By STAFF REPORTERPROFESSIONAL services firm,
Pinsent Masons, has appointed
Edinburgh-based KC Jim Cormack as
Head of its Risk Advisory Services
(RAS) group.
Spread over 17 jurisdictions, the
880-plus strong group operates in
construction, advisory and disputes,
intellectual property, litigation,
regulatory and tax, and technology,
media and telecoms.
Jim Cormack succeeds Glasgow-
based Laura Cameron, who on taking
on the role seven years ago was
Pinsent Masons’ first female GroupHead and first female Board member,
and from May will take on a new role
as the firm’s Managing Partner.
Pinsent Masons Managing Partner,
John Cleland, said: “I am delighted to
confirm Jim Cormack, KC, has been
appointed as Laura’s successor. This
time last year, Jim was named team
leader for Litigation, Regulatory and
Tax, a role in which he has excelled,
and which confirmed his suitability
for the group head position.
“Laura’s experience as a Board
member, along with her combination
of skills, has proved highly effective in
overseeing the continual growth of
our largest practice group. Our hugethanks go to Laura for all she has
done for the business while leading
the RAS group.”
Jim Cormack said: “I’m thrilled to
have the chance to head up the firm’s
global RAS offering and to
work with a galaxy of talent who
are the best in the business at
helping clients to avoid, manage
and resolve disputes.
“Laura’s success was to
champion, guide and encourage,
at the same time as giving others
space to bring their own skills,
talents and experiences to take
our business forward, and I will
do my best to fill the very bigshoes she has left behind.”
Jim Cormack joined the firm
(McGrigors) as a trainee in 1991 and
qualified into the litigation team. He
left to join the Bar and become an
advocate, returning as a partner in
2001, and became dual qualified in
England & Wales in 2006.
Qualified as a solicitor advocate,
Jim has appeared in the UK Supreme
Court, civil and criminal courts in
Scotland, the High Court and County
Court in England & Wales, the General
Court of the EU and the Supreme
Court and Court of Appeal for the
Falkland Islands. In 2018, Jim was
appointed QC in Scotland now KC.14 BUSINESS
Cormack takes on global risk role at firm
Coffee knowhow
Dower House is a warm space in Corstorphine’s St Margaret’s Park
SCOTTISH EDGE, the UK’s largest
business funding competition has
awarded £100,000 to Edinburgh
company S’wheat, the world’s first
reusable bottle made from plant-based
materials.
Founders, Jake Elliott-Hook and Amee
Ritchie, won the Net Zero category award
for their social enterprise allowing them
to fulfil an ever-growing demand for
their products.
The company makes reusable
water bottles from discarded wheat
stalks and bamboo eliminating the need
for new, unnatural materials and
meaning that more carbon is offset than
produced with the assistance of their
renewable bottles.
The duo won the Young EDGE award
for their sustainable business in 2019.
This year, Scottish EDGE chose to award
S’wheat with the top prize. Scottish EDGE
has now awarded more than £20 million
to businesses in Scotland which show
distinct business innovation but require
more funding to fill the demand for their
products or services.
Co-founder Jake said: “Winning this
funding is key to allow us to expand the
business so that we can fulfil our current
demand, plant more trees, and help
companies offset more carbon through
our bespoke co-branding offerings”
The company’s next step is to launch
all-new reusable products to fill the gap
in the market for sustainable reusable
products that genuinely give back to
the earth.Scottish EDGE
win for S’Wheat
By PHYLLIS STEPHENEUAN HYSLOP AND his partner Sayana
Dueñas who hails from Ecuador opened the
Dower House Café, based in St. Margaret's
Park in Corstorphine, in November last year.
Combining living and working together in the
business with bringing up their wee boy Angus
involves a bit of juggling.
Having spent lockdown in Ecuador they
came home to open the business just as it was
easing. Sayana is hands on doing the baking
with a couple of other members of staff. What
they pride themselves on is the quality of their
coffee, realising that there is a market for good
quality coffee in Corstorphine.
When the couple were spending time in
Ecuador they visited a lot of coffee producing
farms and are now pretty knowledgeable of the
whole coffee growing process.
Euan previously worked as a support
assistant in Edinburgh schools and supported
care experienced young people although that
role ended with lockdown. Facing the daunting
prospect of coming back to look for work they
discussed a long held wish to open a hospitality
venue. He sent an email to the trust. It turned
out to be good timing. He said: "I floated the
idea of running a business there and it was
just by absolute luck, that they were looking at
ways of bringing in more revenue as I suppose
a lot of small organisations are, particularly at
that point during the pandemic when they
were closed.
"We were really lucky that Jane Kerr was
fairly new in the role as chair of the
Corstorphine Trust was pretty open to the idea.
And you can see that this is a beautiful space. It
has been a central part of the community for a
number of years."
The original team of three (including Helen
pictured above) has now become five integrated
into a tight community.
Euan explained: "We ran a competition
with Corstorphine Primary School to haveour logo designed; We're cooperating with
The Corstorphine Trust to get people into
the community archives and museum upstairs.
The community police service use our space
for drop-in clinics. We are working with the
Corstorphine Art Group and Corstorphine
Primary School to display and sell local art
work in our upstairs gallery, and we are
making arrangements to become a hub for
litter picking events in and around the park
and wider community."
The building is set in St Margaret's Park in an
enviable open space. Euan said: "Our coffee is
delivered by Machina. The young guy who
delivers it commented on one of the first runs
to us about how beautiful the view of the
Pentlands is."
Euan is passionate about the building where
the café found its home. He said: "The building
itself, 'The Dower House' was built in 1588. It's
teeming with history and character and hasbeen a central part of the community for
decades. Many of the locals who frequent
remark at how brilliant it is that they're able to
access the building now. For example, when my
dad and I were working long days last year
kitting out the space, an elderly couple named
Davie and Amy, and her sister Esther who
suffers slightly from dementia, saw us working
away and started enquiring. It turns out that
during WWII they, and the rest of their class
from the School across the road, were taught in
the building as the school was being used by
the MoD.
"About 20 years later, their brother-in-law
lived on the top floor as the local Parky. Davie,
Amy and Esther now come into the Café every
week for lunch."The café is open 8.30am until 4pm every day
except Mondays. The Dower House 1A
Orchardfield Avenue Corstorphine EH12 7SX