Robert Howie KC
A silk who thinks ahead and anticipates the opponent's next move.'
At Ampersand Advocates, Ailsa Wilson KC is sought after for her expertise in advising on land ownership disputes, infrastructure development issues and contentious matters relating to environmental protection regulations. Marcus McKay KC continues to act for energy companies in work concerning the planning aspects of large-scale energy infrastructure projects in Scotland. In recent work for the group, McKay KC and Nicholas McAndrew represented SSEN Transmission in a public local inquiry concerning planning permission for the construction of a 275kV overhead electricity line in Argyll and Kintyre, as part of a 13.3km energy infrastructure development project; the Scottish Government granted approval for the construction. Louise Cockburn is well-versed in advising on planning and environmental matters.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Alan Moffat is always available and helpful.'
- 'Sheena Hume is always extremely helpful and efficient.'
- 'The clerks are very responsive and provide a high level of service.'
- 'Ampersand's clerks are always very helpful and easy to deal with.'
- 'A go-to stable with a good range of impressive advocates.'
- 'Ampersand are a stand-out stable. The standard of service provided by the clerks is exceptional.'
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.
Ailsa Wilson KC
Ailsa is an incredibly knowledgeable and experienced advocate in planning law. Clients like her; she is extremely personable and down to earth. She is precise and calm in her advocacy, with nothing fazing her.'
Marcus McKay KC
Marcus is an exceptional advocate. He is hands-on, extremely approachable and an excellent strategist. His knowledge of the energy sector is second to none.'
Laura-Anne Van Der Westhuizen 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
An advocate who is very good at getting to grips with and mastering the details of his brief.'
Eoghainn MacLean
Nicholas McAndrew
Nick is a fantastic advocate to work with: he is bright, articulate and commercially focussed. He gets straight to the point. He is robust and tenacious but is also pragmatic and user friendly. Nick is always able to identify different angles and approaches when it comes to presenting arguments.'
Timothy Young
Tim has great attention to detail - he spots the nub of the issue for the client at the outset, and focuses on achieving the best possible outcome for them.'
Louise Cockburn
Louise is very knowledgeable and a great communicator. She is easily approachable, and demonstrates great advocacy skills in a court setting.'
Giles Reid
A fiercely intelligent advocate, with a client-friendly manner. He has a strong presence in the court.'