Avoiding negligence in wills and executries seminar

Laura advises clients on all aspects of Private Client issues including the preparation of Wills, estate planning, and Powers of Attorney. She has extensive experience in managing the administration of estates, including complex and contentious estates. As well as this she advises on the creation and administration of Trusts, Trust accounting and dealing with assets passing out of Trusts to beneficiaries.

Laura graduated from Strathclyde University in 2006 where she obtained a B.A. (Hons) in History. She studied for her L.L.B, also at the University of Strathclyde, and thereafter completed her Diploma in Legal Practice in 2009. She began a specialised traineeship in Private Client with Bird Semple and as previously worked with other Scottish firms throughout his career. In addition to this Laura is a member of the Society of Trust and the Estate Practitioner, she is also a Notary Public and is a Tutor in Private Client for the Diploma in Legal Practice at Strathclyde University.

After Edinburgh University (where he won the Thow Scholarship), Nick went to Oxford (Christ Church). He returned to Edinburgh and undertook a traineeship at Dundas & Wilson, C.S. He then became an Advocate. 

Nick's practice is now predominantly civil. 

His main interests are Wills, Trusts and Executories. Details of his experience in these fields are given below.  

Nick is a member of the Scottish Committee of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners ("STEP"). 

Nick's interests in trust law have taken him a variety of other areas, including: partnerships; "quasi partnerships"; directors' duties & disqualification; and 459 Petitions (now s. 994 of the Companies Act 2006). 

He has experience of pensions, including those constituted by trust deed and rules, and those predicated on statutory schemes including an NHS Scheme and a Local Government Scheme. He appeared in an appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman to the Inner House: Secretary of State for Scotland v. Turner 2003 S.C. 525. He has also undertaken a judicial review concerned with War Widows pension. Nick contributed to Tolley's Pension Dispute Procedure & Remedies (2002). 

He has been involved in a matter involving a "Staff Fund". 

Nick has also had a role in a demutualisation. 

In relation to liquidation and bankruptcy it is to be noted that Nick has appeared in a wide variety of cases: Liquidator of Taysquare Properties Ltd. 2005 SLT 959 (judicial examination of company officers); Hyndman v. Readman 2004 SLT 959 (1st Div.) (remuneration of liquidator); Ritchie v. Dickie 1999 S.C. 593 (personal bankruptcy of executor-dative); & Smith Petitioner 1999 SLT (Sh. Ct.) 5 (incompetence of seeking provisional liquidator on Scottish limited partnership etc.).  

Nick envisages that with legislative changes and the downturn in the economy, insolvency may again become a substantial feature of his professional practice.  He has given a talk on judicial examination of Company Officers.

Nick has been involved in employment law disputes and was a member of the Committee of the Faculty's Employment Law Group. He has acted for employees and employers.

He advised in relation to various matters including: dismissal for alleged dishonesty; constructive dismissal; an "old style" TUPE dispute; and also in relation to an employment tribunal matter involving claims both under the Working Time Directive and minimum pay legislation. 

He has taken part in a wide variety of appeals to Sheriffs Principal and appeals to and reclaiming motions in the Inner House: see List of Cases below.  He has also given talks on this topic.

The highlight of his career to date was appearing as Junior Counsel in the House of Lords in Moncrieff v Jamieson [2007] UKHL 42; 2008 S.C. (HL) 1.  The case was concerned with servitudes and, in particular, whether an express servitude of access carried an ancillary right to park. 

Mark has a degree in Politics, but since graduating his work has been in regulation and complaints. He worked at the General Teaching Council for Scotland for 12 years, mostly as the Investigating Manager dealing with fitness to practice investigations and policy, including leading on investigating the first complaints to the regulator regarding teacher competence. He has been at the SLCC for 4 years working as a Case Investigations Manager and is currently splitting that role with an Interim Director role with responsibility for Communications, Oversight and Public Policy. He also in his spare time did some freelance sports journalism between 2011 and 2016.