Both will complement Brodies' highly-regarded Business Disputes and Asset Recovery specialists, as well as the Technology Unit that provides a full range of services including transaction, litigation and advisory work to businesses and organisations operating across a broad spectrum of sectors including energy and oilfield services, financial services, retail, public sector, life sciences and telecoms. Both lawyers have acted in oil and gas sector technology IPR disputes and bring their expertise to the latest round of UKCS exploration and development.

Prior to joining Maclay Murray & Spens, Grassie (right) worked with Bristows' London IP litigation unit, and with a commercial firm in Germany. She has specialised in IP and IT dispute resolution and litigation for some 20 years and advised on patent and trade mark/parallel imports litigation, anti-piracy, trade secret protection and IT contract disputes for clients in sectors including luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, energy and motoring. Recently, she was appointed as an expert on the Nominet dispute resolution panel.

Buchan (left) brings more than 12 years' experience of IP and IT dispute work and used mediation to resolve successfully a number of complex cases. He has acted for well-known brands in  trade mark and parallel import claims and domain name disputes as well as patent infringement  and patent entitlement disputes. Recent work includes defending a high profile copyright dispute over matters relating to cutting edge oil and gas technology.

Bill Drummond, (right) Managing Partner of Brodies, says: "The capability of these lawyers has been long- admired by us all at Brodies and will both boost our recognised market-leading litigation credentials and complement our excellent technology team, headed by Grant Campbell and that includes Andrew Rigby."

"Scotland has a justified reputation as a world-leader in areas of technological and scientific innovation. Protecting patents, trademarks and ideas is vital for Scottish firms as they seek to attract funding, build their market share in the UK or expand overseas.

Also, showing overseas investors that there is a robust legal framework with domestic lawyers with an international reputation for asset protection is critical to inward investment. The team looks forward to continuing to work with clients across all sectors, drawing on specialist advice from colleagues across all our departments as required, to help them achieve their commercial objectives."