Kevin is a partner in the firm’s Commercial Disputes team and is the lead partner the firm’s Workplace Risk and Regulation group – and specifically health and safety and regulatory matters in Scotland. His team has a particular focus on health, safety, environmental and other regulatory offences, licensing compliance, fatal accident inquiries and personal injury claims (acting for defenders).
Kevin’s experience includes:
- advising on licensing applications and compliance (alcohol, taxi, civic, public entertainment, short-term lets)
- advising public and private sector clients in relation to investigations conducted by regulators (such as the Health and Safety Executive, SEPA, FCA)
- Providing immediate legal support in the aftermath of an accident: liaising with investigators, attending interviews under caution, advising on document disclosure
- health and safety (often involving fatalities), environmental and planning prosecutions
- compliance advice, including anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters
- appearing in the Court of Session (Outer House and Inner House), the Sheriff Court (civil and criminal), the Sheriff Appeal Court, the First-tier Tribunal, and licensing boards
Kevin has been a solicitor advocate since 2015, was appointed as temporary junior counsel to the Advocate General for Scotland in 2016 (to 2019), and has previously undertaken a secondment to Crown Office (in 2017) during which he prosecuted cases within the Health and Safety Investigation Unit as the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit.
A highly experienced solicitor in litigating licensing applications and appeals, he has written a book on the latest short-term lets licensing scheme: A practical guide to the short-term lets licensing scheme in Scotland, Law Brief Publishing (2023)
Between 2005 and 2006, he tutored contract and delict on the undergraduate LLB at the University of Glasgow. Kevin subsequently went on to tutor delict at the University of Edinburgh between 2011 and 2020.
He is individually recognised in Chambers and Legal 500 for his expertise:
"Kevin Clancy is particularly impressive and a hugely valued external advisor. Kevin can always be relied on for an excellent depth of local knowledge combined with practical and commercially-minded advice. Having seen Kevin on his feet, I can also say he is a superb advocate." (2020)
'Kevin Clancy is a first-rate solicitor. Highly technically astute but able to explain complex concepts in accessible language to the clientele. He is also able to bring to bear practical and commercial considerations which are often key to delivering effective legal advice.' (Legal500, 2022)
‘Kevin Clancy has a depth of knowledge and experience enhanced by time spent by him in the past at the Procurator Fiscal service’ (Legal 500, 2023)
"Kevin has the ability to translate complexity into digestible chunks for clients who do not share the same level of understanding of the legislation. He has a very high degree of commercial awareness and pragmatism and he is also a very good negotiator, focused and efficient." (Chambers, 2024)
Admitted in Scotland
Health and Safety / Environmental
- Leading a team acting on behalf of various clients in defending personal injury and health & safety actions (asbestos exposure; employer liability; noise-induced hearing loss; workplace injuries)
- A UK housing association: defending criminal proceedings arising out of a fatality to a resident
- A UK property investment and development company in relation to an investigation by SEPA
- A timber harvesting company and its senior managers regarding an investigation by Natural Resources Wales
- Advising a chef in relation to investigations being conducted by Environmental Health Officers in connection with breaches of food safety law (allergens)
Licensing
- Advising and representing a major supermarket chain, private member clubs, restaurants and hotels on applications for premises licences (or variations of licences) from local authority licensing boards for the on-sale and off-sale of liquor; representing clients at licensing board hearings throughout Scotland.
- A licensed premises: successfully appealing a decision of the licensing board to revoke the client’s premises licence
Regulatory
- JS v The Nursing and Midwifery Council: appearing as a solicitor-advocate (as sole counsel) for the NMC in respect of a petition brought against the NMC for termination of an interim suspension order
- Paul Mack v The Standards Commission: appearing (as solicitor) on behalf of the Standards Commission before the Sheriff Principal in respect of an appeal under section 22 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000, specifically a decision by the Commission’s Hearing Panel to disqualify Mr Mack, and thereafter (as junior to The Right Hon. Lord Keen of Elie, KC) on appeal to the Inner House
- Turnbull v Scottish SPCA; Masson & Masson v Scottish SPCA; Bain & Bremner v Scottish SPCA: Appearing (as a solicitor) on behalf of the Scottish SPCA in relation to civil court proceedings in the Sheriff Court concerning release orders and disposal orders, and appeals against decision notices issued by the Scottish SPCA, under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006
- Petition of Edinburgh City Private Hire and Seven Sevens Cars Limited: acting as solicitor-advocate (as junior to James Findlay, KC) in judicial review proceedings against the City of Edinburgh Council
- Petition of IndigoVision Group PLC for sanction of a scheme of arrangement: acting as solicitor-advocate (as sole counsel) on behalf of IndigoVision Group PLC, the scheme of arrangement being the first such scheme to be dealt with on an entirely virtual basis during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Petition of Kyowa Kirin international PLC for sanction of a cross-border merger: Acting as solicitor-advocate (as sole counsel) on behalf of Kyowa Kirin International PLC in proceedings for the sanction of a cross-border merger
- Acting as solicitor-advocate (as sole Scottish counsel, instructed by English agents) on behalf of Chrysaor Holdings Limited in proceedings before the Court of Session for the restructuring of Premier Oil plc, being the first such court approved restructuring under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006
- The Scottish Salmon Company v Trouw (UK) Limited: acting as junior counsel (alongside another solicitor-advocate) in defending a £10million product liability claim in the Court of Session
