Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Corporate/M&A: Scotland - UK
What the Team is Known For
Burness Paull has a pre-eminent corporate presence across Scotland, acting for national and international clients on a wide range of corporate and private equity transactional matters, with a notable sector specialism in technology and financial services. The firm is experienced in acting on deals involving companies of all sizes, from large plcs to owner-managed businesses. The team is often involved in complex transactions with multi-jurisdictional elements, such as significant equity capital markets work.
Strengths
Burness Paull is a really nice firm to work with. The lawyers work at pace, they are really hungry for the work and they are just lovely people to work with.
They are a great team – responsive and technically good. A real asset for us.
They're always pragmatic, without point-scoring. They fight the things that matter and don't waste our time with the stuff that doesn't.
They were highly committed, competent and experienced and ran the M&A process as a well-structured project. They met key deadlines and ensured we concluded on the target date.
Work Highlights
Burness Paul acted for I3 Energy during its £174 million acquisition by Gran Tierra Energy.
Notable practitioners
Mark Ellis is managing partner at Burness Paull. He is recognised for his experience across a range of corporate matters, handling significant M&A transactions and private equity work.
Mark is great to work with and highly proactive.
Mark Ellis is a fantastic solicitor.
Chair of the firm Peter Lawson is known for his longstanding M&A practice. He has a wealth of experience advising both public and private companies on corporate transactions.
Peter is top of my list. His knowledge and specialism – that is all a given. He is fantastic; so responsive, so kind and open and considerate. From a client perspective, you can't ask for any more.
Christopher Gotts is a partner and co-head of the Burness Paull energy team. He is known for handling domestic and cross-border acquisitions and equity fundraisings on behalf of both public and private companies.
Christopher is very client-focused, adding value through market knowledge.
Christopher has deep knowledge and is innately pragmatic. He is one of the best M&A lawyers we deal with– great ability to lead transactions.
David Davidson is a well-regarded and experienced corporate partner. He acts for clients on a broad range of commercial mandates, including M&A transactions and investments.
David is excellent.
Grant Stevenson handles acquisitions, sales and restructuring matters. He leads the firm's media practice and stands out for his work on deals in that sector.
Grant is an excellent and client-focused lawyer.
Paul Scullion is head of Burness Paull's corporate finance team. He shows aptitude for advising on domestic and cross-border matters relating to venture capital, as well as M&A and fund-raising transactions.
He has a lot of respect in the sector, and he's known for being a collaborative and pragmatic lawyer.
Paul is a good operator: he's very confident, and he delivers very promptly. He's a brilliant overarching manager of the corporate team.
He's very good – very sensible and very pragmatic.
Robert Burns handles sales and acquisitions as part of his wide corporate practice. He advises entrepreneurs as well as owner-managed and family-run businesses.
Robert is an excellent leader.
Robert is a key asset to our business.
Robert is a corporate finance specialist who handles asset and share acquisitions.
Catriona Macallan advises on M&A and private equity transactions. She also heads up the firm's China desk.
Catriona is great to work with and highly proactive.