The Advocacy Unit comprises all members of the firm whose work
directly involves them in client representation. Of those, six
partners have rights of audience in the Court of Session and House
of Lords, and one also has rights of audience in the High Court of
Justiciary and Privy Council.
Rights of Audience in the Supreme Courts
... Michael Jones QC
Michael can justifiably claim to have an unrivalled practical
understanding of the process of dispute resolution. His experience
has been gained from a legal career spanning more than 30 years,
practising at the Scottish Bar and at the Bar of England and Wales.
He is widely regarded as the leading advocate of his
generation.
During his early years at the Bar, he served as Standing Junior
Counsel to the Department of Trade and thereafter as an Advocate
Depute (Crown Counsel). He took silk in 1989. To date, he has
appeared in approximately two hundred reported cases, including a
dozen in the House of Lords and Privy Council, spanning the fields
of aviation, commercial contract, defamation, health and safety at
work, media law, personal injury, product liability, professional
negligence and public law, among others. He has represented parties
in almost all of the major public inquiries held in Scotland in the
past 30 years, including the Piper Alpha Inquiry, the Dunblane
Inquiry and the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the loss of RAF
Chinook, ZD576, on the Mull of Kintyre.
Of his successful defence of Labour MP Mohammed Sarwar on
charges of bribery and electoral corruption during the 1997 general
election, the Scotsman newspaper said this:-
"A major problem for the Crown was that so many of its 46
witnesses, with personal and/or political axes to grind against Mr
Sarwar, were wide open to cross-examination, especially at the
skilled hand of a master QC like Michael Jones, whose style is not
to go crashing in with blunt accusations of lying. It is more a
studied, almost ponderous, approach. 'He doesn't go for the jugular
with a machete,' said one observer. 'He uses a stiletto to cut a
little nick here and a little nick there, and then lets the witness
bleed slowly. It's very effective, and he left a trail of
casualties.' Central characters like fringe candidates who stood
against Mr Sarwar in Glasgow Govan were made to look like rejects
of the Monster Raving Loony Party." (The Scotsman, 26 March
1999)
More recently, in the same newspaper, he was described as
"one of the most talented and experienced QCs in the
country" a counsel "who prepares meticulously" and the QC
"who's never taken by surprise." (The Scotsman, 15 July 2006).
Michael was one of those responsible for introducing advocacy
skills training into the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, and led
the teaching of these skills in the Faculty of Advocates over and
advocacy skills teachers' training at various locations in the
United States, South Africa, Scotland, England and Northern
Ireland. He now leads Simpson & Marwick's advocacy skills
training programme. Michael Jones QC was appointed visiting
Professor to the Glasgow Graduate School of Law in 1999, and is a
member of the Law Society of Scotland's Personal Injury Law
Specialisation Panel. He is a part-time Chairman of the Police
Appeals Tribunal, and a Judge of Appeal in Jersey and in
Guernsey.
... Peter Anderson
Peter qualified as a Solicitor in 1976 and as a Solicitor
Advocate in 1993. His work includes professional negligence,
personal injury, commercial litigation and aviation litigation. He
has acted in the litigation following a number of major accidents
including the Pan Am/Lockerbie crash and the Chinook Helicopter
crash at Sumburgh, and has lengthy experience in most types of
personal injury litigation. He is legal adviser to the Royal
Incorporation of Architects of Scotland and handles many cases for
architects, accountants, surveyors, engineers, brokers, IT
consultants and insurers. He also deals with insurers' fire cases
and advises extensively on policy interpretation and disputes.
Peter is a panel Solicitor of the Law Society of Scotland's
Solicitors' Negligence Master Policy, a Chairman of the Discipline
Tribunal of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and
a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal Panel. Since
2003, he has held appointment as a part-time Sheriff.
... Paul Wade
Paul qualified as a Solicitor in 1976. He qualified as a
Solicitor Advocate in 1993 in the first group of solicitors to be
given extended rights of audience. In the same year, he set up
Simpson & Marwick's Glasgow office. His work has always
included a significant proportion of accident-related
litigation.
This includes not only personal injury actions but also many
Health and Safety prosecutions and Fatal Accident Inquiries. He is
listed as a Band 1 Specialist in Health and Safety by Chambers UK.
He has written and lectured extensively on Corporate Killing and
related subjects.
He has acted for many clients, in both the private and public
sectors, who have faced or were likely to face prosecution or
criticism following accidents. For example, he acted for Transco in
Scotland's first and only attempt to prosecute a company for
culpable homicide. He also acted for North Lanarkshire Council in
connection with the Wishaw E-coli outbreak. Currently his clients
in Health and Safety include companies involved in construction,
manufacturing, wind energy generation, distribution logistics and
rail transport, charities, local authorities and fire
authorities.
Paul also specialises in insurance policy disputes. For some
years, he tutored postgraduate law students in Advocacy and
Pleading.
... Alan Cowan
Alan was admitted as a Solicitor in 1991. From an early stage in
his career, he has concentrated on advocacy. Over the years, he has
built up considerable experience appearing in Courts and Tribunals
and also before other decision-making bodies, such as Licensing
Boards and Conduct Panels.
Alan qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2004. He has since
undertaken a number of proofs in the Court of Session - principally
in the area of personal injury and commercial disputes. He has also
conducted debates in the Commercial Court and appeals before the
Inner House of the Court of Session.
Since being admitted as a Solicitor, Alan has specialised in
employment law. That has led to frequent appearances before the
Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, where Alan has
acted for both employers and employees.
Selected cases:-
• Layden v Aldi - for defenders - first case in which
the applicability of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1992 was successfully challenged.
• Dean v Freeman - for defender - Commercial Court
action for payment of outstanding rent and dilapidations - after
proof, no sums found to be due by defender.
• East Renfrewshire Council v J H Lygate & Partners
- for respondents - Council appealed to Inner House against level
of rent fixed by arbiter - appeal refused.
• Rispond Estates v Mainstream Scotland Limited - for
defenders - Commercial Court action for payment/breach of contract
- after proof, pursuer's claim rejected in full.
• Quigley v Hart Builders (Edinburgh) Limited - for
defenders - pursuer claimed to have suffered injury whilst
undertaking manual handling operations - after proof, defenders
cleared of any liability.
• Fraser v Fife Council - for defenders - pursuer
sought damages after falling off a ladder - after proof, court
concluded no liability on the part of the defenders.
• Wipfel v Auchlochan Developments Limited - for
defenders - Commercial Court action for breach of missives - case
dismissed after debate.
• Rolls-Royce plc v Riddle - for employers - Employment
Appeal Tribunal - successfully appealed against Tribunal's refusal
to strike out employee's application for unfair dismissal.
... Ranald MacPherson
Ranald qualified as a Solicitor in 1996, having joined Simpson
& Marwick the previous year as a trainee. As a Solicitor, he
took every opportunity to appear in court. Acting for major
insurers and also for public bodies, including local authorities,
he conducted cases in most of Scotland's Sheriff Courts.
In 2004, Ranald gained extended rights of audience in the Court
of Session as a Solicitor Advocate. Since then, he has used those
rights as often as possible. He has regularly appeared in the
Supreme Courts, particularly for defenders in personal injury
claims. Among these cases are Bell v East Ayrshire
Council, which concerned the liability of a local authority
landlord to a visitor in respect of dangers from the state of
rented premises; McEwan v Lothian Buses, which dealt with
the application of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations to a danger created by the person who was injured, and
McGregor v LMRS Stables Ltd, which was an action arising
from an injury at a riding school.
In addition to personal injury litigations, Ranald has appeared
in commercial actions and in proceedings for judicial review. He is
currently representing the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police in
a major public inquiry, the Fingerprint Inquiry, which arose from
the case of former police officer Shirley McKie.
... Graeme Watson
The Advocacy Unit comprises all members of the firm whose work
directly involves them in client representation. Of those, six
partners have rights of audience in the Court of Session and House
of Lords, and one also has rights of audience in the High Court of
Justiciary and Privy Council.
Rights of Audience in the Supreme Courts
... Michael Jones QC
Michael can justifiably claim to have an unrivalled practical
understanding of the process of dispute resolution. His experience
has been gained from a legal career spanning more than 30 years,
practising at the Scottish Bar and at the Bar of England and Wales.
He is widely regarded as the leading advocate of his
generation.
During his early years at the Bar, he served as Standing Junior
Counsel to the Department of Trade and thereafter as an Advocate
Depute (Crown Counsel). He took silk in 1989. To date, he has
appeared in approximately two hundred reported cases, including a
dozen in the House of Lords and Privy Council, spanning the fields
of aviation, commercial contract, defamation, health and safety at
work, media law, personal injury, product liability, professional
negligence and public law, among others. He has represented parties
in almost all of the major public inquiries held in Scotland in the
past 30 years, including the Piper Alpha Inquiry, the Dunblane
Inquiry and the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the loss of RAF
Chinook, ZD576, on the Mull of Kintyre.
Of his successful defence of Labour MP Mohammed Sarwar on
charges of bribery and electoral corruption during the 1997 general
election, the Scotsman newspaper said this:-
"A major problem for the Crown was that so many of its 46
witnesses, with personal and/or political axes to grind against Mr
Sarwar, were wide open to cross-examination, especially at the
skilled hand of a master QC like Michael Jones, whose style is not
to go crashing in with blunt accusations of lying. It is more a
studied, almost ponderous, approach. 'He doesn't go for the jugular
with a machete,' said one observer. 'He uses a stiletto to cut a
little nick here and a little nick there, and then lets the witness
bleed slowly. It's very effective, and he left a trail of
casualties.' Central characters like fringe candidates who stood
against Mr Sarwar in Glasgow Govan were made to look like rejects
of the Monster Raving Loony Party." (The Scotsman, 26 March
1999)
More recently, in the same newspaper, he was described as
"one of the most talented and experienced QCs in the
country" a counsel "who prepares meticulously" and the QC
"who's never taken by surprise." (The Scotsman, 15 July 2006).
Michael was one of those responsible for introducing advocacy
skills training into the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, and led
the teaching of these skills in the Faculty of Advocates over and
advocacy skills teachers' training at various locations in the
United States, South Africa, Scotland, England and Northern
Ireland. He now leads Simpson & Marwick's advocacy skills
training programme. Michael Jones QC was appointed visiting
Professor to the Glasgow Graduate School of Law in 1999, and is a
member of the Law Society of Scotland's Personal Injury Law
Specialisation Panel. He is a part-time Chairman of the Police
Appeals Tribunal, and a Judge of Appeal in Jersey and in
Guernsey.
... Peter Anderson
Peter qualified as a Solicitor in 1976 and as a Solicitor
Advocate in 1993. His work includes professional negligence,
personal injury, commercial litigation and aviation litigation. He
has acted in the litigation following a number of major accidents
including the Pan Am/Lockerbie crash and the Chinook Helicopter
crash at Sumburgh, and has lengthy experience in most types of
personal injury litigation. He is legal adviser to the Royal
Incorporation of Architects of Scotland and handles many cases for
architects, accountants, surveyors, engineers, brokers, IT
consultants and insurers. He also deals with insurers' fire cases
and advises extensively on policy interpretation and disputes.
Peter is a panel Solicitor of the Law Society of Scotland's
Solicitors' Negligence Master Policy, a Chairman of the Discipline
Tribunal of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and
a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeal Panel. Since
2003, he has held appointment as a part-time Sheriff.
... Paul Wade
Paul qualified as a Solicitor in 1976. He qualified as a
Solicitor Advocate in 1993 in the first group of solicitors to be
given extended rights of audience. In the same year, he set up
Simpson & Marwick's Glasgow office. His work has always
included a significant proportion of accident-related
litigation.
This includes not only personal injury actions but also many
Health and Safety prosecutions and Fatal Accident Inquiries. He is
listed as a Band 1 Specialist in Health and Safety by Chambers UK.
He has written and lectured extensively on Corporate Killing and
related subjects.
He has acted for many clients, in both the private and public
sectors, who have faced or were likely to face prosecution or
criticism following accidents. For example, he acted for Transco in
Scotland's first and only attempt to prosecute a company for
culpable homicide. He also acted for North Lanarkshire Council in
connection with the Wishaw E-coli outbreak. Currently his clients
in Health and Safety include companies involved in construction,
manufacturing, wind energy generation, distribution logistics and
rail transport, charities, local authorities and fire
authorities.
Paul also specialises in insurance policy disputes. For some
years, he tutored postgraduate law students in Advocacy and
Pleading.
... Alan Cowan
Alan was admitted as a Solicitor in 1991. From an early stage in
his career, he has concentrated on advocacy. Over the years, he has
built up considerable experience appearing in Courts and Tribunals
and also before other decision-making bodies, such as Licensing
Boards and Conduct Panels.
Alan qualified as a Solicitor Advocate in 2004. He has since
undertaken a number of proofs in the Court of Session - principally
in the area of personal injury and commercial disputes. He has also
conducted debates in the Commercial Court and appeals before the
Inner House of the Court of Session.
Since being admitted as a Solicitor, Alan has specialised in
employment law. That has led to frequent appearances before the
Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal, where Alan has
acted for both employers and employees.
Selected cases:-
• Layden v Aldi - for defenders - first case in which
the applicability of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1992 was successfully challenged.
• Dean v Freeman - for defender - Commercial Court
action for payment of outstanding rent and dilapidations - after
proof, no sums found to be due by defender.
• East Renfrewshire Council v J H Lygate & Partners
- for respondents - Council appealed to Inner House against level
of rent fixed by arbiter - appeal refused.
• Rispond Estates v Mainstream Scotland Limited - for
defenders - Commercial Court action for payment/breach of contract
- after proof, pursuer's claim rejected in full.
• Quigley v Hart Builders (Edinburgh) Limited - for
defenders - pursuer claimed to have suffered injury whilst
undertaking manual handling operations - after proof, defenders
cleared of any liability.
• Fraser v Fife Council - for defenders - pursuer
sought damages after falling off a ladder - after proof, court
concluded no liability on the part of the defenders.
• Wipfel v Auchlochan Developments Limited - for
defenders - Commercial Court action for breach of missives - case
dismissed after debate.
• Rolls-Royce plc v Riddle - for employers - Employment
Appeal Tribunal - successfully appealed against Tribunal's refusal
to strike out employee's application for unfair dismissal.
... Ranald MacPherson
Ranald qualified as a Solicitor in 1996, having joined Simpson
& Marwick the previous year as a trainee. As a Solicitor, he
took every opportunity to appear in court. Acting for major
insurers and also for public bodies, including local authorities,
he conducted cases in most of Scotland's Sheriff Courts.
In 2004, Ranald gained extended rights of audience in the Court
of Session as a Solicitor Advocate. Since then, he has used those
rights as often as possible. He has regularly appeared in the
Supreme Courts, particularly for defenders in personal injury
claims. Among these cases are Bell v East Ayrshire
Council, which concerned the liability of a local authority
landlord to a visitor in respect of dangers from the state of
rented premises; McEwan v Lothian Buses, which dealt with
the application of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations to a danger created by the person who was injured, and
McGregor v LMRS Stables Ltd, which was an action arising
from an injury at a riding school.
In addition to personal injury litigations, Ranald has appeared
in commercial actions and in proceedings for judicial review. He is
currently representing the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police in
a major public inquiry, the Fingerprint Inquiry, which arose from
the case of former police officer Shirley McKie.
... Graeme Watson
Graeme has degrees in both Scots and English law and qualified
as a Solicitor in Scotland in 2000, gaining extended rights of
audience in 2006. He has considerable experience of personal injury
litigation, with a particular emphasis on disease cases including
occupational stress, historic child abuse and asbestos claims. In
pursuing his professional indemnity practice, he represents
surveyors, accountants, insurance brokers and engineers. He has
advised the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on the
introduction of single survey home reports.
Graeme's reported cases include O'Neill v Dowding & Mills,
on the question of whether it is appropriate to allow a personal
injury case to go before a civil jury where there are complex Ogden
6 issues, and McGibbon v McAllister, addressing whether a de facto
step father had title to sue following the death of a child.
Graeme has degrees in both Scots and English law and qualified
as a Solicitor in Scotland in 2000, gaining extended rights of
audience in 2006. He has considerable experience of personal injury
litigation, with a particular emphasis on disease cases including
occupational stress, historic child abuse and asbestos claims. In
pursuing his professional indemnity practice, he represents
surveyors, accountants, insurance brokers and engineers. He has
advised the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on the
introduction of single survey home reports.
Graeme's reported cases include O'Neill v Dowding & Mills,
on the question of whether it is appropriate to allow a personal
injury case to go before a civil jury where there are complex Ogden
6 issues, and McGibbon v McAllister, addressing whether a de facto
step father had title to sue following the death of a child.