigation where she was involved in lease disputes, actions for payment of rent arrears and dilapidation claims.

Whilst devilling, Amelia gained further experience in a wide range of high value and complex commercial actions in the Court of Session. She has developed a particular interest in the field of intellectual property, covering trademark infringement, patent infringement and copyright infringement claims. Amelia gained considerable experience in moving for interim orders in intellectual property actions. She continues to work in the field of commercial property litigation, including disputes on access rights.

Amelia was also involved in fatal and serious clinical negligence claims for both pursuers and defenders, public law cases and public inquiries. She has experience in all levels of the Court system in Scotland from the Sheriff Court to the Inner House.

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