A guide to litigating in the Court of Session

This hybrid seminar will follow the life of an action in the Court of Session including: 

• The administrative process for raising and progresses ordinary actions

• Motions and urgent applications

• Preparing productions for lodging 

• A short introduction to the main specialist procedures including commercial actions and family actions

• An introduction to the specialist petition procedure in the Court of Session including the procedure under Chapter 14 (Petitions) and Chapter 58 (Judicial Review) of the Court of Session.  

This webinar will be useful for lawyers wishing to refresh their knowledge on the basics of procedure in the Court of Session or for NQs seeking to build knowledge of Court of Session procedure.

Bilaal is an incoming devil at the Faculty of Advocates. He has a broad practise in public law and commercial dispute resolution. Bilaal was formerly Head of Court of Session Litigation at a boutique litigation firm in Edinburgh dealing with a variety of public law and commercial disputes. In that role, he had a significant judicial review practise encompassing immigration, regulatory, oil and gas, and electoral disputes. He acted as Edinburgh Agent in the Court of Session for firms across Scotland, particularly in urgent applications for interim interdict in the immigration sector. His private law practise encompassed professional negligence actions, general civil litigation, and complex adoption applications.  

He was also previously a solicitor in the Insurance, Financial and Professional Disputes team in the Edinburgh office of a leading international law firm. In that role, he worked closely within a Band 1 rated team on a broad spectrum of professional negligence and commercial dispute resolution work in the Sheriff Courts and Court of Session in Scotland primarily defending professional indemnity claims for a variety of individuals and organisations, including accountants, brokers, engineers, surveyors, and construction professionals on behalf of some of the UK’s biggest insurers. His practise encompassed contractual disputes, shipping, insolvency and debt recovery involving individuals and companies. Bilaal was also involved in advising and representing a core participant in the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry. 

As well as being a tutor on the Public Law and Individual Rights and Public Law of the UK and Scotland courses at the University of Edinburgh, Bilaal has been a guest lecturer at Edinburgh Napier University in immigration law. He is an author for Free Movement, one of the UK’s leading immigration and asylum law blogs.  

 An experienced decision-maker, Bilaal is currently a member of the Football Association’s National Serious Case Panel where he adjudicates on all types of serious disciplinary cases within grassroots football. He also sits on the Appeals and Reviews sub-committee of the Law Society of Scotland to consider appeals lodged against decisions made by regulatory sub-committees.