Agriculture and rural law conference

David is a Member of The Law Society of Scotland Rural Affairs sub-Committee, Member of Agricultural Law Association, Member of South West Agricultural Valuers Association, Member of Compulsory Purchase Association, Member of RSFS (Royal Scottish Forestry Society).

David is a farmer’s son, but with two older brothers in the family business he decided to forge a different career path. He first obtained a degree from Stirling University in Financial Studies & Business Law which included accountancy and economics. David then pursued his interest in the law and obtained his law degree from Strathclyde University. An experienced, commercial lawyer David has now chosen to specialise in the area of rural property law including the buying, selling and leasing of all types of rural property. He has particular expertise in the acquisition and disposal of farms and forestry and in renewable energy projects.

David provides clients with specialised advice in relation to agricultural law, mineral rights, servitudes, telecoms mast leases and sporting rights.

Neil combines a career in farm business consultancy with Bidwell’s and the management of his family’s upland farm and estate in Perthshire.

Neil has 20 years' experience as a farm business consultant since qualifying from Harper Adams and the University of Nottingham. He previously worked for Bidwell’s in the East of England but has worked from the Perth office for the last 6 years. Neil has developed a particular expertise in working with potato and fresh produce sector supply chains to develop relationships between growers and customers. He works on issues to include supply strategies and supply group initiatives. Neil has an expertise in producing industry cost of production models for a number of sectors and working with supply chains to find improved efficiency through effective collaboration. Neil is also involved helping a wide range of farming clients. He carries out a range of farm consultancy and management work including regular consultancy on farm management agreements, structural business reviews including whole business financial analysis and benchmarking. Neil also has a particular expertise in joint venture farming arrangements having set up a number of labour and machinery joint ventures. These have enabled the participating farmers to reduce operating costs while also benefiting from access to a wider range of more modern equipment and skilled operators.

Neil also runs his family’s upland farm and estate in Callander in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. The business runs 1100 ewes and 50 suckler cows as well as commercial forestry and holiday lets. More recently the business has invested in hydroelectric power generation and has opened a café and camp site on the side of Loch Lubnaig. The business works closely with the National Park Authority and the Community and is involved in several heritage and conservation projects.

Neil is also a past chairman of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs of England & Wales.

Dr Bob McIntosh CBE is an ecologist by training who has spent most of his career in forestry and land management. He worked for the Forestry Commission for 41 years in various research, policy and management roles, including being responsible for the management of the 1.3million ha FC estate located across Scotland, England and Wales and, latterly, as Director of all the FC activities in Scotland. Prior to retirement he was seconded into the Scottish Government as Environment and Forestry Director with responsibility for policy development and delivery in forestry, the natural heritage, land use, waste, pollution, biodiversity, flooding and water quality as well as the procurement of research in support of the rural industries. He was also actively involved in hill farming for 15 years.
 
Following retirement in 2015 he is a board member of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, chairs the board of trustees of the Scottish Forestry Trust and, as Scotland’s first Tenant Farming Commissioner, is a member of the newly formed Land Commission.

David is a Member of The Law Society of Scotland Rural Affairs sub-Committee, Member of Agricultural Law Association, Member of South West Agricultural Valuers Association, Member of Compulsory Purchase Association, Member of RSFS (Royal Scottish Forestry Society).

David is a farmer’s son, but with two older brothers in the family business he decided to forge a different career path. He first obtained a degree from Stirling University in Financial Studies & Business Law which included accountancy and economics. David then pursued his interest in the law and obtained his law degree from Strathclyde University. An experienced, commercial lawyer David has now chosen to specialise in the area of rural property law including the buying, selling and leasing of all types of rural property. He has particular expertise in the acquisition and disposal of farms and forestry and in renewable energy projects.

David provides clients with specialised advice in relation to agricultural law, mineral rights, servitudes, telecoms mast leases and sporting rights.

Neil combines a career in farm business consultancy with Bidwell’s and the management of his family’s upland farm and estate in Perthshire.

Neil has 20 years' experience as a farm business consultant since qualifying from Harper Adams and the University of Nottingham. He previously worked for Bidwell’s in the East of England but has worked from the Perth office for the last 6 years. Neil has developed a particular expertise in working with potato and fresh produce sector supply chains to develop relationships between growers and customers. He works on issues to include supply strategies and supply group initiatives. Neil has an expertise in producing industry cost of production models for a number of sectors and working with supply chains to find improved efficiency through effective collaboration. Neil is also involved helping a wide range of farming clients. He carries out a range of farm consultancy and management work including regular consultancy on farm management agreements, structural business reviews including whole business financial analysis and benchmarking. Neil also has a particular expertise in joint venture farming arrangements having set up a number of labour and machinery joint ventures. These have enabled the participating farmers to reduce operating costs while also benefiting from access to a wider range of more modern equipment and skilled operators.

Neil also runs his family’s upland farm and estate in Callander in the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. The business runs 1100 ewes and 50 suckler cows as well as commercial forestry and holiday lets. More recently the business has invested in hydroelectric power generation and has opened a café and camp site on the side of Loch Lubnaig. The business works closely with the National Park Authority and the Community and is involved in several heritage and conservation projects.

Neil is also a past chairman of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs of England & Wales.

Sarah-Jane joined the organisation in 2004 as Housing Strategy Officer, after 10 years in both local authority and housing association environments.  She became Head of Policy in 2009 and was made Director of Policy & Parliamentary Affairs in January 2013 - a role which involves overseeing the policy work of the organisation, directing all external and internal communications and leading on lobbying and representational work.  Sarah-Jane was appointed to the Board as Executive Director in May 2017, taking on additional organisational responsibilities alongside her policy and parliamentary remit.

Bob is a retired public servant with extensive experience in public policy, in particular in land management and forestry, Bob was the SG Director for Environment and Forestry between 2012 and 2015, and before that served as the Director of Forestry Commission Scotland and in many other roles in the Forestry Commission.  He was a partner in a 650-acre hill farm for 15 years. He is also currently a Board Member of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jamie Whittle was a Morehead Scholar to the University of North Carolina where he gained a BA (Hons) in modern languages, before receiving an LLB in law at the University of Edinburgh and an MSc with distinction in human ecology. His main areas of work include environmental and planning law, commercial law and renewable energy, agricultural law, litigation and mediation. He is a referral solicitor for the Environmental Law Foundation and Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, and a Council Member of the UK Environmental Law Association. Jamie is a part time lecturer in environmental law at the University of Edinburgh School of Law.

One of the North East's leaders in rural law, Hamish is top ranked in his field by the leading independent legal directories Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500,
Highly regarded for his experience and depth of knowledge of rural and agricultural matters, Hamish is thoroughly immersed in the sector. He is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Agricultural Law, and he sits on the Law Society of Scotland's Rural Affairs Committee, the NFUS Legal and Technical Committee and is a member of the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association. He is also a Trustee of RSABI, Scotland’s leading agricultural charity.

Malcolm is a senior lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen. He joined the School after working as a solicitor in private practice.

In 2017 he was appointed as External Adviser to the Scottish Government's independent Deer Working Group. Also in 2017, he was appointed to the Law Society of Scotland's Access to Justice Committee. He is a “Case and Comment” editor of the Juridical Review, the law journal of the Scottish universities. In June 2013, he was appointed an adviser to the Land Reform Review Group, which reported in 2014. He has recently been involved with research projects about small landholders (for the Scottish Government), and interventions in land markets and community land acquisition mechanisms (for the Scottish Land Commission).

Deborah is a commercial property specialist who focuses particularly on property development, renewable energy and land tax advice. She works closely with landowners and developers on the acquisition and sale of land for development, the sale of surplus land for re-development and the acquisition of land for projects, including advising on the need to secure best value, overage and profit sharing schemes. Deborah is part of the team that advises the Crown Estate Scotland on marine renewables energy projects such as wave and tidal electricity and wind farms. Back on shore, she advises developers in their acquisition of wind and solar sites.
Deborah is a member of the SPF Tax Group, Convener of the Law Society of Scotland Property Law Committee and sits on the Tax Committee sub-group on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax. Signet accredited in Commercial Property by the WS Society, Deborah also sits on the Society’s Signet Accreditation Committee for the Commercial Property module.
She is a recognised leader in her field by the legal directory Chambers & Partners for Real Estate.  In 2015 Deborah was awarded a Masters in Energy and Natural Resources Law by the University of Melbourne and has been admitted to the legal profession as an Australian Lawyer in Victoria.

Linsey is an accredited Agricultural Law Specialist and a Partner in the Thorntons Land and Rural Business Team based in Edinburgh. She is recommended in the authoritative Legal 500 for 2016 and is described as ‘determined and imaginative’. She has a particular interest in rural land reform and the effect of new legislation on rural businesses and estates.

Elaine is a partner in our Commercial Litigation team, primarily focusing on commercial, financial and property related disputes.  She has vast experience in the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts, Land Court and Lands Tribunal, and works closely with our real estate and banking teams. Elaine's work includes ground breaking property litigation, including cases on dilapidations and extraordinary repairs under a commercial lease; a case for damages for the encroachment by a major house builder onto neighbouring land; a major litigation involving breach of warranty claims in the sale of a business, and the resulting professional negligence claim against solicitors; leading the team involved in complex pension litigation in relation to equalisation of rights; the first case of its kind in Scotland where an administration order was made in respect of a non UK company with heritable assets in Scotland, and a long running case involving an oil rig where claims exceed $65million.

Sir Crispin Agnew has a specialist practice in rural property law, covering all issues affecting a landed estate, including conveyancing issues, fishing and sporting, nature conservation, water and other environmental law issues, agricultural and crofting law, landlord and tenant, renewable energy and compulsory purchase. He regularly gives advice in planning matters and applications and appears at planning inquiries conducted by the DPEA and in planning appeals or judicial review challenges to planning or electricity consent decisions in the Court of Session. Chambers ranks Sir Crispin “Star Individual” for Agriculture & Rural Affairs and “Band 1” for Planning and Environmental.
He also frequently acts for local authorities on all aspects of their work including defending judicial review of their decisions, licensing, education and their commercial contracts.
Sir Crispin Agnew is the author of published legal text books on Agricultural Law, Crofting Law, Liquor Licensing and the Discharge and Variation of Title Conditions. He regularly lectures at PQLE Conferences. He is a patron of UKELA and Chairman of the Crofting Law Group.

Lydia is a Solicitor with over 20 years’ experience and am accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in Agricultural Law and am a Registered Trust and Estates Practitioner (TEP). She studied Law at Edinburgh University before qualifying as a Solicitor in 1997 and is a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Rural Affairs Committee and sit on the Law Society Agricultural Specialist Approval Panel. Lydia advises farming families on all aspects of succession planning including wills and inheritance tax. Originally from a Fife farming family Lydia now farms in partnership with her husband in rural Perthshire.