Prior to coming to the Bar, Stephen was a litigation solicitor for 11 years. He has wide ranging experience in a variety of areas of law. He has experience of appearing in most courts including Sheriff Courts, the Court of Session as a solicitor advocate (both Outer House and Inner House) and the European Court of Human Rights. He has appeared in Tribunals, particularly the Employment Tribunal and the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Stephen graduated from Glasgow University which incorporated an exchange scheme to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. He supplemented his practice by obtaining an LLM (Human Rights) from the then Glasgow Graduate School of Law as well as qualifiying to practice in England and Wales as a solicitor. Stephen qualified as a solicitor advocate in 2007 and gained experience of appearing in the Court of Session both in the Outer House (primarily Judicial Review) and Inner House. As a solicitor Stephen was a member of the Law Reform Committee for the Law Society of Scotland.

Since calling to the bar Stephen has maintained his judicial review practice and has continued to appear in the Inner House mainly in relation to statutory appeals. His practice has also encompassed commercial, property, family and employment disputes, personal injury, mental health and proceeds of crime.

He has received the accolade of Times Lawyer of the Week.

Testimonials

"Stephen maintains a comprehensive knowledge in relation to the area of immigration and asylum law and related issues.” Chambers & Partners UK, 2026

“A seasoned public and immigration law junior noted for his strong advocacy skills. He is distinguished for his assistance in judicial reviews in the Court of Session.” Chambers & Partners UK, 2025

“Professionally very sound” and “very easy to work with." Chambers & Partners UK, 2024

"He has great knowledge of immigration and asylum law and he demonstrates meticulous attention to detail in his work. He is great at communicating and providing updates on the approach to be taken."
"He is an easy going advocate who is always good to have on speed dial for Upper Tribunal cases."
"He has handled complex work with efficiency."
Chambers & Partners UK, 2023

"An incredibly reliable advocate; his written work is among the best. I can't praise him highly enough."
"He is really impressive. He is specialised and has built up a very good practice."
Chambers & Partners UK, 2022

"He is an exceptional practitioner: he's very good on his feet, he has good knowledge of the law and is great at client care."
Chambers & Partners UK, 2021

"Tactically very aware, gets a great feel for a case and knows which the best line of argument is. A clear thinker."
Chambers & Partners UK, 2020

"He is extremely thorough and turns things around quickly. He is very organised and on top of all the work. He has a very deep knowledge of immigration and asylum law."
Chambers & Partners UK, 2019

• Equality and Human Rights Commission Approved Panel Member (2015 to date)
• Special Counsel (2011 to date)
• Curator to the Mental Health Tribunal in Scotland (2011 to 2020)
• Tutor and Ad Hoc Lecturer, Diploma in Legal Practice, Glasgow University (2011 to 2022)

• Hostility enacted - a view from practitioners
  by Duncan McPhie, Stephen Winter, Jamie Kerr
  The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland, August 2016
• Brief Overview of the Immigration Act 2015
  December 2015

• A reasoned decision?
• Comment on Judicial Review of the Upper Tribunal

Outer House (Judicial Review Cases):

• AR, Petitioner [2021] CSOH 10 (judicial review of UT decision; verification of documents)
• BK, Petitioner [2020] CSOH 52 (judicial review of Home Office decision; asylum/ immigration; Article 8, ECHR)
• Enaburekhan, Petitioner [2020] CSOH 18 (judicial review; immigration and asylum)
• AA, Petitioner 2020 SLT 309 (judicial review; immigration and asylum)
• Tara Kazadi Mbuyi-Biuma, Petitioner [2019] CSOH 93 (judicial review; immigration and asylum)
• AS, Petitioner [2019] CSOH 43 (judicial review; immigration and asylum)

Inner House Appeals:

• Alshammari v Secretary of State for Home Dept. [2021] CSIH 26 (Inner House appeal; asylum/ immigration; proper assessment of witness evidence)
• SR v Secretary of State for Home Dept. [2018] CSIH 54 (leave to appeal to Inner House against Upper Tribunal's decision; immigration and asylum)
• MMY v Secretary of State for Home Dept. [2018] CSIH 16 (appeal against Upper Tribunal's decision; immigration and asylum)

Upper Tribunal (Asylum & Immigration):

• Yerokun (refusal of claim; Mujahid) [2020] UKUT 00377 (IAC)
• QC (verification of documents; Mibanga duty) China [2021] UKUT 00033 (IAC)

European Court of Human Rights:

• F v United Kingdom 17341/03