BTO Solicitors LLP

BTO Solicitors LLP

bto.co.uk

Member of Mackrell International

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Scotland

BTO Solicitors LLP - Commercial Litigation

Paul Motion

Paul Motion

Partner and Solicitor Advocate Paul is a versatile and highly experienced civil Solicitor Advocate who has used his Rights of Audience continuously and prominently since 1998. He has been qualified 39 years. In 2018 he became the first Accredited Specialist in freedom of information and data protection law, in private practice, in Scotland. Paul is one of the most experienced commercial litigation solicitors practising in Scotland. He qualified in 1984 and so has been practising for 38 years. He has been a solicitor advocate since 1998. He practised in New Zealand between 1990 and 1993 appearing as counsel at many levels including the New Zealand Court of Appeal in 1991. Paul is the current Convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Extended Civil Rights of Audience training programme. Amongst the vast range of litigation Paul has handled during his long career are included many judicial reviews (two in 2022) and two international arbitrations together with related Court of Session appeals (in 2016/2018 and 2019/2022). Paul has handled many complex company and shareholder disputes.  In 2021 he was involved in a multi-jurisdictional £58m shareholder dispute involving Scotland, England, Cyprus, China and the Cayman Islands. Paul is often called upon to carry out emergency litigation and has huge experience in dealing with interdict (injunction) applications as well as “Dawn Raids” (*formerly Anton Piller orders in England). He dealt with an urgent injunction in the High Court Queens Bench Division over Christmas 2021/2022, seeking to restrain the holding of a meeting. He appeared in 2008/9 in the Wishart case which remains the leading Scottish authority on shareholder derivative actions: ALEXANDER MARSHALL WISHART v. CASTLECROFT SECURITIES LIMITED AND OTHERS (scotcourts.gov.uk) Paul is also recognised in Scotland as a leading practitioner in data protection (one of only three Accredited Specialists in private practice in Scotland), social media and reputational law. He is regularly in court on these matters. See CAROL BEYTS AGAINST TRUMP INTERNATIONAL GOLF CLUB SCOTLAND LIMITED (scotcourts.gov.uk); ANTHONY WOOLLEY AND DEBORAH WOOLLEY AGAINST NAHID AKBAR OR AKRAM (scotcourts.gov.uk); and Heather Hiram -v- Alana Mullen 2020scedin23.pdf (scotcourts.gov.uk) He has contributed comment to BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Five Live Drive on these topics, often at short notice. He writes articles for the legal and mainstream media and lectures on his subjects regularly. He has also engaged with Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor and US news websites in relation to reputational matters. Paul founded and heads BTO BeCreative, a niche team focused on servicing the legal needs of the Scottish creative industries. He devised and presented seminar/workshops at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to an audience of theatrical agents and managers for the ten years. Paul was instrumental in persuading BTO to set up RGDP LLP in 2019. This is a JV company in which BTO’s partner is ComputerLaw Training. RGDP which provides outsourced Data Protection Officer services to nearly 90 customers. Paul is the Board Chairman of RGDP LLP.

Deals

  • Acting for MAN SE in connection with multiple follow-on damages claims under competition law founding upon the European Commission’s 2016 Trucks Decision.
  • Acting for multinational gain supplier and processor, ADM, in litigation following the administration of a UK grain wholesaler, Alexander Inglis and Son, through which ADM was able to recover over 3,700 metric tonnes of oil seed rape.
  • Acting for the shareholders of an online retailer in a multinational shareholder dispute involving interests in Scotland, England and Germany.

Team Services

The team is known for having the strength in depth and experience needed to deal with complex, high value litigation, often with a cross border element.  Clients welcome our no-nonsense, pragmatic approach.

An in-house Solicitor Advocate capability enables us to offer our clients virtually instantaneous reactions when urgent court action is needed, whether raising or defending proceedings. We have particular and recent experience in interdicts (Injunctions), Section 1 Applications (formerly called Anton Piller orders in England) and judicial reviews.

Our extensive client roster covers key sectors in the Scottish economy, as well as instructions from firms from elsewhere in the UK and internationally on Scots law and Scottish litigation. Sectors serviced include: banking, tourism and leisure, food and drink, charities/not for profit, renewable energy, construction and materials, healthcare, commercial and professional services, marine and fishing, and automobiles and parts.

Client testimonials

Dr Philipp Kanzow, German Solicitor, Hengeler Mueller, Dusseldorf, European Counsel for MAN Truck & Bus

Will Cole and his team are always a pleasure to work with. They are very responsive and have delivered high-quality advice in litigation matters. Will Cole's approach is pragmatic and focused, saving time and money.

Andrew Preston, Preston Turnbull, English solicitors of ADM Agriculture

Will represented us in a complex stock loss involving multiple pledgees of goods, insolvency and fraud issues. He was extremely proactive, commercial and user friendly in achieving a good result for our clients under challenging time frames.

Gary Booth, Chief Governance Officer, The Scottish Football Association

Will has a thorough understanding of our business and is able to quickly identify the risks that we face in the matters that he advises us on. His advice is always clear and thoughtful and plays a valuable part in our strategic approach to these matters.

Stephen Joseph, CEO/COO, Ocean Outdoor

Will and his team at BTO were exceptional in our recent litigation case. Will’s ability to explain technical law issues and how they linked to the commercial aspects of the case was extremely helpful in formulating a strategy of how to move forward with the claim and counter claims. 

His team were always quick to respond and helped source experts in the field that were pivotal to our negotiating position and the eventual positive outcome.

He did not hesitate to proceed on the mediation route we deduced upon despite the fee income potential being far greater if we hadn’t. The impartial advice when we had to make a critical decision was extremely valuable.

I would recommend Will to anyone who was seeking to litigate in Scotland.

Luke Wilkes

Will and his team have been first class. He has given me invaluable support and advice and has replied to any questions or concerns efficiently and quickly. He has always taken the time to explain everything to me in a language that I understand and makes sure I am comfortable and in agreement with any decisions.

I feel that I am in the very capable hands of a highly professional firm with outstanding attention to detail.