The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial Edinburgh and Glasgow: , MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s corporate team is ‘very professional, responds in a quick and pointed manner, and always asks the right questions’. It is a frequent presence on high-value transactions, increasingly on those with a cross-border element; recent work includes advising the shareholders of BCW Group on its sale to Norway-based Gothia Financial Group. The ‘very bright, experienced’ Alan Kelly heads the team, which ‘makes others of a similar size or larger look expensive and incompetent’. Robert Burns is ‘fantastic at putting complex legal jargon into layman’s terms’.

Within Corporate tax , MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

Ainsley MacLaren’s ‘client-focused, commercially oriented’ corporate tax group benefited from MacRoberts LLP’s above-average flow of corporate and employment-related instructions in 2010. The team advised on the sale of Botterills Convenience Stores Limited to the Scotmid Group, and worked alongside KPMG to provide Tillicoultry Quarries with SDLT, VAT and capital allowances tax advice regarding the acquisition of a Scottish aggregates quarrying business.

Within EU and competition, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s competition law practice spans merger clearance and other regulatory matters, including advising clients on the OFT’s whistleblowing/leniency policy and obligations thereunder. David Flint heads the practice, which also has notable expertise in public procurement through Duncan Osler.

Within Commercial litigation, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s litigation team provides ‘excellent and proactive advice on complex issues’, with clients particularly noting its ‘efficient case management skills’. 2010 saw it act for a Scottish local authority in a petition for judicial review of a planning decision regarding a proposed fish farm development. David Arnott heads the practice, and Richard Barrie ‘provides excellent advice’.

Within Banking and finance , tier 4

Acquisition, real estate and project finance constitute the core of MacRoberts LLP’s banking practice. The group advised Lloyds, RBS, HSBC and Clydesdale Bank on providing a €300m facility to Wiliam Grant & Sons Distillers Limited to fund the purchase of drinks brands from C&C Group plc. Practice head Norman Martin and Andrew Orr are recommended.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

Alan Meek heads the insolvency practice at MacRoberts LLP, which advised PKF on the administration of a failed bridging lender with a £250m-plus loan portfolio.

Within Employment, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘exceptional’ Stephen Miller, head of MacRoberts LLP’s employment practice, is ‘an extremely knowledgeable and clearly highly respected individual’. The firm acts for around two-thirds of Scotland’s 32 local authorities regarding equal pay and other employment law issues.

Within Health and safety, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP counts GlaxoSmithKline and WH Malcolm as clients. Practice head Craig Turnbull exclusively handles contentious work, including health and safety prosecutions and FAIs.

Within Pensions, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s team acted for Jacobs Engineering Group regarding the pensions aspects of a 
multinational acquisition. Team head Peter Trotter is ‘particularly impressive – of the highest calibre, with 
the ability to find a path through complex legal problems’.

Within Charities, tier 4

MacRoberts LLP provides an ‘excellent service’ with ‘prompt and relevant’ responses. It has expertise in relation to charitable trusts as well as on the corporate charities side. Clients include Learning and Teaching Scotland, and Sense Scotland. Group head Duncan Osler’s strengths lie in social enterprise, structuring and procurement matters.

Within Personal tax, trusts and executries, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s private client group advises in relation to private and public sector trusts, adults with incapacity, and tax planning and executry matters, and has particular strength advising on high-value estates with IHT issues. David MacRobert heads the team.

Within Energy (excluding oil and gas), MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

Nick Jones’ energy practice at MacRoberts LLP has steadily built a reputation in the market, and has ‘good industry knowledge’. It has a strong onshore wind offering but has been developing its profile beyond that sector, and in 2010 it advised UK Hydro on several low head hydro schemes.

Within Projects, MacRoberts LLP is a first tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s infrastructure team advised Forthspan on the Forth replacement crossing, and acted for the preferred bidder on the Western Isles School PPP project. Andrew Orr heads the team, which advises clients in the public, private and banking sectors.

Within Education, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s education group ‘offers the reassurance of strength through depth – it is an effective and informed team’. Katy Wedderburn heads the practice, which represents clients such as Glasgow Caledonian University, and the Royal Academy of Music and Drama. Senior associate Gina Wilson is ‘especially strong’.

Within Health, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

Duncan Osler’s healthcare team at MacRoberts LLP advises the Fife Health Board, the Highlands Health Board, and NHS Ayrshire & Arran, and has seen an increase in instructions from NHS Lothian regarding the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Within Local government, tier 4

MacRoberts LLP advises on the full range of local government matters, and has particular expertise in employment law. The team, led by Duncan Osler, saw an increase in instructions relating to procurement, joint working, restructuring, redevelopment and regeneration schemes, and is noted for its ‘exceptional knowledge’.

Within Commercial property: Edinburgh and Glasgow, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP has a strong retailer client base, including Wm Morrison Supermarkets. Laurence Fraser heads the team, which recently combined with Alison Horner’s construction practice to advise Regent Capital on a combined £6m retail investment purchase and a BPRA refurbishment of a 17-storey tower block in Glasgow.

Within Construction, MacRoberts LLP is a first tier firm,

Neil Kelly heads the construction team at MacRoberts LLP, which straddles contentious and non-contentious matters. Work in 2010 included acting for a multinational UK-based contractor on claims relating to defects in a waste water treatment works, and acting for Forthspan on the £2bn-plus Forth Replacement Crossing project.

Within Elsewhere in Scotland Commercial property: leisure and hospitality

Within Environment, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s environmental team acted for Mitchell Thomson Limited in a successful appeal against the refusal of a PPC permit relating to a waste oil facility. Jamie Grant heads the team.

Within Planning, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s ‘multi-disciplinary team of planning experts’ meets ‘a very high standard, and tailors advice to the client’s needs’. Jamie Grant heads the group, which was augmented at associate level through the lateral hire of Moray Thomson and Frances Pacitti from Shepherd and Wedderburn.

Within Property litigation, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s property litigation team provides ‘first-class service in all areas’. Practice head Julie Hamilton is recommended, and senior associate Gillian Craig is ‘very hardworking and knowledgeable’.

Within Social housing Social housing

Within Intellectual property, MacRoberts LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s team is ‘very innovative in its approach’. David Flint heads the group, and is ‘direct, firm and straight to the point’.

Within IT and telecoms, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

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.

Within Sport Sport

Within Transport, MacRoberts LLP is a second tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s transport group is headed by David Henderson. It is acting for Western Ferries on a state aid and public tendering matter, and also added new clients to its roster including Forthspan, one of the two bidders for the Forth Replacement Crossing.