Balfour+manson names new executive chairman

Edinburgh-based law firm has named a new executive chairman, whose “brilliant and formidable” predecessor held the role for almost ten years. Balfour+manson has announced that personal injury specialist David Short is to take over from Elaine Motion, who has worked on high-profilebrexitcases,effectivefebruan ary 1. He joined the firm in 2012 and took over as head of the litigationteamwhenmotiontook up the executive chair in 2014.

He will work alongside the existing management team of Scott Foster, who joined the organisation last year in the new role of chief operating officer, finance director Ken Dinneen, and HR director Margaret Peet. He specialises in cases including aviation and complex cross-border personal injury claims, and has represented clients in 22 different accident cases, including the Malaysian Airlines MH17 crash, the Shetland helicopter ditching,andtheshorehamair Show crash.

Hesaid:“it’sanhonourtotake up this role. Elaine’s shoes will be hard to fill as she has been a brilliantandformidableexecutive chairman, but I very much lookforwardtotakingthereins andleadingourexcellentteam at Balfour+manson through the opportunities and challenges ahead.”

The firm describes Motion as a highly respected litigation lawyer who will remain a partner at the firm. She joined in 1993, after working in New Zealand,andbecameapartner in 1997 and a solicitor advocate in 1999. She led two successful Brexit cases – the 2018 European Court of Justice ruling confirming the UK can revoke the Brexit process without the sayso of fellow EU states, and the 2019 UK Supreme Court ruling that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of the House of Commons was unlawful.