David is a specialist in commercial lease disputes. His experience includes rent review, notice-validity, irritancy, dilapidations, and tenancy of shops claims. From 2020 to 2025 he was the Scottish Law Commissioner leading the projects on the termination of commercial leases – which has led to the Leases (Automatic Continuation etc) (Scotland) Bill, and on the Tenancy of Shops (Scotland) Act. He has also acted as an arbitral-tribunal appointed expert on a rent review clause.

His lease expertise extends beyond the commercial sphere. In the residential sector he chaired tribunals from the First-tier Tribunal’s Housing and Property Chamber from 2010 to 2020. He has also advised on agricultural leases, particularly for farming partnerships and inheritance and valuation of crofts.

Commercial work has also included partnership-related disputes (e.g. partnership break-down and termination), insolvency (e.g. disputes over assets covered by insolvency, insolvency practitioners’ adjudications etc), and sale of machinery, vehicles or services. David has also observed on how Scots law deals with digital assets such as cryptocurrency and commented on proposed reforms.

David has dealt with many complex property-related disputes extending from purchaser/seller disputes over commercial missives, access and water supply rights (e.g. servitudes), to neighbour disputes involving development (e.g. real burden or nuisance) and over boundaries (including rectification of titles). He has advised on rating valuation and council tax liability.

His extensive litigation experience covers all civil Scottish courts from sheriff to UK Supreme Court and various tribunals including the Lands Tribunal.

David is keenly interested in arbitration. A Fellow of the CIArb and co-author of “Dundas & Bartos on the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010” (2 Edns), he has acted as arbitrator of commercial disputes. He has arbitrated holiday travel arbitrations since 2019 and is on the ABTA Panel of arbitrators.