Lawyers in Scotland

Katie Carter

Katie is a senior associate in the firm’s Corporate and M&A team having joined the firm in 2020. She represents corporate and institutional clients, as well as partnerships and private individuals, across a broad range of transactional real estate services. She has experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, venture capital and corporate restructuring. Katie has acted for companies, entrepreneurs, investors and management teams across a broad range of industry sectors (locally, nationally and internationally). Katie’s work has had particular focus on life sciences, technology and renewable energy sectors. She also provides advice and support to clients on various corporate and commercial matters including corporate governance, company law and commercial contracts. She has undertaken a two year secondment at SIMEC Atlantis Energy (SAE), a leading sustainable energy company, during which time she was the primary legal advisor for the SAE group.

Burges Salmon LLP

Katie Russell

Katie is an experienced advisor in UK employment law, with over 15 years’ specialist experience. Acting primarily for employers, Katie advises on all areas of employment law, including discrimination, whistleblowing, restructuring and redundancy, corporate transactions, TUPE, and Employment Tribunal and High Court/Court of Session litigation. Katie has particular experience of advising businesses in the financial sector and experience in acting as an independent appeals officer. Accredited Specialist in Employment Law (Law Society of Scotland). Publications Frequent contributor to various HR and employment law publications including Scottish Business Insider and HR Director magazine. Sits on the Employment Law Policy Committee of the Law Society of Scotland. Speaker on family friendly rights training module for Employment Lawyers Association introductory course for Newly Qualified employment lawyers.

Burges Salmon LLP

Katie Yorke

Katie is a Legal Director in the corporate team, based in the London office. Katie advises national and international clients on a diverse scope of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions (domestic and cross-border), private equity investments and disposals, fundraisings, corporate governance, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements. Katie has particular expertise in multi-jurisdictional matters and helps manage Shoosmiths’ international relationships in the World Services Group (WSG) and the International Bar Association (IBA). Katie also has experience in acting for AIM and Main Market listed companies, nominated advisers and brokers on reverse takeovers, initial public offerings, secondary fundraisings and regulatory compliance. In 2018, Katie co-authored Thomson Reuters’ annual regulatory overview of UK Equity Capital Markets. Key recent and historic transactions include: advising FPE Capital and management on the sale of TNP to Node4 (backed by Providence Equity Partners); acting for Universally Speaking, a leading localisation and quality assurance provider in the gaming sector, on its strategic investment from Phoenix Equity Partners; advising management on the sale of global prototyping and specialised manufacturing group, Goodfellow, to Battery Ventures, with subsequent reinvestment; acting on the share sale of a UK-headquartered international innovation group, with simultaneous Dutch and US group divestments; acting for a Cayman-based entity and its shareholders on a US$160million disposal of its joint venture interests in Cyprus, Dubai, Turkey and Africa to its German co-shareholder under English law; working with the UK arm of a US-headquartered group on a US$120million acquisition of an international technology and IP group based in Australia, Asia and the UK; advising a Saudi Arabian group of companies on a new joint venture and related arrangements with its German partner under English law; and advising the selling shareholders of Indigo Planning on its sale to Canadian-listed global services firm, WSP.

Shoosmiths

Katrina Spolander

Katrina is a principal associate and has a broad range of experience in many aspects of commercial real estate, with a particular focus on advising clients in the retail, telecommunications and care sectors. Her recent experience includes acting for: global retailers in connection with the acquisition of a number of retail outlet stores; a national telecommunications retailer in relation to its general portfolio management; a property investment company on the re-finance and retail letting of restaurants and retail units at a prime asset in Central London; the largest electrical buying group in Europe in its acquisition of the 86,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre in Preston.

Shoosmiths

Katy Inch

Legal Director - Real Estate Newcastle & Glasgow

Weightmans LLP

Kelly Beattie

Kelly has significant experience of advising both employers and trustees on the day-to-day aspects of a wide range of pension matters and larger scheme projects including benefit restructuring exercises and liability management exercises, including buy-ins and buy-outs. She has advised both smaller schemes and large, billion-pound schemes in various sectors on pensions and pensions tax legislation as well as drafting scheme documentation and supporting clients on corporate restructurings. She also advises on public and third sector pension arrangements, and has extensive experience of advising on public sector outsourcing and insourcing, and staff rationalisation projects for a variety of clients including local authorities, NHS trusts, contractors and academies. Kelly is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers and sits on the APL Public Sector Sub-committee and the North East APL Sub-committee.

Burges Salmon LLP

Kimberley Cross

Senior Associate

CMS

Kimberley Goh

Kimberley is a Legal Director in Shoosmiths' Corporate practice in Glasgow. Kimberley has over 14 years’ experience acting for all types of businesses across a variety of sectors. Kimberley's focus is corporate transactions. She has developed a strong repertoire of M&A and private equity deals, from advising domestic family-owned businesses through the entire corporate life-cycle, to leading project teams in delivering global PE backed M&A deals. Kimberley routinely advises investors and VCs on debt and equity investments, portfolio acquisitions and exits. She also works with early-stage companies and founders in growth-stage fundraisings and has a keen interest in supporting social enterprise and impact investment. Kimberley is experienced in acting on distressed M&A deals such as pre-pack administrations, working hand in hand with insolvency and restructuring specialists, IPs and corporate clients in implementing insolvency processes and time-pressured deals. Kimberley also regularly advises corporate clients on large-scale group reorganisations in preparation for sale or in implementation of complex tax restructurings. Her transactional experience includes Being a member of the core corporate team at her previous firm who acted for a leading global private equity firm on its €6.85 billion auction bid and successful acquisition of a globally renowned food production, manufacturing and supply chain business. Kimberley’s role included managing local counsel teams to deliver legal diligence across 75+ jurisdictions. The deal involved managing multiple combined asset and share purchases, and assisting the client with its operational set-up of the new global group and brand, and Kimberley coordinated legal aspects for the project teams to set up entities within the global purchaser group structure against complex national regulatory frameworks. The deal won global Private Equity Deal of the Year in 2018. Leading on the corporate aspects of a restructure and private syndicated debt buy-back valued at more than £305 million, secured over various real estate portfolios involving in excess of 30 non-grouped multi-jurisdictional companies. Advising an AIM listed client with the prepack purchase of a high street retail business out of administration. The sale ensured continuity of business across 71 of the brand’s retail sites and safeguarded 822 of its 915 employees. Acting in the restructuring of a leading premium UK housebuilder, including £300 million debt to equity swaps and £500 million debt write-off. Advising a leading bank on validity and ultimate enforcement of its security over a group of companies in the pubs and leisure sector, attending to various administration appointments and advising the administrators on the trading administration of the group for more than a year, which included coordinating specialist insolvency-related employment, real estate, licensing and dispute resolution advice, before finally dealing in the sales of the various operational sites out of administration. Whilst serving as a core member of the team of panel lawyers for her previous firm, advising Scottish Enterprise on 110+ debt and equity investments and multiple successful exits for SE's various equity funds, renewable energy funds and the Scottish Investment Bank. Effectively navigating SE’s unique regulatory framework, whilst ensuring the success of commercial deals for the benefit of the local Scottish ecosystem. Acting for a US-headquartered group in its US$80 million sale of a UK subsidiary operated out of Livingston, which was widely regarded as owning one of the best cleanrooms in the global semiconductor industry. Acting for the family owners of a leading 165-year-old Scottish quarrying business in their corporate restructuring and sale. In the Real Estate sector, regularly advising on various acquisitions and sales via offshore SPV holding companies of UK real estate assets, including prime capital city office space, shopping centres and development land. Leading on all aspects of a multi-stage tax reorganisation of a leading national tyre distribution company regarding the demerger of its business to separate the trading business from the real estate portfolio, and completing a group restructure in preparation for exit. Having led the owner manager clients on their successful exit from their third generation family business, acting for the selling shareholders in succession planning and implementation of family investment companies to allow the next generation to venture into property investment and development. Advising on a double BIMBO involving the sale by two separate management teams of a truck and trailer refurbishment business in England and a vehicle asset finance and leasing business in Scotland, into a new UK group alongside equity capital investment from a London-based private equity house. Kimberley acted for the client for years on various buy and build acquisitions for the group and finally for management on their eventual exit to a trade buyer.

Shoosmiths

Kirsti Olson

Dual-qualified in Scotland and England, Kirsti is a construction dispute resolution lawyer with 24 years' PQE. She is Head of our Edinburgh office. Kirsti deals with multi-million-pound construction disputes arising out of the transport sector (rail and roads), energy-related projects (rig construction and refurbishment, offshore decommissioning and renewables) as well as regularly advising and representing parties in PFI/PPP projects (schools, hospitals, prisons and roads) throughout the UK. Key clients include Bouygues E&S Solutions Limited, Taylor Wimpey, Jacobs, Capita and Network Rail. Kirsti has an LLM (with Distinction) in Construction Law. She has extensive experience of all forms of dispute resolution including court proceedings, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. She is a Member of the Society of Construction Law and the Scottish Arbitration Centre and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Kirsti was the Chair of Oil and Gas UK's Decommissioning Working Group, which drafted the first LOGIC standard form decommissioning contract for the North Sea oil industry. She lectures on decommissioning at Aberdeen University.

Dentons

Kirsty Hughes

Kirsty is a Senior Associate in the Regulation, Business Crime and Compliance team. She advises companies, directors and individuals on regulatory compliance across a range of areas including health and safety, food safety, weights and measures, underage sales, trading standards, product safety and fire safety. She has experience of large scale inquiries and inquests. Kirsty is also an experienced licensing lawyer and provides expert advice on alcohol, late night refreshment, entertainment and gaming licensing. Taking a break from the law, Kirsty gained practical compliance experience as the Technical Manager for a producer of cooked and smoked poultry where she was responsible for all compliance matters for the company including HACCP, audits, health and safety, food labelling and fire safety. Kirsty then worked as a Compliance Officer in a school, as well as a Clerk to the Governing Body, extending her knowledge base to the education sector. Kirsty has also been a School Governor, sat on the Scrutiny Board for Education at Solihull MBC and clerked a charity which supported local good causes.

Shoosmiths

Kirsty Nicholson

Kirsty leads the largest English real estate team based in Scotland. After qualifying in Scotland, she re-qualified in England and worked as a real estate lawyer in the city. She maintains an excellent reputation and profile with clients in the City and across the UK, combining exceptional technical ability with hard work and a constant commitment to achieve the best results for her clients. Kirsty has extensive experience in all aspects of commercial real estate work, including acquisitions and disposals of large property portfolios, high-value investment properties and ongoing management work, with a particular focus on the leisure and hospitality and residential investment sectors. Kirsty recently advised private investors on the acquisition of a £75m central London hotel and advised The Capital Pub Company plc as it built up a portfolio of more than 30 central London pubs before selling to Greene King.

Addleshaw Goddard

Laura Austin

Laura is a Senior Associate within the Solent corporate team. She has experience working on mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs, private equity investments and general corporate governance. Previously, Laura has worked in-house for both a technology company and a marine engineering company. She joined Shoosmiths as a paralegal in 2015 before starting her training contract. Laura spent nine months of her training contract working in-house at a corporate finance house before qualifying in 2018.

Shoosmiths

Laura Maclennan

DLA Piper

Laura West

Senior Associate

CMS

Laura Wright

Laura is a Senior Associate and supports the work of the employment team in providing meaningful legal assistance to companies and individuals. She has previous experience in both contentious and non-contentious employment matters, which includes the following: preparing for and attending an 18 day hearing concerning a complex whistleblowing and sexual orientation discrimination claim. In particular, Laura co-ordinated the respondent's response to an application for further disclosure made by the claimant three days before the final hearing; completing corporate due diligence, including reviewing employment contracts, policies and litigation and producing a detailed due diligence report which highlighted key risks for the client; producing external briefing notes for clients, covering topics including termination, grievance handling and general HR queries; and drafting and advising in relation to settlement agreements.

Shoosmiths LLP

Lauren Midgeley

Lauren is a Principal Associate in the Commercial team at Shoosmiths. Lauren has experience working on a range of technology and commercial contract matters, both in the private sector and in the public sector. Lauren has excellent transaction and organisation skills as well as the technical ability to understand and report on the more complex aspects of commercial agreements, such as payment mechanisms and compensation on termination provisions. Lauren also has a specialism in information and privacy law and has advised a number of clients on compliance with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Lauren regularly reviews commercial contracts from a data protection perspective and advises on privacy policies and compliance, as well as advising on other information law matters such as freedom of information. Recent experience includes: advising a leading global mobile telecommunications company in relation to a major technology transition programme; assisting with reviewing and agreeing a broad range of commercial and technology contracts as part of a wider corporate transition project; advising an investment company on the acquisition of a large portfolio of rooftop solar PV systems located In Northern Ireland, including assisting with project due diligence, drafting the operation and maintenance contract, and dealing with the assignment of various agreements; advising a mortgage software provider on a range of commercial and data protection matters concerning its proprietary mortgage application solutions, including drafting its standard terms of use, negotiating customer contracts, and advising on its website privacy and cookie policy; assisting the team with a project refinancing of an onshore wind farm in Scotland for a large finance house, including undertaking due diligence on the main project documentation and reporting to the client; providing data protection support to a large aviation services company across its UK and Ireland businesses, including advising on approach to contract negotiations and negotiating a complex data sharing and processing agreement in relation to occupational health services; secondment with the in-house legal team at a large supermarket chain, which included a broad range of commercial contracts in relation to apprenticeship training, pharmacy services, and staff benefit plans; advising a leading UK automotive services and breakdown company on a number of commercial and technology contracts, including a software licence agreement for vehicle recovery management software and a framework IT services agreement for a rostering resource system; advising a large UK retailer on a framework agreement relating to systems integration and other IT services; advising a large provider of home care services on a transitional services agreement as part of a business and assets sale; advising a careers and training provider in relation to the hosting and distribution of training content on an online platform operated by an Indian multinational company; advising a licensed energy supplier on a bespoke incubator energy supply agreement, under which new entrants into the energy supply market can set up and develop their businesses under the client’s supply licence; and advising a broadband and internet

Shoosmiths

Lauren Miller

Lauren is a dual qualified real estate lawyer with over 15 years' experience in all aspects of residential development and commercial property work. She acts for both housebuilders and landowners in connection with conditional contracts, development agreements, short and long term strategic option agreements, complex overage arrangements, promotion agreements, joint venture agreements and collaboration arrangements, as well as advising on complex title issues. She also has extensive experience of buying and selling investments properties and acting for developers in all types of commercial property development (including waste to energy and other types of renewable energy developments), as well as landlords and tenants. Her recent experience includes acting for: national housebuilders in connection with the negotiation and conclusion of conditional contracts for the purchase of numerous development sites throughout Central Scotland; a national housebuilder in connection with the complex re-gear of an existing option to purchase a 1000 unit site and involving a number of complex title and contractual issues; a landowner in connection with the sale of a development site to two residential developers in a number of phases and including a series of complex contractual arrangements, including advising on the re-negotiation of the terms of the contracts in light of the impact of COVID-19; a national housebuilder in connection with the property aspects proposed joint venture arrangements with an associated development company; a developer client in connection with the sale of various plots within a redevelopment site to retail, café and business unit occupiers; the developer of a waste to energy project in connection with the negotiation of an option to take a lease; a landlord in connection with the grant of several options to lease for a variety of prospective energy projects at a prominent port regeneration site; a large UK plc client in the energy sector in connection with a number of varied and complex matters related to the proposed sale and redevelopment of a redundant power station; UK ports client in connection with the negotiation and completion of a lease for a new cruise berth and associated agreement for lease for a new cruise terminal on the River Clyde. She has been praised by clients for her pragmatic "can do" attitude and her ability to quickly assimilate complex legal and commercial issues, allowing her to provide technical legal advice that meets her clients' commercial objectives.

Shoosmiths

Lewis Ritchie

Lewis is a senior associate in our Real Estate team and acts for a number of residential and commercial developers. His experience includes: acting for the developer in the acquisition of a former nightclub for development as student accommodation. acting for the developer in the acquisition of a site for residential development, including the provision of affordable housing. dealing with development site set-up (including putting in place deeds of condition and completing utility transfers and servitudes). Lewis' involvement in all aspects of residential development, from acquisition of the site through to the final plot sale, allows Lewis to be aware of, and meet the commercial and practical needs of, our housebuilder clients.

Shoosmiths

Linzi Hedalen

Linzi is a partner in our Edinburgh office, specialising in construction and engineering dispute resolution. She has extensive experience in advising UK and international clients, providing them with pre-litigation and litigation expertise. Linzi's practice includes advising on multi-million-pound onshore and offshore construction projects arising out of a wide variety of industries such as infrastructure (buildings, hotels, shopping centres, housing developments), energy (oil and gas decommissioning), renewables (offshore and onshore windfarms) and transport (roads and ports). A key focus for Linzi is also advising PPP/PFI clients throughout the duration of the facilities management term and providing advice on an array of issues including, for example, the end of the defects liability period. She advises in respect of all major UK construction standard form contracts, as well as bespoke agreements, and has a wealth of experience in court actions, along with mediation, adjudication and international arbitration. After studying at University of Glasgow (and University at Buffalo), receiving a First Class Honours Degree, Linzi joined Dentons in 2010 as a trainee and qualified as a solicitor in Scotland in 2012. During her time at Dentons, she has also undertaken a seven-month secondment to EDP Renewables in preparation for them successfully bidding for a CfD. Acting as general counsel, Linzi was negotiating contracts and advising on an array of commercial matters which has allowed her to better understand the commercial needs of her clients.

Dentons

Linzi Penman

DLA Piper

Lorna Ferguson

Partner - Casualty Glasgow

Weightmans LLP

Lorna McCaa

Lorna is a partner in the UK Tax team, and is a chartered tax advisor as well as a solicitor. She has more than 18 years' experience advising on the UK tax aspects of corporate and real estate transactions from a legal and tax planning perspective. This includes structuring commercial transactions and tax-efficient employee incentivization arrangements, advising on direct taxes, SDLT, LBTT, capital allowances and VAT. She is well positioned in the marketplace to advise on both Scottish taxes and the rest of UK taxes. Lorna is an active member of the Tax Law Sub-Committee of the Law Society of Scotland, and the Scottish Property Federation Tax Committee. She is ranked Band 1 for Tax in Scotland by Chambers & Partners and ranked Tier 1 for Tax in Legal 500, and is recognized for providing a balance of being good on the technical tax detail but absolutely pragmatic and commercial in terms of ensuring clients' objectives are met timeously.

Dentons

Lyndsey O\'Connor

Lyndsey is a dual qualified real estate partner with vast experience in the build to rent sector having acted for several of the main players in the area for a number of years on acquisitions (forward purchase and otherwise), financings and disposals. Lyndsey have also acted on many investment purchases and sales of various types of property including shopping centres, retail parks, logistic and industrial properties, as well as being well versed in landlord and tenant matters. Clients praise Lyndsey's can-do attitude and really appreciate her ability to focus on the main commercial issues quickly in order to ensure delivery of deals to the clients' timescales. Recent experience includes advising: The PRS REIT on all site acquisitions since its inception in May 2017 (currently over 70 sites) On the financing of various build to rent sites and portfolios, with institutional lenders (such as Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest) - both during the development stage and on completed sites Thistle (being a joint venture between Sigma Capital and Gatehouse Bank and one of the first PRS funds established in the UK) on the sale of a portfolio over 900 units to Goldman Sachs for c. £150m London BTR Investments (a joint venture between Sigma Capital and EQT) on the acquisition of various complex mixed-use development sites in the Greater London area

Shoosmiths

Lyndsey O’Connor

Lyndsey is a dual qualified real estate partner with vast experience in the build to rent sector having acted for several of the main players in the area for a number of years on acquisitions (forward purchase and otherwise), financings and disposals. Lyndsey have also acted on many investment purchases and sales of various types of property including shopping centres, retail parks, logistic and industrial properties, as well as being well versed in landlord and tenant matters. Clients praise Lyndsey's can-do attitude and really appreciate her ability to focus on the main commercial issues quickly in order to ensure delivery of deals to the clients' timescales. Recent experience includes advising: The PRS REIT on all site acquisitions since its inception in May 2017 (currently over 70 sites) On the financing of various build to rent sites and portfolios, with institutional lenders (such as Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest) - both during the development stage and on completed sites Thistle (being a joint venture between Sigma Capital and Gatehouse Bank and one of the first PRS funds established in the UK) on the sale of a portfolio over 900 units to Goldman Sachs for c. £150m London BTR Investments (a joint venture between Sigma Capital and EQT) on the acquisition of various complex mixed-use development sites in the Greater London area

Shoosmiths