Partner and Solicitor Advocate
T. 0131 222 2932 / 07824 844914
E. prm@bto.co.uk
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Experience
Paul has been qualified 34 years. He is an accredited specialist in freedom of information and data protection law, one of only two such specialists in the private practice legal sector in Scotland
He is also a versatile and highly experienced civil Solicitor Advocate who has used his Rights of Audience continuously and prominently since 1998.
Paul has advised colleges, private schools, councils, Registered Social Landlords, law firms, accountants and SMEs on a variety of DPA/GDPR, PECR, Freedom of Information and Environmental Information issues. He has run many groundbreaking cases, for example:
Appeared before the First Tier (Information Rights) Tribunal, representing Scottish Borders Council v ICO. A £250,000 DPA 1998 Monetary Penalty was cancelled by the Tribunal. The only successful such appeal in the UK to date. Paul was lead counsel.
Appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January 2017 to successfully obtain £18,000 DPA 1998 distress damages for a family subjected to CCTV surveillance including audio recording (Woolley –v- Akbar).
Appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court in April 2017 to successfully defend a golf course operator against a DPA 1998 distress damages claim (Rohan Beyts –v- Trump International Golf Links Scotland Limited).
He has provided data protection advice and comment for almost two decades, advising on a wide range of data protection issues including: telecare, common area surveillance, Subject Access Requests, neighbour complaints and covert CCTV/audio recording of care workers by service users’ families.
Complementing his data protection experience, Paul has a well-known practice in defamation, media and social media law which is increasingly called upon by his clients who have ranged from politicians to record production companies. For the past ten years he has presented an annual event at the Edinburgh Fringe to explain his areas of interest to artist managers, artists, producers and authors.