Andrew specialises in commercial real estate transactions across a range of classes of property including the office, retail, leisure and industrial sectors for investors occupiers and funders and has over 30 years of experience operating in those sectors. Andrew acts for a number of high profile clients and regularly advises on the Scottish property aspects of cross-border transactions. A selection of notable transactions and matters in which Andrew has been involved are as follows: The Scottish property aspects of the outsourcing of property estate of the Inland Revenue to Mapeley (a Soros/Delancey backed investment vehicle) with a global transactional value of circa £2 billion; The multi-million pound acquisition and subsequent disposal of Cameron Toll Shopping Centre, Edinburgh for a private Irish Investor; The relocation of AMF Bowling to premises at Springfield Quay, Glasgow; The restructuring of the Scottish property portfolio of Little Chef; The property aspects of the Administration of Gretna Football Club; The acquisition of properties in Glasgow and Edinburgh for student accommodation for an offshore fund at a value of circa £30 million; The management and leasing work for Landmark Space Limited (formerly I2 Office Limited) in Scotland; The Scottish property aspects of the refinancing of the student accommodation property portfolio of an offshore fund with a global value exceeding £100 million; Acting for a BVI offshore entity in the acquisition of a Holiday Inn Express branded hotel in Edinburgh from an Administrator for circa £17 million; Acting for a major cinema operator in negotiating an Agreement for Lease and taking a lease as part of a redevelopment of a city centre shopping centre in Glasgow; Acting for a US Funder in agreeing security documentation for provision of funding to the purchaser of a major PRS Scheme at Fountainbridge Edinburgh; Acting for a US Funder in agreeing security documentation for provision of funding to the developer of a speculative build office building in Glasgow; The property aspects of the acquisition of Hillington Industrial Estate Glasgow for a Singaporean investor as part of a cross-border deal with a global value in excess of £650 million; Acting for a UK operator in the acquisition of a riverfront site in Glasgow for development of a hotel; The management and leasing work for Thorntons Limited in Scotland. In his leisure time, Andrew enjoys playing golf and is a member of his local club at Caudwell near Glasgow and also of The St Andrews Golf Club in St Andrews.
Weightmans LLP
Lawyers
Carolyn is a key member of the firm's business immigration team. She has wide experience in professional legal services and has been a member of the team since January 2018.
Carolyn’s experience of working in the field of immigration law allows her to advise a wide variety of clients – from FTSE 100 companies and multinational organisations to universities, the NHS and individuals – in relation to a full range of immigration issues, including:
Sponsor Licence applications and compliance
Skilled worker visas and extensions
Global business mobility visas
Visitor visas
Student visas
Creative worker visas
Family member visa applications and extensions
Applications for indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
British citizenship
Advice on recruiting non-UK Nationals
European applications
Right to work assistance
General HR and recruitment advice
Offering practical help in the face of complex Home Office rules, Carolyn assists clients to manage the risks involved with the sometimes inconsistent application of those rules. In addition to her legal qualifications, Carolyn has a First-Class Business Degree and her commercial experience puts her in the best position to work with her clients with the aim of achieving a positive outcome.
Carolyn also works with employers on a range of HR and employment law issues.
She is a member of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) and the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA).
Her articles are regularly featured in well-known publications, such as The Scotsman newspaper, and on the firm’s media.
Carolyn is interested in all areas of immigration, employment, and discrimination law. She is also one of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Champions and is a qualified mental health first aider - a testament to her passion for inclusivity.
Douglas is a partner in Weightmans’ Glasgow office. He is an experienced litigator who acts for insurers, adjusters, corporate and public sector clients. He specialises in defending motor, employer and public liability claims, particularly high-value or complex cases, in both the Sheriff Court and Court of Session. He also conducts the defence of health and safety prosecutions and appears at fatal accident inquiries. Cases of note: acted for a major UK insurer in relation to two high value personal claims arising from a road traffic accident where the driver of the car they were passengers in was “racing” with another car – both claims had values in excess of £1m while the circumstances of the accident itself led to the claim proceeding to a trial on liability alone; acted for the Scottish Government in relation to claims brought by family members of individuals who had committed suicide in prison – these claims involved detailed consideration of the policies and procedures followed by the Scottish Prison Service, particularly in relation to its treatment of inmates with psychological problems.
Ingrid is a key member of the firm's business immigration practice. She is experienced in both employment law and immigration law and provides seamless advice across both disciplines. Ingrid has experience in providing global immigration advice and support for a variety of sectors including retail, transport, hospitality, education and construction. She is also a key member of the firm's HR Rely service and is managing the HR Rely immigration service delivered to new and existing HR Rely clients. Ingrid’s immigration expertise extends to assisting with compliance, policy drafting and implementation and strategy and the prevention of illegal working. She is a regular contributor to immigration articles and is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) and the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA). Recent work highlights Advising higher education authority in respect of new points based system and assisting with policy implementation and strategy Advising FTSE 100 company in respect of compliance duties and immigration/discrimination considerations within recruitment practices Advising construction sector in respect of immigration rules and compliance Supporting transport and logistical businesses with compliance and advising in respect of immigration rules and the prevention of illegal working Advising further education authority in respect of sponsorship duties and application process.
Nicola is a partner in our corporate and commercial team, based in Glasgow and working closely with our national commercial team on general commercial work, IP, media and technology matters, outsourcing/contract management, procurement and data protection. Nicola has extensive commercial contracts and negotiation experience in a range of sectors — both public and private and worked across various jurisdictions, in the UK and globally. Nicola is also a member of Weightmans Digital, technology and data, and sports law team.
Nicola has widespread experience of representing major brands, high-value companies, partnerships, public authorities, sport bodies, educational institutes and charities, along with a sound background of working in highly regulated sectors and managing risks across a broad range of legal issues.
Noel is a solicitor advocate based in our Glasgow office specialising in Scottish family law.
In expert guides he has been described as "exceptionally good". According to clients, he provides 'outstanding' service, is 'absolutely committed to the case', and has 'exemplary' knowledge.
Noel has extensive experience in high-net-worth divorces, cohabitation claims, prenuptial agreements and child relocation cases. He has also conducted many cases as a fully trained collaborative lawyer. Noel attracts glowing recommendations from clients - 'I cannot praise the service I received highly enough'; 'I found him to be outstanding and very understanding to my case'. He did "a fantastic job representing me". "I felt sad for [my ex partner] when he was on the stand... being cross-examined by Noel".
Noel continues to be a leader in the field of family law. He has recently been involved in a number of difficult divorces where the sums at stake have been several millions of pounds. In addition, he has prepared a number of pre-nuptial agreements for some of the highest profile individuals in Scotland, including international sporting stars as well as members of the Sunday Times 100 Richest people. He has also successfully litigated and negotiated several complex cohabitant claims both on separation and on intestacy. Noel also successfully obtained an order for a father to retain his son in a groundbreaking relocation case which attracted widespread publicity in newspapers and TV not only across the UK but also abroad.
Noel’s strong grasp of the law inspires confidence in clients and commands respect from fellow practitioners. The complex financial nature of the cases he is in involved in demands not only technical expertise but also innovation and creative solutions. Noel is exceptionally good at thinking outside of the box.
Noel has extensive experience in all areas of family law. As well as having extensive litigation experience he is also noted for his strong negotiation skills and commercial pragmatism.
Noel’s people skills in dealing with clients going through highly emotive situations are second to none. Noel’s easy-going and likeable nature really puts clients at ease. His ability to explain often complex legal and financial issues in a straightforward and understandable way takes a lot of the stress off the client’s shoulders.
Noel's clients regularly confirm their high regard for the work he has undertaken on their behalf.
As well as being a solicitor advocate with rights of audience in the Supreme Courts, Noel is a trained Collaborative lawyer and member of Consensus. He is also a member of the Family Law Association, having served as Treasurer and a committee member on the Family Law Association Committee for 9 years. He also contributed a chapter on Financial Aspects of Divorce for the Family Law Association's handbook.
Noel has had numerous articles published in the Law Society Journal and Family Law Bulletin as well as in several publications and broadsheets such as the Scotsman and Herald newspapers. Noel previously ran Professional Competence Courses for trainee family lawyers on behalf of the Law Society of Scotland and is still actively involved in preparing and presenting seminars for the Law Society of Scotland, Family Law Association, STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners), Various Solicitors’ Groups and Central Law Training. He has presented seminars on Divorce, Pensions; Cohabitation laws; Pre nuptial Agreements and Children’s cases to solicitors across Scotland. He was also formerly a member of the panel of solicitor reporters for West Lothian and the former Vice Dean of the West Lothian Faculty of Solicitors.
Noel is part of the winning team named Family Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Family Law Awards. Noel is also a member of the International Bar Association.
Pamela joined Weightmans in Glasgow in September 2014 as an Insurance Partner.
She has worked exclusively in the personal injury field her entire career. She qualified as a solicitor in 1999 following the completion of her traineeship with Thompsons Solicitors, one of the largest pursuer personal injury practices in Scotland. At Thompsons, she worked within their disease department dealing with a diverse case load including claims for bladder cancer, asthma, silicosis and asbestos related diseases. In December 2001, Pamela moved to bto solicitors, an insurance defender firm, as she was interested in approaching claims from a different perspective. Her caseload was very diverse including all types of employers liability, public liability, disease, motor, fatal, stress/harassment at work, medical negligence, professional negligence and consumer protection claims where there was a personal injury element.
In April 2011, Pamela was assumed as a Partner of bto, and headed up their Disease team although her remit also involved running the £50,000 to £500,000 team. Through the work undertaken for one of bto's insurance clients, she managed to secure instructions / nominations from two large insureds to deal with their asbestos cases. Pamela was also part of the Marine Team at bto dealing with personal injury claims arising from accidents or the contraction of illnesses/diseases whilst on board ships or in shipyards.
Pamela’s in depth technical knowledge and pragmatic approach has resulted in her being viewed by a number of clients as their "first port of call" both for dealing with claims and providing ad hoc advice.
Pamela has been involved in a number of high profile cases, including Amanda Chinn v Cyclacel (2013) where she successfully defended a preliminary proof on time bar in a WRULD claim, and Mair v Amey (2013), where she obtained judgement for her client in an action arising from alleged defects in the road and the defenders failure to inspect and repair. She also recently obtained abandonment for her insurance clients in a Lyme Disease and COPD claims. The Lyme Disease abandonment was a significant result as liability had been admitted and an interim damages payment had been made pre litigation.
Pamela is also an active member of FOIL Scotland.
Seonaid is a partner and solicitor advocate with extended rights of audience in the Court of Session, the UK Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Her active role as a solicitor advocate has assisted in reducing costs to clients.
Seonaid has dealt with a wide spectrum of liability claims including all levels and values of road traffic, public and employers’ liability and occupational disease. She has particular experience in dealing with personal injury, discrimination and Human Rights claims brought against a legacy Scottish Police Force.
She also has extensive experience in the regulatory field including prosecutions in the field of road traffic, health & safety and environmental, proceedings before the Traffic Commissioner and Fatal Accident Inquiries.
Her breadth and depth of experience also includes work in the Marine field. More recently she has been involved in the successful defence of Judicial Review proceedings against a client involving complex jurisdictional issues along with vessel arrestment proceedings.
Seonaid has regularly prepared and presented training to a wide variety of clients.
Seonaid is an active member of FOIL Scotland.
Steven is an experienced employment law specialist. He provides advice on all aspects of employment law/HR and represents both employers and employees in the employment tribunals. An experienced litigator, Steven regularly appears in the employment tribunals and has an excellent track record.
Steven also has experience in football regulatory matters and the Commercial Agents Regulations.
His key expertise includes:
-Employment Tribunals (claimants and respondents)
-Settlement agreements
-Disciplinary matters
-Absence and performance management
-Redundancy handling
-TUPE transfers
-Discrimination
-Maternity and paternity rights
-Whistleblowing
-Data protection/GDPR
-Commercial agents regulations
-Football regulatory matters
Steven is known for his professional but down to earth approach and, in particular, his focus on achieving practical as well as legal solutions for clients. He was also a non-executive director of a mental health charity for a number of years.
Prior to becoming a solicitor, Steven worked for ACAS and is also a former VAT inspector.