Brodies - Legal Briefings & Press Releases

Brodies LLP has been ranked the top Scottish firm in an independent planning law survey conducted by Planning magazine.

The survey, published in the current edition of the magazine, asked planning professionals to identify the solicitors, firms and barristers best placed to advise on the legal issues surrounding development projects and plans. The magazine emailed more than 7,000 private planning solicitors, planning consultants, planning officers, developers and local government lawyers to ask them for nominations.

Commenting on the ranking, Neil Collar, Head of Planning at Brodies, said: “We are very pleased that planning professionals rank us as the top Scottish firm for planning law work. This reflects our track record of being involved in high profile projects across a range of development sectors, with a team that has expanded to eight experienced lawyers, all thanks to the continued support of our clients.”

In 2013, Neil was the only Scottish lawyer in private practice named in Planning magazine one-off Power 100 list of the most influential names in planning. Brodies’ planning team is ranked top tier in both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 independent legal directories.

Neil sits on the Law Society of Scotland’s planning law committee and is the author of Planning, a highly-influential guide to planning law. He is also a prolific commentator on planning issues and contributor to Brodies’ planning blog.

Law students Georgia Carey and Lauren Kyle from Robert Gordon University (RGU) triumphed last night in the annual Granite City Moot, sponsored by Brodies LLP.

The RGU team were named the 2016 Granite City Moot champions after pitting their wits against Martyn Ross and Anna Black from Aberdeen University in a lively and hard-fought legal debate before Sheriff Alison Stirling, academics and fellow students at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Mooting allows students to demonstrate both their legal knowledge and debating skills in arguing a fictitious case based on a genuine legal problem while adhering to the protocols of a real court.

This year, the scenario involved a prosecution appeal in relation to ‘Gavin Greedy’ who had been convicted at Balbair Sheriff Court of embezzling money from his employer, Betty’s Bakeries. The appeal turned upon police officer evidence under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Scotland Act 1995 and whether the Crown had proved the accused appropriated the money dishonestly for an embezzlement conviction. It was claimed that the accused’s human rights under Article 6 rights had been breached with evidence being admitted unfairly.

Val Bremner, Moot coordinator and a law lecturer at RGU, said: “We were absolutely delighted to win this year’s Granite City Moot. Georgia and Lauren are highly motivated students who worked exceptionally hard on their legal arguments for the competition.

“This event is a great opportunity for students to test their skills in a courtroom setting, in front of a real Sheriff and members of the local law community. Public speaking skills and confidence only come with practice and moots are a great way to do this, showing students how their academic knowledge can be applied in practice.”

Malcolm Mackay, a partner in the insurance & risk team of Brodies LLP, presented the winning team with their prize.

Brodies LLP has been named Scotland IP Firm of the Year at the prestigious Managing Intellectual Property Global Awards in London for the third consecutive time.

Partners Robert Buchan and Gill Grassie and Associate Shona Tennant from Brodies’ IP team attended the awards dinner to receive the accolade, which recognised the wide range of specialist advice they had provided to clients over the past year, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector where they were involved in a prominent patent dispute.

Now in their 11^th year, the Managing IP Global Awards, held last week at Savoy Hotel, London, are the highlight of the global IP calendar. The winners are chosen by Managing IP’s team of editors and researchers, based on the publication’s world IP survey, recent market developments and client feedback.

Some key work undertaken by the Brodies IP team over the last year includes acting for PRS for Music in its copyright enforcement campaign in Scotland and acting in a multi-jurisdictional patent dispute. The team also advised a leading education and examination provider on the protection and enforcement its intellectual property, both in the UK and internationally. This involved advising on trademarks and logos, and taking action against infringing third parties.

Other highlights over the past year have included acting for TripAdvisor, Krispy Kreme, Facebook Inc., Oil States International, Glasgow Caledonian University, DC Thomson and the Scotch Whisky Association.

The accolade follows Brodies’ ‘Gold’ ranking earlier this year in the World Trademark Review’s global list of the 1,000 leading trademark professionals – also the third consecutive year the firm has achieved this prestigious recognition. For the first time Brodies was the only Scottish firm to be listed in the gold category.

Gill Grassie, Head of IP Dispute Resolution at Brodies, said: “We are delighted to once again be named the Scotland IP Firm of the Year, and for our achievements to be recognised for the third year in a row. Our dedicated IP team is proud to assist our clients in Scotland and abroad in protecting their intellectual property and innovation and we thank them for their continued support, which made this award possible. We certainly won’t be resting on our laurels and this recognition will only encourage us to set the bar for the quality of our service even higher.”

Brodies’ IP team is ranked top tier in both of the leading independent legal directories,Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.