Scott Dorling > Trowers & Hamlins LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Strong expertise in commercialisation, developments, governance, and income generation matters allows the ‘strong and hugely knowledgeable‘ team at Trowers & Hamlins LLP to maintain close relationships with an array of city, borough, and county councils across the UK. These clients instruct the team to handle a number of high-value housing projects and estate regenerations, and the practice is also capable of advising on investment decisions, procurement contracts, and commercial arrangements in connection with the maintenance of critical services. Led by social housing and regeneration expert Scott Dorling, the team’s strong presence in the housing space is reinforced by the expertise of Paul McDermott, who advises on funding and governance matters in connection with development projects, and consultant Helen Randall, a key contact for PPPs and joint ventures. Victoria Thornton is also recommended, particularly for her expertise handling commercial arrangements. In addition to these London-based lawyers, Birmingham-based Amardeep Gill is highly recommended for his work on complex and specialized leisure and green mobility projects.

Trowers & Hamlins LLP‘s social housing team, led by Tonia Secker, continues to operate at the forefront of the market. Spearheaded by ‘sector-leading lawyer’ Rob Beiley, the firm acted on a significant number of new entrant registrations in 2022, including local authorities returning to direct housing delivery and international clients investing into UK vehicles. The team advises a full range of sector participants and Sara Bailey has over 20 years’ experience advising private providers, local authorities, and central government developers. The practice has expanded its offering to cover growing areas within the sector, including carbon neutrality and building safety, which are particular areas of focus for Rebecca Rees. The team handles complex transactions, including housing infrastructure funding, private and public collaborations, and portfolio transactions, with Amy Shaw leading on joint ventures and Jeremy Hunt specialising in residential regeneration projects and mixed-use development schemes. Scott Dorling, head of the public sector group, has ‘vast experience with local authorities’ and provides leading advice on housing policy, alongside Sharron Webster, who co-leads the social housing governance team.

With recognisable strength in both contentious and non-contentious work, Trowers & Hamlins LLP is highly active in commercial judicial review and transparency issues, as well as advising on public sector powers and governance issues. Lucy James, who heads the firm’s national commercial litigation team, has expanded the contentious procurement offering, while public sector head Scott Dorling has vast expertise advising on vires, procurement and state aid issues for local authority projects.

A key point of differentiation for the infrastructure group at Trowers & Hamlins LLP is its impressive and deep portfolio of PFI / PPP work, with the firm working with a host of national and regional public sponsors and public sector commissioners. While the firm has an international reach – with mandates in the Middle East and Asia – the team’s most significant instructions are  development, expansion and relocation projects in UK cities, such as Birmingham and London.  Paul McDermott has been a key driver of the firm’s expanding work in life sciences, medical research and sports, with a particular interest in emerging technologies. Scott Dorling is active on leisure PPPs and other social infrastructure projects, while Amardeep Gill handles the group’s matters based in Birmingham. Assad Maqbool is noted for public sector education work, while Lucy Doran is actively involved in NHS work, as well as being engaged in a plethora of housing regeneration schemes.