Dual Qualification For Social Housing Solicitor

One of our expert social housing solicitors has become dual qualified – adding Scottish solicitor to his existing England and Wales law qualification. Ellis Pugh advises social housing providers, charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit and for-profit organisations on matters including corporate governance, mergers, restructuring, collaborative working, and regulatory compliance.

As a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, Ellis completed seven examinations to pass the Law Society of Scotland’s Qualified Lawyers Assessment over two years. After applying for admission to the Roll of Solicitors, he is now able to practise as a solicitor in Scotland and advise registered providers across both jurisdictions, with a focus on corporate governance, regulatory and charity law.

Ellis said: “I am now excited to develop my knowledge of Scottish charity, social housing and not-for-profit law so I can better assist our existing clients and help the firm reach out to other potential clients. I enjoyed meeting colleagues in our Edinburgh hub and look forward to seeing how we can take advantage of any opportunities to develop the practice and collaborate.”

We are continuing to build upon its Scots law offering and Ellis’ dual qualification follows the appointment of dispute resolution partner Fiona Pask, triple-qualified commercial and corporate partner Trevor Fenton, dual-qualified real estate legal director Nicky Grant, and Grant Docherty to lead the firm’s banking practice in Scotland. The firm also recently welcomed commercial property and real estate finance solicitor Myeda Aarif and, in 2022, welcomed its first Scottish trainee. Louise Drew, head of building communities said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Ellis has passed his examinations and is now qualified to practise in both England and Scotland. This will be a huge benefit to our social housing clients as he can now seamlessly transact in both jurisdictions – saving them valuable time and money.”

In February this year, we expanded its footprint in Scotland after taking additional space to accommodate its growing team in Edinburgh. The Scottish practice grew in revenue by 142% in the last financial year and is also the only firm in the country to be part of Multilaw, a global network of law firms.