Education & Professional Qualifications
Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Edinburgh (2001)
LLB, University of Edinburgh (2000)
MA (Hons), University of St Andrews (1998)
Sheriff MacDonald QC Memorial Prize Winner (2000)
Professional Career to date
Devil Masters: Eric Robertson, James Wolffe QC, Chris Shead, Tim Niven-Smith.
2006 (to date): Advocate (Stable: Axiom Advocates)
2006: Year of call
2005 - 2006: Lord Reid Scholar
2003 - 2005: Solicitor, Dispute Resolution Department, Burness LLP, Edinburgh
2001 - 2003: Trainee Solicitor, Burness Solicitors, Edinburgh
Professional Experience
Euan’s practice is principally within the fields of commercial, insolvency and insurance litigation. He has acted in minority shareholder claims, contractual disputes, property disputes and breach of warranty claims. He has acted on behalf of pursuers and defenders in professional negligence claims against solicitors and accountants and has appeared on behalf of insolvency practitioners, creditors and trustees in bankruptcy. He has been instructed on behalf of a number of public sector clients, including local authorities, the Accountant in Bankruptcy and the chief constable of one of Scotland’s police forces. He has acted against the Coal Authority in claims for compensation in terms of the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991. He has also been instructed in relation to petitions for judicial review, public procurement disputes, asylum claims and freedom of information proceedings.
Between March and September 2010, Euan acted as Legal Advisor to the European Union Naval Force, spending most of that time in Mombasa, Kenya, working on the prosecution of Somali pirates. He also spent time as a legal advisor at the Operation’s Headquarters in Northwood, London.
As a solicitor, he practiced in the fields of commercial dispute resolution, property litigation, judicial review and media law. He was a member of the team appointed to act in court proceedings across Scotland on behalf of the Accountant in Bankruptcy. He also spent time on secondment to Scottish Equitable's in-house legal team, where he was responsible for the conduct of appeals to the Pensions Ombudsman and the Financial Ombudsman Service, as well as consideration and determination of claims by independent financial advisors.
Courts & Tribunal Experience
Court of Session (Inner and Outer House); High Court of Justiciary (First Instance and Appellate); Sheriff Court; the Lands Tribunal for Scotland; and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.
Cases
Winding-Up Board of Landsbanki Islands HF, Noter [2011] CSIH 61
Instructed on behalf of the Reclaimers, the Administrators of H, the Scottish subsidiary of L, Iceland’s largest bank. Dispute over construction and application of regulations governing cross border insolvency of EU credit institutions and the availability of insolvency set-off.
Port of Leith Housing Association v Akram, [2011] CSOH 176
Action for implement of missives by purchaser of heritable property. Dispute as to vendor’s agent’s authority and the correct construction of the missives and a letter of purification issued in terms of the missives.
Castlerock Edinvar Housing Association Limited and others v The Coal Authority (2011, ongoing)
Instructed on behalf of multiple applicants in respect of applications to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland in terms of the Coal Mining Subsidence Act 1991 for compensation for subsidence damage.
Mitchell v Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) PLC [2010] CSOH 59
Debate before Commercial Judge as to whether insurer due to make payment in circumstances where clause in the insurance policy founded upon protected the insured against death which was caused solely by bodily injury and where there had been a pre existing condition which had contributed to the death of the insured.
Turnbull v MNT Transport (2006) Ltd [2010] CSOH 163
Dispute between motoring and public liability insurers in relation to respective obligations to indemnify the insured following sustaining of catastrophic injury by pursuer in accident involving insured’s parked-up haulage trailer. (Public liability insurer sought to repudiate liability on basis of “double insurance” clause.)
J.B. v Her Majesty’s Advocate [2009] HCJAC 13
Appeal against conviction on grounds of defective representation.
Accountant in Bankruptcy v Sneddon [2008] CSOH 11
Action under s.34 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985 for reduction of a gratuitous alienation; discussion on procedure roll focused on whether illiquid claims fall to be included as a liability for the purposes of the statutory defence of solvency.
J H Cunningham (Haulage) Ltd v James Smith and others
Complex action for damages for breach of warranties contained within business purchase agreement, with a counterclaim by the vendor for payment of deferred consideration.
Petition of Melanie Wood
Petition by minority shareholder seeking orders in respect that the affairs of the company had been conducted in an unfairly prejudicial manner; dispute over appropriate method of valuation of the petitioner’s shareholding.
John Smith and others v Johnston Carmichael
Action by former partners against accountants in respect of tax advice on incorporation.
BC Property Holdings Ltd (in Liquidation) v Fiona Gibbons and another; Strathclyde Associated Property Holdings Ltd v Fiona Gibbons and another
Actions by liquidators of companies for reduction of sham leases.
Appeals by Sexton's Transport Services and Hogg Haulage against decisions of liquidators of Able Transport Ltd and Able Transport (Special Contracts Division) Ltd
Dispute over whether appellants’ claims in the liquidations had been extinguished by negative prescription.
Additional Information
2006 (to date): Tutor in Civil Court Practice, University of Edinburgh
2006 (to date): Tutor on Professional Competence Course for trainee solicitors
Officer in the Royal Naval Reserve; member of the Maritime Reserve Legal Cadre
1996 - 1997: President, University of St Andrews Students' Association