Terra Firma

Terra Firma Chambers is launching a spring webinars series with two events looking at the ways in which communities can now use the law to require the transfer of land and other property to them. There are an increasing number of community groups making applications under these provisions, which rai

Faryma Bahrami has returned to full-time practice at Terra Firma Chambers, having spent three years working as an investment professional at Baillie Gifford. Ms Bahrami called to the bar in 2015 having previously held the position of assistant public solicitor on the British Overseas Territory

The Edinburgh Tax Network, in conjunction with CIOT and Terra Firma Chambers, will present a talk entitled ‘Tax Issues on Importing and Exporting - post 1 January 2021’ on 27 November 2020 from 1pm to 2pm. The event was originally scheduled for 5 November. The speaker, Matthew

The Edinburgh Tax Network, in conjunction with CIOT and Terra Firma Chambers, will present a talk entitled ‘UK/US tax and succession issues for private clients’ on 1 December 2020 from 1pm to 2pm. The speakers will be Mark McKeown of Turcan Connell and Sarjul Patel of U.S. Tax &

Fred Mackintosh QC successfully represented the Cockburn Association, the New Town and Broughton Community Council and the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust, at a public inquiry into the appeals submitted by developers against the decisions by the City of Edinburgh Council to refuse their applicat

Neil Kinnear from Terra Firma Chambers is to speak at a commercial litigation webinar. The Commercial Law Network, in partnership with Bellwether Green, have launched their first ‘Litigation Week’.

Terra Firma Chambers has announced that Alasdair Burnet has been appointed to the rank of Queen’s Counsel. Nominated by the Lord Justice General and recommended by the First Minister, Mr Burnet is one of ten new silks approved by Her Majesty The Queen.

Following a webinar presentation by Terra Firma's Jon Kiddie on the topic of homelessness and judicial review, a discussion arose on a question he had posed over the suitability of judicial review for challenging local authority decisions on homelessness. The consensus indicated a concern that

There is a real risk of unintended consequences from this noble attempt to provide greater clarity, transparency and consistency in hate crime law, writes Fred Mackintosh QC of Terra Firma Chambers. The Justice Committee’s call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill close

Terra Firma's Jon Kiddie has considered the essentials of remote hearings in a new article, particularly in relation to civil proceedings, from where we were pre-pandemic to the current situation where remote hearings have become the new norm. "This article represents its author’s attempt to m

Terra Firma Chambers has announced that Fergus Colquhoun has joined the stable. Prior to calling, Mr Colquhoun trained with an Edinburgh private client firm, gaining extensive experience in most aspects of urban and rural property law, trust law, and taxation.

The Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) has conducted its first ever virtual hearing session in a planning appeal. At stake was the scale and extent of education contributions that could be required from housing development in Edinburgh.

In his second paper 'talk' prepared during lockdown – Remedies, Contract and Delict – Terra Firma's Neil Beynon offers some suggestions for returning to practice in a way that enables the legal system to function properly and fully so as to enable the rule of law to flourish. R

In a new article, Jon Kiddie of Terra Firma Chambers looks at the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the wealth of attendant regulations and statutory instruments and their effect on the legal landscape. "Enacted on 25 March, and largely effective with immediate force, the Coronavirus Act 2020 was the UK gove

In Liddell & Others v Argyll and Bute Council, Lord Malcolm, giving the opinion of the court, dismissed an appeal against a decision of Lord Boyd to reject a challenge to the grant of a residential planning permission based on the impact on the setting of a listed building – Ardencaple Hou