Ampersand Advocates has an excellent track record in handling high-profile commercial disputes. The team’s broad workload includes contentious construction, professional negligence, insolvency and intellectual property issues. Paul Reid KC has extensive experience in advising on professional liability claims, and Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen KC is well versed in assisting with disputes relating to insolvency, planning and shipping matters. Among the juniors, Ross Anderson is ‘reliable and easy to work with’, Timothy Young has ‘razor-sharp focus on the particulars of a case’, and Michael Way is ‘an accomplished litigator’ with ‘unmatched pure, raw intellect’. In recent work for the stable, newly appointed silk Usman Tariq KC, who attracts praise for his ‘huge depth of knowledge of IP law’, acted as sole counsel for the respondent in D&M Winchester Ltd v Coleburn Distillery Ltd, which involved a dispute over a trade mark; this case was the second ever appeal from the UK Intellectual Property Office to the Court of Session under the Trade Marks Act 1994.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
- Profile
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Alan Moffat is great.'
- 'Emma Busby is our usual point of contact and is extremely organised and helpful.'
- 'Alan Moffat and Kathryn Ferguson are very helpful.'
- 'The clerks are attentive and efficient.'
- 'Very efficient, friendly and reliable.'
- 'Ampersand is an exceptional stable.'
- 'A go-to stable for any commercial dispute, and the range of advocates is very impressive.'
- 'Ampersand is an excellent stable.'
Lawyers
Leading silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen KC
2023 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Paul Reid KC
2024 Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Usman Tariq KC
Leading juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Ross Anderson
Eoghainn MacLean
Mark Boni
Nicholas McAndrew
Timothy Young
Rising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.