The Legal 500

ADVOCATES LIBRARY, PARLIAMENT HOUSE, PARLIAMENT SQUARE, EDINBURGH, EH1 1RF, SCOTLAND
Tel:
Work 0131 260 5674
Fax:
Fax 0131 225 3642
Web:
www.ampersandstable.com
Email:

Ampersand provides the full range of services offered by the Scottish Bar with core strengths in Commercial, Planning, Public and Reparation law, both in contentious and non-contentious work, including advocacy, advice, and related written work.

The stable: Ampersand is committed to best practice, both as Advocates practising at the Scottish Bar and in the way Ampersand works with clients.

It is Ampersand’s commitment to delivering best practice that has led to Ampersand being widely regarded as the Civil Law Stable of Choice in Scotland.

Amongst Ampersand’s members are some of the Scottish Bar’s most highly rated and successful Queen’s Counsel and junior Counsel. Members of the Stable are instructed by UK and overseas law firms, by governmental and in-house legal departments and by other professionals and consultants able to instruct counsel directly.

The stable was established in 1981. It presently has 51 members, including 20 Queen’s Counsel. The clerks place great emphasis on their service to solicitors and clients and are always happy to advise what expertise is available among our membership in order to deal with a particular issue, in a specified timescale and at what cost. Information about members and their areas of practice is also available on the stable’s website: www.ampersandstable.com.

Types of work undertaken: Ampersand has formidable strength in the fields of commercial law, planning and environmental law, public law and human rights, personal injury and negligence work. In the commercial law sphere, there is particular expertise in relation to corporate law, construction and engineering litigation, contractual disputes, commercial property issues, and professional negligence cases. In addition, expert assistance is available in relation to intellectual property matters, media and defamation and employment cases. In the public law and human rights arena, the work of the stable is extensive, with members acting both for and against central government agencies, the Scottish Government , local authorities, and regulatory bodies. Members of the stable have been instructed in many of the leading cases arising out of devolution and the incorporation into law of the European Convention on Human Rights. The stable also has acknowledged expertise in the substantive law of the European Union. Within the membership there are a number of standing junior counsel for UK government departments and branches of the Scottish Government. Members of the stable practise in all the Scottish civil courts, as well as in tribunals, inquiries, arbitrations, adjudications, and mediations. Members of the stable are also regularly instructed to appear in the UK Supreme Court (formerly House of Lords and the Privy Council), and have appeared before the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. Members also appear in the criminal courts.

Above material supplied by Ampersand ().

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • HOUSING

    In Nzinga Maswaku v Westminster City Council [2012] EWCA Civ 669 the Court of Appeal clarified that in offering a homeless person with alternative temporary accommodation the local authority is obliged to point that if the offer is refused it has discharged its Part VII duties under the Housing Act 1996.
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  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
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  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
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  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
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  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
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  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
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  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
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  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
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  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue: