Ms Middleton is experienced in public and commercial law civil litigation. Prior to calling, she gained invaluable experience as law clerk to the lord president. In private practice she advised a number of public authorities on questions of public law, including their statutory obligations, in the context of judicial reviews as well as actions brought against them for damages, and fatal accident inquiries. She also advised a variety of commercial and private clients in relation to actions for breach of contract, professional negligence, consumer rights, intellectual property, property damage and construction disputes.

Ms Forbes comes to Axiom from an in-house role as counsel for major brands such as Heineken and ASOS plc. Ms Forbes has extensive knowledge of commercial contracts, dispute resolution, company and competition law. She is experienced in the resolution of commercial disputes using alternative dispute resolution and negotiated settlements. During her devilling, her experience in restructuring assisted her in extending her knowledge of restructuring and insolvency as a practice area. Ms Forbes also gained valuable experience in professional negligence and construction litigation in the Court of Session.  

Gavin Walker, director of Axiom, said: “I’m delighted that Axiom’s pool of first class talent is being strengthened, yet again, with the addition of two stand-out new calls. Karen brings years of high level corporate and commercial experience, which is extremely rare at the junior bar. Ysabeau is an outstanding lawyer whose time in the prestigious role as the LP’s legal assistant has exposed her to a huge range of public and commercial cases at appellate level. I am sure they will both quickly make their mark at the bar.”

Full details can be found here