The Legal 500

Within Corporate and commercial: Edinburgh and Glasgow, tier 4

Brodies LLP’s corporate team is now led by Julian Voge. Highlights for 2008 included advice to the shareholders of Loch Duart in relation to an investment by private equity firm Capricorn Investment Group, while the firm worked alongside King & Spalding on the Scottish aspects of Arcapita’s shari’ah-compliant acquisition of Downhole Products. Iain Young, Alistair Campbell and Shuna Stirling are all recommended.

Within Corporate tax , Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

MacRoberts LLP’s team is now led by the ‘client focused‘ Ainsley MacLaren, who returned to the firm from McGrigors LLP following the departure of former practice head Isobel d’Inverno to Brodies LLP. The tax group supports the firm’s leading commercial property team on issues relating to SDLT, VAT and capital allowances, and also provides transactional support to the corporate practice. The firm provides ‘practical, partner-driven advice‘.

Within Corporate tax , Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s practice is jointly led Alan Barr and Isobel d’Inverno following the latter’s arrival from MacRoberts LLP, and now has ten dedicated tax specialists. The firm is particularly strong in property tax, recently advising Resolution Property on the tax aspects of its £58.5m acquisition of the Jersey Unit Trust. Stephen Miller left the firm to join Shepherd and Wedderburn.

Within EU and competition, Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s team is jointly led by Rodger Murray and Christine O’Neill. The firm continued to advise Shetland Islands Council on state aid issues, and advised Aberdeen City Council on issues relating to the Aberdeen schools NPD project. Other clients include Glasgow City Council.

Within Licensing, Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Alex Buchan heads the team at Brodies LLP, which acts for an impressive range of hotel, restaurant and retail clients, including Pizza Hut, Marriott, and Majestic Wine Warehouses.

Within Commercial litigation, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Brodies LLP has long enjoyed an excellent reputation in disputes work. Joyce Cullen and Robin Macpherson jointly head the team, which has strengthened in areas such as insurance and insolvency. Recent highlights include advising Commonwealth Oil and Gas in the Court of Session on a £100m claim against a former non-executive director for damages for breach of fiduciary duties. Other clients include RBS, Norwich Union and Royal & Sun Alliance.

Within Debt recovery, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Led by David Whyte, Brodies LLP’s debt recovery team is ‘first class throughout‘. ‘Invaluable‘ assistant Ricky Cannon is singled out for his ‘professionalism and knowledge‘.

Within Banking and finance , Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s ‘always first-class‘ team is headed by Bruce Stephen. 2008 saw the firm advise Bank of Scotland on a £47.5m facility to Goals Soccer Centres and RBS on a £20m facility to Ravenmount, and it reports an increase in work in the energy sector. The large team is packed with ‘partners that really know what they‘re talking about’, with the ‘professional‘ Alan Knowles, regulatory expert Jeremy Fraser and real estate finance specialist Peter Kelly all standing out.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s ‘formidable‘ restructuring practice continues to turn heads, with the firm building upon the 2007 hire of DLA Piper Scotland LLP’s practice head Colin McIntosh with the recruitment of the ‘highly impressive‘ Rachel Grant from Semple Fraser LLP. McIntosh and Grant jointly head the team, with the former focusing on non-contentious restructuring and the latter heading the contentious workload. Recent highlights include advice to Grant Thornton on the administration of No Catch Group, and PwC on the administration of The Arran Brewery Company.

Within Insolvency and corporate recovery, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Semple Fraser LLP softened the blow of losing practice head Rachel Grant to Brodies LLP with the hire of the ‘capable and highly respected‘ Gordon Hollerin and associate Fiona Carlin from DLA Piper Scotland LLP. The team advised KPMG in the sequestration of Michael Howard and on a series of restructurings including Kelvin Foods, Moraira Holdings and Clydedock Engineering.

Within Employment, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Headed by Joan Cradden, Brodies LLP’s five-partner team includes several star names, including the ‘very impressive‘ Emma Bell, who is ‘highly responsive, always available, precise, practical and to the point‘. The firm recently acted for International Paper on the collective consultation process connected to the proposed closure and restructuring of the Inverurie Paper Mill. Clients include RBS, Standard Life and Scottish Power.

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

Duncan MacLean at Brodies LLP is recommended.

Within Pensions, Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s team head Tony Hadden is recommended.

Within Medical negligence - defender, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

The key contact at new entrant Brodies LLP is Cameron McNaught, who recently arrived from DLA Piper Scotland LLP. Clients include BMI Healthcare.

Within Medical negligence - pursuer, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Led by David Armstrong, Brodies LLP’s experienced practice acted on a case relating to a child suffering from cerebral palsy as a result of a failure to diagnose foetal distress at the time of birth.

Within Personal injury - defender, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Brodies LLP is promoted following the arrival of new group head Toby Seton, Cameron McNaught and a team of lawyers from DLA Piper Scotland LLP. The ‘responsive‘ Duncan MacLean is also singled out as a ‘very easy and competent person to deal with‘ by clients, which include Chaucer Insurance and RBS Insurance.

Within Personal injury - pursuer, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

David Armstrong leads Brodies LLP’s quality practice, which recently settled a case involving an accident to an electrical engineer at a power plant in Nigeria. Clients include the Communication Workers Union and Accident Claims (Scotland).

Within Professional negligence, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Robin MacPherson and Alan Calvert are the main contacts in Brodies LLP’s highly rated team. Clients include Norwich Union, RBS Insurance and Royal & Sun Alliance.

Within Agriculture and estates, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘level of service is excellent‘ from Brodies LLP’s team, which covers salmon fishing, forestry, wind farms and quarries. The firm advised PD Hook Group on its sale of a number of farms in Scotland, and also advises the Atholl Estates on property matters. Odell Milne is singled out for her ‘ability to solve problems by thinking laterally‘. Hew Dalrymple has retired.

Within Charities, tier 4

Brodies LLP’s team, which was boosted by the recruitment of tax expert Isobel d’Inverno from MacRoberts LLP, was appointed as legal adviser to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

Within Family, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Scott Cochrane is the key contact in Brodies LLP’s ‘excellent‘ team. ‘Very professional‘ associate Marjory Blair is ‘approachable and empathetic - a very capable pair of hands‘.

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

Hugh Stevens heads Brodies LLP’s practice, which, as well as advising individuals, also acts for high street banks on providing customers with specialised private client services such as will writing. Hugh Stevens and Alan Barr are recommended.

Within Energy, tier 4

Brodies LLP receives a steady stream of project finance work from The Co-operative Bank - recently advising it on a number of wind farm projects in Scotland - while other clients include London Energy Partnership, Future Energy Yorkshire and Wycombe District Council. Charles Smith ‘enlivens the tedium of the law with a good sense of humour‘.

Within Projects, Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Headed by the ‘highly competent and commercial‘ Keith Patterson, Brodies LLP advised Glasgow City Council on procurement of the Athletes’ Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and Veolia Water on its acquisition of a portfolio of five Scottish and Northern Irish PPP contracts in the water sector.

Within Education, Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Led by Brenda Scott, Brodies LLP advises a range of private schools, universities and local councils on employment, property, construction and contractual matters. Clients include Queen Margaret University, Aberdeen City Council and Telford College.

Within Health, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Brodies LLP advised clients such as NHS Forth Valley on related PPP projects, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on partnering agreements in the UK. Keith Patterson is recommended.

Within Local government, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Brodies LLP is advising Glasgow City Council on several high-profile urban regeneration projects, including the development of the Athletes’ Village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and also acts for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. The ‘outstanding, fiercely intelligent and tactically astute‘ Christine O’Neill is, according to one client, ‘the outstanding public law solicitor in Scotland‘.

Within Parliamentary , Brodies LLP is a third tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s ‘helpful and attentive‘ practice is headed by the ‘excellent‘ Christine O’Neill. 2008 saw the firm advise Zurich Insurance and three global insurers on a proposed challenge to the Damages (Asbestos-Related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill.

Within Commercial property: Edinburgh and Glasgow, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Denis Garrity leads Brodies LLP’s ‘responsive, commercial and knowledgeable‘ team, which advised Resolution Property on the £58.5m acquisition of Glasgow’s Great Western Retail Park, and LxB on the acquisition of 1,000 acres of land near Edinburgh for a £1.6bn regeneration scheme. Johane McCall is praised for her ‘excellent manner and market knowledge‘, while the ‘personable and highly experienced‘ Dale Strachan is also recommended.

Within Commercial property: Elsewhere in Scotland

Within Commercial property: Elsewhere in Scotland

Within Construction, tier 4

Mark Finlay heads Brodies LLP’s practice, with Alan Calvert handling the disputes work. It represented Argyll & Bute Council on an adjudication relating to delays on harbour renovation and extension works, and advised Glasgow City council on the development of the Athletes’ Village for the 2014 Commonwealth games.

Within Environment, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

In Charles Smith and Kenneth Ross, Brodies LLP has two of Scotland’s leading environmental law experts. The firm advised key client the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on the public inquiry into theTrump Organisation’s proposed golf resort in Aberdeenshire, and on a public inquiry into their revocation of consent for the discharge of radioactive waste into the sea.

Within Planning, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Brodies LLP acted on Glasgow City Council’s compulsory acquisition of land for the Athletes’ Village in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and advised the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on its submission to the public inquiry into the Trump Organisation’s golf resort development in Aberdeenshire. Team head Neil Collar and Karen Hamilton are highly recommended.

Within Property litigation, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Stephen Goldie heads the team at Brodies LLP, which is backed up by several litigation partners including Robin MacPherson and Joyce Cullen. Highlights included advising PMP Plus on a successful appeal to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland against a decision by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. Other clients include Argyll and Bute Council, and Farmfoods.

Within Regional review,

Elsewhere, Brechin Tindal Oatts implemented a new corporate structure that saw managing partner Willie Young becoming chairman and practice manager Douglas Cowie taking a new chief executive role; Brodies LLP launched standalone financial services, public sector and funds groups; Tods Murray LLP elected David Dunsire as its new executive partner and created a new management board; and McClure Naismith LLP converted to LLP.

Within Information technologyand intellectual property, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

Grant Campbell runs a ‘robust, intelligent, friendly ship‘ at Brodies LLP, which is commended for its ‘wealth of industry knowledge and practical experience‘. The team advised ING Direct on all its ICT outsourcing, while IP clients include GlycoMar.

Within Media and entertainment

Within Sport, Brodies LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘diligent and courteous‘ Jock Brown is the main contact at Brodies LLP, which acts for London Scottish and Albion Rovers FC.

Within Transport, Brodies LLP is a first tier firm,

Brodies LLP’s ‘exemplary team‘ is strong in rail and shipping, recently advising Transport Scotland on a three-year extension to the ScotRail franchise, and on the M8 Special Roads Scheme. Bruce Stephen and Duncan MacLean are shipping and aviation experts, while Julian Voge is also recommended.