Shepherd and Wedderburn

Corporate Finance

Paul is a partner and chairman of the firm and heads up the finance and restructuring practice. He is one of Scotland’s best-known corporate lawyers, with a number of major energy and financial companies featuring in his client list including Cairn Energy, Lloyds Banking Group and European Assets Trust. He is also a highly experienced insolvency practitioner and. His particular specialism is complex restructuring and insolvency work involving the application of his wide range of banking, insolvency and corporate experience. He acts as a reporter to the Court of Session in Edinburgh on significant corporate transactions and is the convenor of the business policy panel of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Recent work includes acting on various debt to equity restructurings, acting as Reporter on capital reduction applications by Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Standard Life and Cairn Energy’s international investment treaty arbitration against the Government of India.

Articled Fyfe Ireland WS; qualified 1984; assistant solicitor Shepherd and Wedderburn 1984-87, partner since 1987; president Scottish Young Lawyers’ Association 1983-85; lectured in insolvency for Law Society of Scotland, post qualifying legal education and Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, joint Insolvency Examination training courses. Chief executive of the firm 1999-2004. Appointed reporter to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, 2006 and reported on various cases including the demutualisation of Standard Life and the merger of Lloyds Banking Group and Bank of Scotland and the recent Project Verde Schemes. Chairman of the firm since 2014.

Law Society of Scotland; Law Society; ICAS business law committee; secretary and non-executive director of World Services Group 2001-2004. Director of Scottish Financial Enterprise 2005 – 2011.

Perth High School; Edinburgh University (LLB Hons; WS).

Golf, hill walking, music.