United Kingdom > Scotland > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
IT and telecoms
IT and telecoms
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1
- Dundas & Wilson CS LLP Glasgow
- Pinsent Masons LLP Glasgow
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- Brodies LLP Edinburgh
- Burness LLP Edinburgh, Glasgow
- DLA Piper Scotland LLP Glasgow, Edinburgh
- Maclay Murray & Spens LLP Edinburgh
- MacRoberts LLP Glasgow
- McGrigors LLP Edinburgh, Aberdeen
- Shepherd and Wedderburn Edinburgh, Glasgow
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3
- Anderson Strathern Edinburgh
- Biggart Baillie LLP Glasgow
- McClure Naismith LLP Edinburgh
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- Brechin Tindal Oatts Edinburgh
- HBJ Gateley Edinburgh
- Harper Macleod LLP Glasgow
Dundas & Wilson CS LLP’s IT and telecoms practice was strengthened by the arrival of senior associate Reg Dhanjal, who brings expertise as former head of T-Mobile’s commercial and legal compliance group. The group advised Scottish Water on outsourcing its virtualised infrastructure estate to Fujitsu Services; and also acted for the Scottish Exhibition Centre on its appointment of AEG Facilities. Laurence Ward heads the team.
Pinsent Masons LLP’s IT practice, led by John Salmon, handles transactional and contentious matters. The department’s capacity to combine its IT and insurance expertise sees it acting for clients including Allianz, Chartis and AXA.
Brodies LLP is ‘excellent on all counts’. Andrew Rigby is an ‘outsourcing guru’; practice head Grant Campbell is recommended; and associate Martin Sloan is also noted, for IT contracts.
David Goodbrand heads Burness LLP’s IP group, in which Helena Brown and Colin Hulme are also recommended; all three are noted for their ‘ability to analyse and pick out the key aspects of work’. Senior solicitor John Pope is valued for his ‘acumen, exuberance and passion’.
DLA Piper Scotland LLP advises on complex projects for financial services clients such as National Australia Group Europe and Lloyds Banking Group. Scott Thiel’s ‘grasp of individual IT contracts and breadth of knowledge is excellent’.
Maclay Murray & Spens LLP’s Alison Bryce is leading advice to Integrated Environmental Solutions on four technology strategy board collaborations. Gill Grassie heads the group, which has successfully attracted new clients including Scotserve, ASCO and Credosoft. Robert Buchan has been promoted to partner.
The ‘highly professional’ team at MacRoberts LLP is ‘willing to go the extra mile if needed, and breeds confidence’. Practice head David Flint and newly promoted partner Valerie Surgenor are recommended.
McGrigors LLP’s ICT group delivers ‘excellent service’, and is led by the dual-qualified Matthew Godfrey-Faussett. The group has been strengthening its data protection capabilities, and won the appointment to advise NHS 24 on outsourcing its IT systems.
Paul Carlyle heads Shepherd and Wedderburn’s media and technology team, which continues to receive a significant number of instructions from the financial services sector. Recent highlights include advising Alliance Trust on aspects of procuring a new data centre.
Anderson Strathern’s IT work is led by Simon Brown. The group advised Napier University on reviewing a software licence and maintenance agreement for payroll software. Other clients include Random House and the National Trust for Scotland.
Biggart Baillie LLP advised the Highland Council on its multimillion-pound second-generation ICT outsourcing project, which completed in 2010. Colin Miller leads the group, and senior associate Douglas McLachlan is also recommended.
McClure Naismith LLP’s key contact, David Gourlay, is ‘very knowledgeable, commercial, and client focused, and a pleasure to work with’. Clients include Scottish Widows Investment Partnership.
Intellectual property
Intellectual property
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1
- Dundas & Wilson CS LLP Glasgow
- Maclay Murray & Spens LLP Edinburgh
- McGrigors LLP Edinburgh, Aberdeen
- Shepherd and Wedderburn Edinburgh, Glasgow
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2
- Biggart Baillie LLP Glasgow
- Burness LLP Edinburgh, Glasgow
- DLA Piper Scotland LLP Edinburgh
- McClure Naismith LLP Glasgow
- Pinsent Masons LLP Glasgow, Edinburgh
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3
- Anderson Strathern Edinburgh
- Brodies LLP Edinburgh
- Lindsays Edinburgh
- MacRoberts LLP Glasgow
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- Brechin Tindal Oatts Edinburgh
- HBJ Gateley Edinburgh
- Harper Macleod LLP Glasgow
- Semple Fraser LLP Edinburgh
- Thorntons Law LLP Dundee
- Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP Glasgow
Laurence Ward heads Dundas & Wilson CS LLP’s IP practice, which advises the University of Glasgow’s department of research and enterprise. Its expertise in life sciences attracted new client Aquapharm Biodiscovery.
Maclay Murray & Spens LLP’s ‘outstanding’ IP practice is the ‘first and only stop’ for many clients. The team is acting for DES Operations and Cameron in a patent entitlement and trade secret case in the Court of Session. Practice head Gill Grassie and Alison Bryce, who heads the team’s non-contentious practice, are highly recommended.
McGrigors LLP’s ‘very responsive’ IP team, led by Seona Burnett, handles contentious and non-contentious matters, and ‘continually demonstrates excellent commercial awareness’. It is advising DestiNA Genomics on its spinout from the University of Edinburgh. George Campbell is ‘commercially savvy but easily able to dive into detail’. Jane Cornwell left in 2010 to become an IP law lecturer.
Shepherd and Wedderburn’s IP team added several new clients in 2010, including the Medical Research Council, the City of Edinburgh Council, and Khazana, a Japanese mobile phone software company. Paul Carlyle heads the team.
Biggart Baillie LLP provides ‘experienced professional advice and domain specialism when needed in IPR disputes’. The IP team successfully represented Bayer CropScience in its patent infringement claim against Albaugh in the IP Court of the Court of Session. Colin Miller heads the team and is highly recommended.
Burness LLP’s IP practice is led by David Goodbrand, who is ‘very good technically’. Accredited IP specialist Colin Hulme has a ‘“can-do” attitude’, and is noted for his expertise on the contentious side. New clients include Touch Bionics.
DLA Piper Scotland LLP is increasingly recognised for its IP work, particularly in regenerative medicine. Philippa Montgomerie was promoted to partner, and has ‘both an excellent scientific background and technical competency’. Practice head John McKinlay and Scott Thiel are also recommended.
McClure Naismith LLP’s practice includes two IP accredited specialists, with Euan Duncan the main contact. Clients include McLaren Software Group and Kwik-Fit Insurance.
Pinsent Masons LLP’s Scotland team works as part of the firm’s UK-wide IP practice, and its ‘business acumen and industry knowledge is of an excellent standard; the advice is appropriate’. Chris Martin and David Woods are recommended, and are the main contacts in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively.
Simon Brown heads the practice at Anderson Strathern, which handles both contentious and non-contentious work.
Brodies LLP fields a ‘very talented team’. Grant Campbell’s ‘influence on the junior members is obvious and reflects his pragmatic approach’; and Douglas Mathie is ‘a safe pair of hands’.
David Wood is the main contact at Lindsays, which handles a number of IP matters for its university client base.
MacRoberts LLP’s team is ‘very innovative in its approach’. David Flint heads the group, and is ‘direct, firm and straight to the point’.
Media and entertainment
Media and entertainment
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1
- Burness LLP Glasgow
- Dundas & Wilson CS LLP Glasgow
- Tods Murray LLP Edinburgh
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2
- DLA Piper Scotland LLP Edinburgh
- Levy & McRae Glasgow
- Pinsent Masons LLP Glasgow
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3
- Anderson Strathern Edinburgh
- Bannatyne Kirkwood France & Co Glasgow
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- Brechin Tindal Oatts Edinburgh
- Thorntons Law LLP Edinburgh, Dundee
Burness LLP has a well-established reputation in media, and displays ‘excellent business acumen’; ‘it really invests in media law, in a way which is very rare in Scotland’. Clients include the BBC, STV Group and new client ITN. Grant Stevenson heads the group, and Philip Rodney is ‘extraordinarily good’.
Colin Massie now heads the media and entertainment team at Dundas & Wilson CS LLP, following Graham Sibbald’s retirement in December 2010. The firm’s clients include Fashion Rocks and Rangers FC.
Tods Murray LLP’s dedicated entertainment and media team handles matters across the spectrum of the industry including film, TV, publishing and music. Highlights included providing financial structuring advice regarding three feature films to be made in India. Richard Findlay heads the group.
DLA Piper Scotland LLP’s greatest strengths lie in sport-related media work and computer games; clients include Celtic FC and mobile gaming companies Tag and Dynamo. John McKinlay heads the group.
Levy & McRae’s impressive client list includes ITV, STV, Channel 4, Sky, Granada and Newsquest. Its comprehensive defamation practice represents pursuers and defenders. Peter Watson is the main contact.
John Salmon leads Pinsent Masons LLP’s media practice. Yvonne Dunn led the team in advising New Media Partners concerning a consultancy project to establish a media content creation zone in Abu Dhabi (twofour54).
Simon Brown leads Anderson Strathern’s technology and creative industries group, which represents clients such as STV Group, Publishing Scotland, and the Scottish Book Trust.
Bannatyne Kirkwood France & Co represents numerous newspapers including The Scotsman Publications Ltd.
Sport
Sport
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1
- Anderson Strathern Edinburgh
- Harper Macleod LLP Glasgow
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2
- DLA Piper Scotland LLP Edinburgh
- McGrigors LLP Edinburgh
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3
- Burness LLP Glasgow
- Dundas & Wilson CS LLP Glasgow
- HBJ Gateley Edinburgh, Glasgow
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- MacRoberts LLP Glasgow
- McClure Naismith LLP Edinburgh
Anderson Strathern advises a number of sports professionals and organisations. John Kerr is noted for his ‘detailed knowledge and experience’ of the sector, and is a member of the British Association of Sport and Law. Clients include Cricket Scotland, the Lawn Tennis Association, and Scotland Rugby League. The practice was weakened on the contentious side by the recent departure of Frank Gill.
Harper Macleod LLP has some ‘top-class experts’ in the sports sector. Practice head Lorne Crerar is principal adviser to the Scottish Rugby Union, and Rod McKenzie advises the Scottish Premier League and Celtic FC. The team is advising the Scottish Government in relation to the 2014 Ryder Cup.
DLA Piper Scotland LLP is appreciated for its ‘excellent turnaround times and commercially pragmatic approach’, and has ‘a large team with a variety of expertise’. Scott Thiel is ‘very productive, succinct and practical’. Practice head John McKinlay is also recommended. Clients include Celtic FC, the Scottish Golf Union, and the FA Premier League.
McGrigors LLP’s sports law team has built a strong reputation since its inception in 2009. This UK-wide practice is ‘experienced and proactive’, with Jim Cormack recommended in Scotland. Clients include Scottish Rugby Union and Scottish Disability Sport.
Burness LLP acts for sports governing bodies and trusts, such as the Scottish Football Association and Fife Sports and Leisure Trust. Colin Hulme heads the team.
Dundas & Wilson CS LLP acts for clients such as the English Football League and Rangers FC. Colin Massie heads the group.
HBJ Gateley has expertise in sports-related litigation. The firm successfully acted for Dunfermline Athletic FC in its appeal against the decision of the Emergency Committee of the SFA to expel the club from the 2009-10 Scottish Cup. Alistair Duff and practice head Simon Catto are recommended.