BTO Solicitors LLP

Insurance (insurers and self-insured); Catastrophic Injuries Claims

Partner & Solicitor Advocate

Mark is a Partner and a Solicitor Advocate in our Insurance Litigation Department. He has practised exclusively in civil and commercial litigation throughout his career. He has a wealth of experience in large loss and fatal claims, together with the defence of clinical negligence actions. He has an expertise on stress at work and claims involving pain disorders.

He has significant experience in defending claims which include elements of fraud, material exaggeration, and pain disorder cases including chronic pain, somatoform and fibromyalgia and developing strategies to defend such claims.

He also acts in the defence of clinical negligence and professional indemnity claims. He has experience in dealing with claims arising from breach of contract, property damage and construction claims. He has also been instructed in the defence of professional liability claims, focussed on claims against solicitors.

His recent experience has seen him acting for higher and further education institutions in claims for damages arising from discrimination, appearing before the Additional Support Needs, First Tier Tribunal for Scotland.

His practice as a Solicitor Advocate has developed since admission in 2018. He has a great deal of court experience conducting proofs on behalf of clients in the Sheriff Court. He appears in Court of Session most recently in the reported judgment in Maguire v Black Isle Fire Sytems Ltd 2023. He has twice successfully represented commercial insurance clients in appeals before the Sheriff Appeal Court, including the reported judgment in Hannaway v Discount Trade Windows, 2020.  This year (2023) he successfully defended a Further Education Institution in claim under the Equality Act in a six day trial for alleged discrimination against a student.

He is a sitting solicitor member of the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal and a legal contributor to Lexis Nexis, having prepared its civil briefing on legal privilege in Scotland.

Mark’s focus is to provide clear and concise advice for clients, with a focus on achieving the best commercial outcome possible.

2015 – Date, Partner & Solicitor Advocate, BTO Solicitors LLP 2013 – 2015 – Solicitor, Large Loss Unit, DAC Beachcroft (Scotland) LLP 2012 – 2013 – Solicitor, Insurance Litigation, Digby Brown LLP 2008 – 2012 – Traineeship into Professional Indemnity Solicitor, HBM Sayers

Work highlights:

Hannaway v Discount Trade Windows, 2020 SAC (Civ) 8 Maguire v Black Isle Fire Systems Ltd & Another, [2023] CSOH 51 Sengers v Moray College, 2023 Elgin Sheriff Court (unreported OL case) Oliphant v West Lothian College, 2023, Livingston Sheriff Court (unreported Equality Act disability discrimination case) Wagner v Grant & Arla Foods UK Plc, [2015] CSOH 51 (instructing solicitor)

Basic German

Law Society of Scotland Society of Solicitor Advocates Solicitor Member of the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal

2007 – 2018:     Glasgow Graduate School of Law - Diploma in Legal Practice

2003 – 2007:     University of Glasgow – LLB Hons (2:1)

2006:                University of Copehagen

Playing football, golf, squash Film & Cinema