Andrew Smith KC has over 30 years of experience of litigation in courts at all levels.
He has practised at the Scottish Bar (call 1988, silk 2002) and since 2006 at the English Bar. He took silk in England in 2016 after establishing a busy and successful practice in England as well as Scotland. Andrew has extensive trial and appellate experience in all courts having appeared in an estimated 300 trials and proofs; and well over a hundred appeals.
He has a wealth of court experience, including ten appearances in the Supreme Court as leader, and several in the House of Lords and Privy Council previously. He has represented several clients in applications to the European Court of Human Rights. He has appeared at all levels of court in both Scotland and England.
His practice is wide, but he has particular expertise and interest in commercial litigation, insurance, professional negligence and product liability (including metal to metal hips, PIP implants, Vioxx and Celebrex litigation, VW emissions claims). He has extensive experience in medical negligence claims and commercial claims in Scotland, and similar claims in England. He represented the pursuer in a recent claim for professional negligence in which the sum sued for was in excess of $200m US. He is instructed for a claimant in England, the claim having an estimated value of in excess of $300m, and is working together with US and UK based lawyers with multi jurisdictional pre litigation orders being sought.
He has been rated in the legal directories for several categories (including commercial litigation, professional regulation, medical negligence and personal injury) and praised in the directories for his attention to detail, meticulous preparation and ability to innovate.
Andrew obtained a qualification in Arbitration from Aberdeen University in 2017, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has appeared in arbitration hearings, and regularly provides advice to clients on contractual matters with a view to protecting their position in arbitration issues. In 2018, he attended the Southampton University Maritime Law Short Course providing him with a solid grounding on matters of international trade and shipping law, including insurance issues, jurisdiction, charterparties, limitation, towage and wreckage and all other aspects of shipping and maritime law.
He acts for many clients on issues of international trade and contract.