Brent Haywood

Practice Areas

A solicitor advocate since 2002, Brent has considerable experience in handling a range of commercial and administrative law matters including multi-party product liability actions, cross-border intellectual property cases, contractual and company disputes, pensions, procurement and regulatory matters. He has experience in handling settlements under the Crown’s self-reporting initiative in anti-bribery matters and was heavily involved in the Rangers Football Club administration process. Brent deals with cross-border matters and pre-action processes, such as Scottish Dawn Raids.

He also has an interest in equality law and religious liberty matters. Brent has led on a number of high-profile and legally significant cases in these areas involving religious groups and universities – the cases have set precedents now being relied upon throughout the UK. He also acted in the successful challenge against the Scottish Government’s ban on public worship during the pandemic.

He was involved in a litigation taken under the City Code and the Companies Act that was pursued by the Takeover Panels.

Brent is an Accredited Mediator and also holds a Masters in Conflict Resolution and Mediation.

Professional Memberships

Writers to the Signet

Work Highlights

• Brent was featured in the Times newspaper in April 2021 as Scottish lawyer of the week following a judicial review for 27 church leaders who successfully challenged the Scottish Government's unlawful blanket ban on public worship

• Achieving a successful settlement with City of Edinburgh Council who, on the eve of trial, apologised and agreed to pay damages for discriminating against a religious group and infringing its human rights by unlawfully cancelling arrangements for a conference at the Usher Hall.

• Acting for David King, Rangers FC Chairman, in the Takeover Panel's litigation to pursue enforcement of the City Code under the Companies Act

• Representing the British Boxing Board of Control in a recent Fatal Accident Inquiry

• Representing an anchor tenant’s interest in a seven figure dispute with the Landlord of one of Scotland’s largest Shopping Centers

• Successfully pursuing the Scheme Actuary in a professional negligence matter on behalf of the trustees of a Pension Scheme

• Experienced in the Crown’s Self Reporting regime in respect of anti-bribery matters

• Recovering US generated spring board profits through the Scottish courts for a global agrochemical client whose patent was infringed in the UK

• Recovering confidential information via ‘Dawn Raids’ after obtaining orders from the Scottish courts

• Taking equality discrimination cases against the Student Unions of Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities

• Brent regularly comments in various press both with guidance on existing legal issues as well as expert opinion regarding new and developing legislation - recent Scotsman articles include Now is the time for us to streamline a justice system that’s too expensive and Non-execs must open their eyes to insolvency risks; and an article published on commentary and analysis website, Reaction, draws heavily on Brent’s concerns about Scotland’s new hate crime bill