Law and legal affairs: legal update

Published on Sunday 5 September 2010 19:57

People The Queen has approved the appointment of seven new Queen's Counsel, each one recommended by First Minister Alex Salmond following a nomination by the Lord Justice General, Lord Hamilton.

The new appointees are Andrew Lawson Brown, Roderick William Dunlop, Indranil Julian Ghosh, Shona Jessica Alexandra Margaret Haldane, Robert Bruce Weir and David Andrew Campbell Young – who are all members of the Faculty of Advocates.

Lindy Ann Patterson, who is a Solicitor Advocate, has also been appointed.

•SEMPLE Fraser has announced the appointment of associate Charlotte Johns to its employment group. She is a dual qualified solicitor and barrister, and has specialised in employment law for more than 12 years.

•Ian Bryce, a partner at Central Criminal Lawyers in Livingston, has been elected to the board of the Law Society of Scotland. He has sat on the organisation's council for four years and is a member of its legal aid committee and negotiation team.

•ALEXANDER Green has been appointed Procurator Fiscal of the Lyon Court, succeeding George Way of Plean SSC following Mr Way's appointment as a Sheriff. Mr Green is a graduate of the universities of St Andrews and Aberdeen and holds degrees in Theology, Law and Scottish History. He is also a solicitor admitted to practice in Scotland and in England & Wales.

•WILLIAM Frain-Bell of Terra Firma Chambers has been accredited by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution as a mediator. The CEDR is a globally recognised gold standard qualification for mediators and has previously accredited fellow Terra Firma member David Parratt.

News

•MCGRIGORS has replaced Dundas & Wilson as the largest law firm in Scotland for the first time in four years, accounts filed at Companies House have revealed.

Figures from the firm showed its revenues rose by 16 per cent over the year to stand at 69 million, compared to a decrease in the turnover of D&W, which was reported to be down 8 per cent to 61m in the year to 30 April. However, D&W said it performed better than expected, as it saw its profits rise slightly to 25m.

Maclay Murray & Spens remained third with a turnover of 52.5m – down 5.4 per cent – but Brodies overtook Shepherd and Wedderburn into fourth with revenues of 35.8m.

The profit per equity partner (PEP) at McGrigors increased from 230,000 to 263,000 during the year, and D&W also posted an increase – from 308,000 to 317,000.

Profit at Maclay Murray & Spens rose 15 per cent to 15.2 million, with PEP increasing by 20 per cent to 265,000.

Brodies overtook Shepherd & Wedderburn despite experiencing a turnover drop from 39.1m to 35.8m. Shepherd & Wedderburn's turnover also fell – from 39.6m to 35.3m – but the firm's pre-tax profits increased by 9 per cent to 8.2m.

•THE new access to justice committee of the Law Society of Scotland met for the first time on Thursday.

Headed by Govan Law Centre principal Mike Dailly, the committee also includes John McGovern, the president of the Glasgow Bar Association and Danny Phillips of the Child Poverty Action Group as one of its lay members. The meeting was held in Glasgow.

Mr Dailly said: "It's a great honour to have been appointed by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland to convene its new Access to Justice Committee. We've brought together an outstanding group of Scottish access to justice champions, which includes solicitors, solicitor-advocates, advocates, anti-poverty and social justice campaigners, trade unionists, welfare rights specialists, and experts in rights-based advocacy and community empowerment.

"This is a committee of the 'coalface', members with direct experience of the myriad of access to justice problems that many citizens face every day in Scotland. We're going to take a fresh approach. Our job is to identify and demand radical improvements so that Scotland's system of civil and criminal justice is fit for its people, and the 21st century."

•AFTER announcing a strong set of financial results for the year ending 31 July 2010, that saw turnover increase by 8 per cent to 21.2m, and net profit up by 40 per cent, Burness has announced it is to pay its staff a discretionary bonus of 5 per cent.

Firm chairman Philip Rodney said: "Against a background of challenging market conditions in which most of our competitors have seen their turnover drop and some their profitability stall or slip back, we are very pleased with our performance to 31 July 2010."

•CONSTRUCTION law specialist Graham Jackson has written a textbook that aims to smooth out many of the rough areas of Scots Law affecting the construction sector. The solicitor from Tayside firm Thorntons has launched An Introduction to Construction Law in Scotland in an attempt to introduce the practitioner to this complex area of the law.