“I have a particular interest in helping clients resolve commercial and corporate disputes, particularly intellectual property disputes.”

John is an experienced Solicitor Advocate, with rights of audience before the Scottish and English courts.

He often appears before the Court of Session and the Scottish Appeal Court, and is one of the few Solicitor Advocates to have appeared before the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. He deals with a range of commercial litigation, and has considerable experience of leading and managing high-value claims backed by third party litigation funders. He is also experienced in alternative forms of dispute resolution, including expert determination, arbitration and mediation. His clients come from many sectors, including energy and utilities, life sciences, food and drink, banking and financial services, IT, and manufacturing.

John sits on the Lord President's Consultative Committee on Commercial Actions. He is also a former Chair of the ADR Committee of the International Trademark Association.

Areas of practice include:

Sector experience includes:

Admitted

1993: Scotland
2019: Republic of Ireland
2005: England and Wales

Relevant experience

Advising PCI Pal on in relation to the allegations of patent infringement by Semafone Limited, now Sycurio Limited. We were instructed to deal with proceedings raised in the Patents Court in London, and to coordinate strategy with US attorneys who were dealing with parallel proceedings in the United States.
Advising Scottish Sea Farms Limited and Bakkafrost Limted in relation to protective measures against protestors.
Appearing before the Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to an application for declaration of invalidity of a Community Trade Mark on the basis of alleged bad faith.
Leading the advocacy team for a drinks supplier on passing off and trade mark infringement claims before the Court of Session.
Advising a UK retailer on their comparative advertising campaign and the subsequent trade mark infringement proceedings before the High Court in London.
Advising on a trade mark infringement and passing off claim by a high-profile Hotel.
Advising on a £110 million professional negligence claim against auditors following the collapse of a large property investment scheme. Proceedings were raised in the Isle of Man, English leading counsel were instructed, and strategy and management of the claim run from Scotland. The case involved a very significant number of documents that had to be collated and reviewed.
Advising on multimillion-pound claims against various valuation surveyors in relation to commercial properties in Scotland. The claims were litigated in Scotland and ultimately settled at mediation.
Leading the advocacy team on a multimillion-pound claim against a global animal feed supplier in relation to a product liability claim for allegedly defective feed.
Providing strategic guidance to a client in relation to a billion-dollar class action in the USA involving allegations of cartel behaviour.
Appearing before Court of Justice of the European Union in relation to an appeal against a multi million euro fine following a complaint relating to anti-competitive behaviour in the telecoms sector.
Advising Scottish Sea Farms Limited in relation to proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal and the High Court involving collective proceedings and group actions.

Professional bodies

2006: Solicitor Advocate, Law Society of England and Wales
2000: Solicitor Advocate, Law Society of Scotland

“He gives us confidence because he’s used to dealing with large litigation issues which can be cross jurisdictional. I think him and his team are very down to earth, very approachable, we feel as though we’re treated well as a client, he give us a good service, and he’s competitively priced.”

Shepherd & Wedderburn client (2020)

Further testimonials

“John is a sound voice of calm in dealing with high-conflict cases and those with potential reputational harm. He is a very knowledgeable and trusted guide to support us in dealing with knotty problems.”

Chambers (2024)