Burness Paull has re-hired advocate Alasdair Sutherland as head of its planning department.

Mr Sutherland was a solicitor immediately prior to his call to the Bar in 2014.

Most recently, he successfully represented Aberdeen Football Club in resisting a challenge to its planned stadium at Kingsford, and Graham’s Dairies in overturning a decision of the Scottish Ministers in an important case for the house building industry.

He has also been standing junior counsel to the Scottish Government since 2017, and acted for Ministers in the high-profile challenge by INEOS to the Scottish Government’s policy on “fracking”.

Burness Paull has also appointed Andrew Forsyth as a partner, taking the total number at the firm to 70.