Brodies LLP invite you to join their annual food and drink conference at Perth Racecourse.

This year’s conference theme will be growth, and will be held Friday, 03 November from 09:30 – 15:30.

We are witnessing a period of unprecedented prosperity in the Scottish food and drink sector, with exports valued at £1.2 billion for the first three months of 2017 – a year-on-year increase of £124 million. 2016 was a record year for food and drink and this trend shows every sign of continuing.

Scotland Food & Drink’s strategy to grow the sector to £30 billion by 2030 will require investment across all areas, including people, skills development, supply chain management and innovation.

Our conference will provide an opportunity to hear from industry experts on how they have grown their businesses and plan further expansion, whether by achieving their own strategic objectives or through greater industry collaboration.

Further speakers and the full conference programme will be announced in due course, but in the meantime we are delighted to confirm the following industry experts:

• James Withers, Chief Executive – Scotland Food & Drink
• Ton Christiaanse, UK Chief Executive – Brakes Group
• Dougal Sharp, Founder & Chief Brewer – Innis & Gunn
• Tony Lamb, Head of Food & Drink – Department for International Trade

RSVP here for your free place now!

This autumn we will be offering a series of informative and entertaining seminars, which will be hosted at our offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As part of our commitment to going above and beyond for our clients, we run BInformed, which brings together the wide-ranging expertise of our lawyers in one place and includes blogs, legal updates, e-bulletins, videos, training sessions and our popular free seminar programme.

The wide variety of hot topics that will be discussed include what organisations should be doing now to prepare for the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); IP protection; an update on the All Scotland Personal Injury Court; recent trends and issues in commercial law; managing corruption risks; Entrepreneur’s Relief; the impact of Brexit on environmental law; and claim defensibility training.

Please download our brochure and visit us at http://www.brodies.com/seminars-and-events to sign up today!

Please use our hashtag #BInformed to pose questions before each seminar, and to give us your thoughts and feedback.

If you have any questions or queries relating to our seminars, please do not hesitate to contact us at seminars@brodies.com

We look forward to seeing you!

Brodies LLP has expanded its insurance & risk team with the appointment of new Partner Duncan Mawby, a clinical defence and professional discipline specialist with 16 years’ experience representing healthcare professionals in clinical negligence and regulatory proceedings.

Duncan is one of a small number of solicitors in Scotland specialising in clinical defence work and has extensive experience of representing medical professionals and defending clinical negligence claims in the civil courts.

Duncan regularly appears at professional disciplinary hearings before the medical and dental regulators, representing doctors, dentists and pharmacists in fitness to practice cases before the General Medical Council (GMC), General Dental Council (GDC), General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), and in NHS disciplinary and criminal proceedings.

In addition, Duncan is a member of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL), the Scottish Medico-Legal Society (SMLS) and the Health and Safety Lawyers Association (HSLA). A former legal advisor to the Health & Safety Executive, he also represents employers in health and safety prosecutions.

Duncan, who is based in Brodies’ Edinburgh office, is commended by clients in the independent legal directory Chambers and Partners for his “amazing capacity to absorb detailed, complex cases at short notice and then to identify their core issues clearly and simply”.

Stephen Goldie, Brodies’ Head of Litigation & Dispute Resolution, said: “Duncan’s experience representing healthcare professionals, coupled with his experience in liability defence and health and safety, will be of great benefit to our clients in the health sector and those dealing with operational risk. We look forward to Duncan working closely with colleagues in our top-ranked professional negligence and liability defence teams to further enhance the delivery of relevant, high-quality services to our clients.”

Bill Drummond 2016 bBrodies LLP reports that in its financial year to 30 April 2017 revenues grew by 2.4% to a record £66.7 million.

Over the same period, profits before partner distributions rose by 2.6% to £31.7 million and the firm’s cash balances increased by 14.4% to £18.2 million.

This was the seventh consecutive year of revenue and profit growth for Scotland’s largest law firm, and was achieved through continued investment in services for its clients despite the political and economic uncertainty that followed last year’s Brexit vote.

Brodies, which has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Brussels, currently comprises 94 partners, 311 other professional advisers (including 18 graduate recruits who joined the firm on 1 July to take up training contracts) and 217 support staff.

In assessing its progress against its business objectives, Brodies considers a range of financial and other relevant objective measures. Highlights of the financial year in review have included:

• The successful completion of the third year of the firm’s 2014/18 strategic plan, delivering sustained organic growth. Brodies continues to have no reliance on external debt.
• Three lateral partner hires and two internal partner promotions, strengthening Brodies’ teams in corporate & commercial; insurance & risk; real estate and energy & infrastructure.
• Acting as lead legal adviser to Aberdeen City Council on its landmark £370 million index-linked bond issue on the London Stock Exchange; advising Scottish Water Business Stream on its successful acquisition of Southern Water’s non-domestic business to allow it to expand its operations south of the Border; and acting as lead adviser to Abellio on its sale of 40% of the Greater Anglia rail franchise to global conglomerate Mitsui & Co. Ltd.
• Achieving 37 top tier practice area rankings and 69 ‘leading individual’ lawyer rankings in the independent legal directories – more than any other firm in Scotland.
• Being named UK National / Regional Law Firm of the Year at the 2017 Legal Business Awards, UK Regional Law Firm of the Year at the 2016 Lawyer Awards and Scotland Law Firm of the Year at the 2017 Who’s Who Legal Awards for the sixth time.
• Extending Brodies’ PRIME programme, a pioneering initiative by the UK’s leading law firms to widen access to the legal profession to young people from all backgrounds, which involves school pupils from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Seven students who have taken part in Brodies’ PRIME programme have now secured places at university to study law.
• Providing continued support for the Scottish Schools Swimming Association, bringing healthy team sport to schools from Shetland to the Solway, and Maggie’s Centres, which offers UK-wide support for people whose lives are affected by cancer. Brodies is the headline sponsor of Maggie’s Culture Crawls in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• Being ranked among the UK’s top 50 employers in the first Social Mobility Employer Index.

Bill Drummond, Managing Partner of Brodies, said: “All in all, it has been a very busy and at times quite dramatic year for Brodies and our clients, which underscores our satisfaction in recording another year of enhanced business performance for the firm across a number of measures.”

“Along with most of our clients – British or overseas – at Brodies we were surprised by the news, on 24 June last year, that the UK had voted to leave the EU and the consequences for Brexit and the economy are now having to be further digested following the UK General Election result and the absence of any one party with a clear majority at Westminster.

“Against this backdrop the increase in income that we are reporting is a satisfactory outcome for the year, indeed a new high point for the firm. Our underlying strategy continues to be focused on further investment in relevant client services to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.

“That said, in common with our clients, we hope and expect our politicians and negotiators in the years ahead to be pragmatic and collaborative in their dealings with our EU partners to ensure that as little economic damage as possible is done and that we can continue to grow our businesses and create long-term job opportunities in Scotland. To us, as with many clients, it is especially important that Scotland is able to retain and welcome workers from the EU and elsewhere who make such a valuable contribution to most sectors of our economy.”

Brodies has promoted corporate lawyer Paul McLaughlin to Partner, bringing the number of Partners at Scotland’s largest law firm to 93.

Paul joined Brodies in 2005 and has carried out a wide variety of corporate work during his time at the firm. A member of the firm’s Funds Group, he specialises in advising UK-based and overseas clients and intermediaries on private fund formation, corporate reorganisation and joint venture structuring matters.

The announcement coincides with the promotion of eight Managing Associates and ten Associates across the following specialist areas: banking & finance; business disputes & asset recovery; commercial property; commercial services; corporate & commercial; employment; energy & infrastructure; family law; insurance & risk; land & rural business; and public law & regulatory.

Bill Drummond, Managing Partner of Brodies, said: “These well-deserved promotions recognise the specialist skills of the lawyers concerned, their in-depth knowledge of the sectors in which they operate and their willingness to go above and beyond on behalf of clients. I wish them every success as they embark on the next stage of their careers at Brodies and build on their achievements.

“Paul’s appointment, together with our internal promotions of Managing Associates and Associates, underscores Brodies’ commitment to fostering talent and developing and growing our services to ensure that clients are provided with relevant specialist legal advice of the highest quality.”

Paul said: “I am delighted to be promoted to Partner within the firm’s Funds Group and the broader Corporate & Commercial Department. Brodies has provided me with an excellent platform for the development of my knowledge and technical skills in the practice areas in which I work. I am looking forward to working alongside the other Partners within my department and the wider firm to ensure that Brodies continues to be at the forefront of specialist legal advice in Scotland.”

Commenting on his promotion to Managing Associate, Andy Nolan, Head of Brodies’ Sport Practice, added: “This is an exciting opportunity to continue to enhance and expand the firm’s sports law practice by developing innovative services that are relevant to clients involved in the full range of sports – from advice on safeguarding intellectual property rights, contracts and property, to privacy rights, regulation, litigation, disciplinary matters and employment issues.”

Following her traineeship with Brodies, Associate Jenna McCosh qualified and joined the Real Estate Department in 2012. She said: “Since starting out as a trainee at Brodies, the firm has been instrumental in encouraging my interests in the property industry, developing my technical skills and experience and guiding my career path to where it is today. I’m really looking forward to the next phase and expanding on my work with real estate clients.”

With just a year to go until the biggest shakeup of data protection law in 20 years, 25% of businesses and organisations in the UK are unaware of the new legislation and almost half have yet to start preparing for its introduction, according to a survey by Ipsos MORI and Brodies LLP.

The clock is ticking on the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May 2018 and will impose strict new rules on the way that organisations collect, store and use personal data. Currently, the Information Commissioner has powers to issue fines of up to £500,000 for data breaches. However, under the GDPR the maximum fine for the most severe breaches will be €20 million (£17 million) or 4% of a business’ worldwide turnover.

The regulation, which replaces the current Data Protection Act 1998, will also herald the end of the pre-ticked ‘opt-in’ boxes that are widely used on websites for marketing purposes. Instead, those handling personal data will be required to seek consent through “affirmative action” from individuals and will have to explain to them how their data will be used, how long it will be kept and how it will be safeguarded.

The survey of private and public sector organisations across the UK carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Brodies reveals a low level of awareness and preparedness despite the risks of non-compliance.

As a first step towards compliance, organisations that handle personal data should carry out an information audit to identify what personal data they hold, where they hold it, where it came from, what they use it for and with whom it is shared. Despite the fact that 74% of the 92 respondents believe the GDPR will have a “high” or “medium” impact on their organisation, 45% of respondents have yet to carry out such an audit and 8% don’t know whether they have.

Positively, when asked about their organisation’s readiness for the introduction of the new legislation, just over two-thirds of respondents (67%) said they were on track for compliance by 25 May 2018, although 11% said they were unlikely to be compliant by then and 17% did not know. Just 5% said their organisations are ready now, a year ahead of the deadline.

The biggest obstacle to GDPR compliance identified by organisations was resource, followed by the need for cultural change, lack of regulatory guidance, budget constraints and lack of clear internal ownership / responsibility for compliance.

Commenting on the survey’s findings, Elizabeth Denham, UK Information Commissioner, said: “Together with government and European authorities, we’ve been reaching out to organisations to help them get ready for GDPR since March 2016, but we know there are organisations which have yet to engage. With one year to go, there’s still time to prepare, but there’s no time to waste.”

High Res- Grant CampbellGrant Campbell, Head of Brodies’ Commercial Services Division, added: “Personal data is the lifeblood of many organisations and, increasingly, how they handle that data is a matter of concern not just to regulators but to us all. Meeting the requirements of GDPR is a regulatory compliance issue but it also protects organisations from brand and other reputational damage and that will be increasingly important if individuals are to trust them with their data and business.

“These survey results show that, for many, there is a lot of work to do if GDPR compliance is to be achieved by May 2018. While 67% of organisations are confident that they will be ready, it is difficult to reconcile that statistic with the finding that over half of organisations have not (or don’t know whether they have) conducted an information audit, which is an essential building block for a compliance strategy.”

To view the results of the Brodies / Ipsos MORI survey, visit: http://brodi.es/GDPR_R3sults.

Who's WhoBrodies was recognised as Scotland Law Firm of the Year for a record-breaking sixth time at the Who’s Who Legal Awards in London last night (15 May).

Brodies lawyers are listed more times in WWL’s editions than any other Scottish firm, and were selected 20 times across 14 practice area publications in total.

The winners were announced at a black tie awards ceremony at Plaisterer’s Hall in London, where the leading lawyers and firms from 35 practice areas and over 50 countries were recognised.

The winners are selected on a range of factors, including feedback received from clients and peers in the research process, past performance in the research and the overall aggregate number of weighted votes cast in their favour.

Rupert Wilson, editor of Who’s Who Legal, said: “Brodies continues to lead our Scottish research, and no other local firm can match the quality of counsel it can offer or the depth of its expertise. The clients and fellow practitioners we spoke to were united in their praise, and we are delighted to once more recognise Brodies as our Scotland Firm of the Year.”

Who’s Who Legal lists only the leading lawyers in each field, based exclusively on the findings of an independent six-month research process that encompasses feedback from private practitioners, clients and other experts in the sector. It is impossible to buy entry into the publication, only the lawyers who score most highly according to our independent international research criteria are listed.

The books are distributed free of charge to thousands of corporate counsel and private practice lawyers from around the world, and the information is also available on www.WhosWhoLegal.com and is updated daily.

Who’s Who Legal is strategic research partner of the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International Law. In 2012, Law Business Research – the parent company of Who’s Who Legal – was recognised for the second time by The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the area of international trade. These awards are the most prestigious a British company can receive.

Commenting on the award, Bill Drummond, Managing Partner of Brodies, said: “We are very pleased that Who’s Who Legal continues to recognise our firm’s progress and our sustained investment in delivering high quality legal services that are relevant to our clients in Scotland, the UK and internationally. We are grateful to our clients for continuing to put their faith in us and to Who’s Who Legal and our peers in the legal profession for recognising Brodies as the stand-out law firm in Scotland for the sixth year running.”

Sixty per cent of organisations in the renewables sector believe the Scottish Government is likely to achieve its target of meeting half of Scotland’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2030, according to a survey by Brodies LLP.

The survey, which canvassed the views of organisations and individuals active in the renewables sector, found that a substantial majority believe the target is achievable, despite challenges including recent changes to the UK Government’s renewable electricity subsidies regime and the absence of any subsidy regime of similar scale in the heat sector.

Asked to identify the policy measures that the Scottish Government should take to help it achieve its target and overcome the current challenges facing the sector, respondents identified giving priority to new developments such as energy storage, encouraging the development of district heating and the continued deployment of the most efficient onshore wind technologies.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government published a draft Energy Strategy for the period up to 2030. It sets out a vision for a low carbon economy that is to be achieved by transitioning away from oil and gas and placing greater reliance on renewable energy sources. The strategy also proposes a shift away from electricity being the primary focus to one in which all energy sectors contribute, by setting an “all-energy” target.

More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) identified storage technologies as the priority to “keep the lights on” by balancing the supply and demand for electricity produced from renewable sources as part of a new “energy mix”, which aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Energy storage can provide back-up power to meet peak demand and boost supply when renewables output falls due to weather conditions. Eleven per cent of respondents said low carbon peaking plants should be the priority, followed by gas fired plants (8%), and coal fired plant and importing electricity from England (both 2%).

One of the principal areas of focus of the Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy is moving the agenda on from electricity to the decarbonisation of heat, which still accounts for more than 50% of Scotland’s energy supply. This could be achieved in a number of ways, however the only approach over which the Scottish Government currently has policy control is district heating. Asked which single policy measure might facilitate the creation of new district heating schemes, half of respondents said requiring developers to install district heating in new developments, 18% said requiring energy consumers to connect to such schemes, 15% said providing business rates relief for developments with district heating schemes, 13% said public sector capital contributions and 4% said granting developers the power to compulsorily purchase land for networks.

The Scottish Government’s strategy also sets out an ambition for Scotland to be the first part of the UK in which onshore wind energy schemes thrive without subsidy. Asked to identify the single most useful change that the Scottish Government could make to promote onshore wind development, respondents identified three key policies which the Scottish Government could introduce: public sector power purchase agreements, facilitating increased turbine tip heights and introducing a legal presumption in favour of re-powering existing sites (28%, 24% and 24% respectively).

Keith Patterson High resCommenting on the survey results, Keith Patterson, Co-Head of Renewables at Brodies LLP, said: “The energy sector is accustomed to change – it has lived with it for the past decade. Economic and technological changes are transforming the electricity sector, seemingly by the day. Much of this change has been spurred by policies seeking to drive the decarbonisation of our energy supply. Yet, despite all the change, we have only touched the surface of what is required if we are to decarbonise our energy supply –Scotland is transforming its electricity supply but we are only at the starter’s gun as far as decarbonising transport and heat are concerned.

“Perhaps the most important aspect of the draft Energy Strategy is that it signals that heat will now be the focus of Scotland’s decarbonising efforts. Again, the draft strategy does not say how heat will be decarbonised, but climate change targets published around the same time imply that Scotland’s domestic and commercial heat supply will be approaching carbon free supply by 2032. Even if Scotland does not hit this target, it promises a truly transformative future for Scotland’s heat supply.”

To read the full report on the survey’s findings, visit http://brodi.es/allenergy17.