Professional Liability
“pragmatic and commercial” - The Legal 500
Why choose BTO to defend you? "...Responsive and very proactive…” One of Scotland’s largest and leading professional negligence teams, BTO’s Band 1 ranked team is led by “leading individual” Alan Eadie and fellow partner Lynne Cardow. RESPOND
Who do we advise? We tender advice to insurers who provide professional indemnity cover and to leading professional organisations and their members in a diverse range of disciplines. Clients range from accountants, solicitors, advocates, architects, surveyors, engineers, educational institutions, estate agents, alternative therapists, financial advisers and fund managers, to planning consultants, property searchers, forestry managers, hairdressers and tattoo artists. Where appropriate, and where no potential conflict of interest arises, we also pursue claims on behalf of leading financial institutions, corporate clients and individuals against their former professional advisers.
Where? Our team has strong expertise in the investigation of claims anywhere in Scotland, instructing and liaising with experts, and in the proactive, yet sensitive, handling of claims and disputes, whether by negotiation, alternative dispute resolution or formal court process.
What else? We have significant experience in guiding and representing professionals through regulatory and disciplinary investigations and hearings conducted by their various professional bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, the Law Society of Scotland, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Architects’ Registration Board. We also have extensive experience of handling D&O (Directors & Officers) Claims, including defending Directors’ Disqualification proceedings, as well as other Management Liability Claims. Working in close conjunction with other teams within BTO, we also deal with Employment Practices Liability and Cyber Liability Claims - essentially anything and everything that a director or manager of a business is likely to have thrown at them.
Rankings Band 1 ranked in Chambers UK* in:
Band 1 ranked in The Legal 500* in:
Professional Discipline
Professional Negligence
Professional Negligence
* Leading sources of legal market intelligence.
Significant instructions: Most of the time, our work involves keeping our clients out of the courts, but where that has been unavoidable, we have built up an enviable track record of successfully representing clients in many of the landmark decisions in professional liability actions:
Midlothian Council v Bracewell Stirling Architects & Others 2019: BTO ran the successful argument leading to the landmark decision on prescription (time bar) in construction cases which resulted in the dismissal of the claimants’ £12million damages claim.
Robert Gordon Kidd v Paull & Williamsons LLP and Burness Paull LLP 2017/18: BTO acted in the defence and settlement of what is the highest potential value professional liability case ever to have been raised against a firm of solicitors in Scotland, aspects of which have formed the subject of reported decisions. The case stemmed from the collapse of an oil and gas services company, in which the Pursuer had been the Chairman and majority shareholder, some years after a transaction involving the injection of private equity.
Symphony Equity Investments Ltd v James Peter Bailey Shakeshaft & Ors 2013: BTO acted for the present and past members of the board of a syndicate of investors in a D&O claim brought by the trustee of the syndicate alleging that the board had breached its authority by overinvesting in an underperforming business.
Cheshire Mortgage Corporate Limited v Longmuir & Co and Blemain Finance Limited v Balfour & Manson LLP: BTO were involved in the successful defence of what still stands as a landmark decision in relation to cases examining the extent of solicitors’ responsibilities in situations involving identify fraud: a triumph for the Law Society of Scotland Master Policy Insurers.
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc v Bannerman Johnstone Maclay: BTO acted for the Defenders in what remains to this day the leading Scottish decision on auditors’ liability.
Services
Professional Liability
Financial Lines Risks
Directors’ & Officers’/Management Liability/Employment Practices Liability
Payment Instruction Fraud Claims and other Cyber Liabilities
Professional Misconduct and Regulation
Construction & Engineering
Policy Interpretation and Coverage
Mediation/ Alternative Dispute Resolution
Solicitor Advocacy
Sample experience
Advising a firm of solicitors in respect of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from the collapse of a cyber security firm allegedly worth over £60million; whilst also coordinating, advising and responding to regulatory complaints.
Advising a well-established firm of accountants and auditors in their defence of a £5million claim for negligence in relation to their preparation of a group company audit.
Representing an academic institution regarding a multi-million pound claim by the producers of a veterinary product in relation to a 4 year research project and study on the efficacy of the product.
Advising a global technical services provider regarding its involvement in the construction of two Scottish hospitals (Edinburgh RHSC and Glasgow QEUH), both of which have become the subject of multiple litigations and now a Public Inquiry.
Representing a firm of solicitors regarding a multi-million pound claim relating to advice concerning a windfarm project.
Representing various firms of solicitors in claims relating to payment instructions frauds perpetrated on the clients of those firms.
Representing company directors in relation to allegations of breach of duty for their role in the financial collapse of a company involved in a construction project for the development of a hotel.
Sample clients
RSA
Allianz
Aviva plc
AXIS Specialty Europe SE
AXA XL
CFC Underwriting
Chubb Insurance Company of Europe SE
American International Group Limited
Markel International
DAS UK Group
Key contacts Alan Eadie Partner Accredited Mediator T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 228 5281 E: awe@bto.co.uk
Lynne Cardow Partner & Accredited Specialist in Professional Negligence Certified Specialist in Cyber Security T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 5318 E: lca@bto.co.uk
Matthew Raftery Senior Associate
Jamie Robb Associate
T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 4548 E: mra@bto.co.uk
T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 4854 E: jro@bto.co.uk
Gillian Harman Associate
Rebecca O’Hear Solicitor
T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 1946 E: gah@bto.co.uk
T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 4852 E: roh@bto.co.uk
Stuart Craig Solicitor T: 0141 221 8012 E: scr@bto.co.uk
EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LIABILITY Caroline Carr Partner & Accredited Specialist in Employment Law T: 0141 221 8012 D: 0141 225 5263 E: cac@bto.co.uk
What our clients say “highly respected” “impressive” “second to none” “my first choice in relation to any claim” “takes a team approach to claims and puts everything into it.” “fantastic...knowledgeable, experienced and good to work with” - BTO Clients
"deep technical knowledge ... communicated simply, with precision" - BTO Client
BTO Solicitors LLP (SO305583): 48 St. Vincent Street Glasgow G2 5HS, T: 0141 221 8012 One Edinburgh Quay Edinburgh EH3 9QG, T: 0131 222 2939
www.bto.co.uk
Twitter: @btosolicitors