Thompsons Solicitors represents clients in claims following work accidents, road traffic accidents, industrial injuries, holiday and travel incidents, and more. We regularly handle complex claims for serious and catastrophic injuries, such as brain, spinal and amputation injuries.

We work closely with many unions to ensure their members get the access to justice they deserve.

Thompsons also has a dedicated team working to seek justice for survivors of historic child abuse and we also provide legal services in relation to employment law claims, Wills and estate administration and criminal injuries compensation.

Click through to the Our Services page or browse the menu on the left-hand side of this page.

Thompsons Solicitors in Scotland wins 90% of the cases we take to court and we recover more than £1 million in compensation for our clients every week. We always aim to achieve the maximum amount of compensation in the shortest possible time for our clients and provide friendly, approachable guidance and support throughout each claim. We receive favourable reviews regularly via Trust Pilot – see below.

We have acted for clients in some of the highest-profile cases in Scotland, including the Clutha helicopter crash, the Piper Alpha air disaster, the NHS infected blood scandal and vaginal mesh cases, and the Stockline Plastics Factory explosion.

Thompsons Solicitors are proud to be involved in changing the way the law in Scotland protects individuals and we are committed to campaigning for justice for our clients and for the wider public in general. Some of the changes to law that we have been instrumental in are as follows:

Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 – The state requires that any benefits paid to the victim of an accident must be repaid if the victim later receives compensation. Before the 1997 Act, the rules on repayment of these benefits could severely prejudice victims who had been placed on long-term benefits through an accident. Once benefits were repaid, many claimants would receive next to nothing in compensation despite having won a high settlement. Thompsons Scotland campaigned to change the system and the 1997 Act has resulted in a much fairer system where the liable party takes full responsibility for their actions, and the victim receives fair compensation without penalty for receiving the state benefits to which they are entitled.

Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) (Scotland) Act 2007 – Before this Act victims of asbestos exposure were faced with the heart-wrenching choice of seeking damages themselves while alive or not pursuing a claim so that their family could get the full compensation once they had passed away. Thompsons Scotland was central to ensuring the Scottish Executive changed the law so that sufferers of this terrible cancer can get the financial help they need to ease their suffering while alive and their families can still get the support they need after their death.

Penrose Public Inquiry into the transmission of Hepatitis C and HIV through infected NHS blood and blood products – Thompsons Scotland represented the Haemophilia Society and the victims infected with Hepatitis C in their campaign for a Public Inquiry. The campaign was a multi-faceted one using the courts and Scottish Parliament. The successful test case of Black and Kennedy v the Lord Advocate and Scottish Ministers (2008) and Thompsons' appearance before the Health Committee of the Scottish Parliament were key factors in the Public Inquiry being announced.

Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 – This Act allowed for law firms to bring in outside capital and to be owned by non-lawyers. The original Bill was far too wide and was open to abuse. Working with various parties across the Parliament, Thompsons Scotland introduced an amendment which significantly improved the situation and made the position far safer for the public. This became part of the final legislation.

AXA General Insurance & Others for Judicial Review (2011) – Following the House of Lords decision in 2007 to stop the payment of compensation to people with asbestos-related pleural plaques, Thompsons lobbied hard to persuade the Scottish Parliament to introduce legislation in Scotland to reverse the decision. This happened, but the Insurance Industry is now challenging the Damages (Scotland) (Asbestos-Related Conditions) Act 2009 at the Supreme Court. Thompsons were the only Scottish Law Firm to insist that their clients should have a voice in defending that challenge and represented them at the Supreme Court hearing. This had huge consequences for the thousands of pleural plaques sufferers and the legal powers of the Scottish Parliament.

Campaigning for greater worker rights, safety, and protection has always been one of the key missions for Thompsons Scotland. From the pioneering work carried out by Harry Thompson and Frank Maguire through today and into the future, our team believes it is central to our work as a whole to fight for law reform and for changes to the justice system so that all people in Scotland can receive the justice they deserve. We work closely with MSPs and MPs to change the law where it fails out clients and the wider population of Scotland.

Our Campaign Pages highlight some of our historic work.

Currently we are involved in the VW Emissions class action in Scotland and are campaigning for and representing more than 1,600 Scottish drivers following the precedent set by the English court. The High Court found that VW had fitted cars with devices specifically intended to deceive tests designed to detect emissions harmful to the environment. In doing so, VW deceived both official agencies and their customers who had paid a premium for what they thought was a greener option. Thompsons are currently fighting for similar justice in the Scottish system.

Our clients provide reviews via the Thompsons Solicitors Scotland page on Review Solicitors.

Thompsons Scotland has a number of offices and meeting places across the country and it's really easy to get in touch with us at any time by filling out our online claim form.

Our office opening times are:
Mon – Thurs - 9am – 7pm
Friday – 9am – 5.30pm

During the coronavirus pandemic we would like to reassure you that although our offices are temporarily closed we are still here for you. We are operating our full legal service as normal from our homes using secure technologies providing meetings via telephone or video.

The easiest way to Talk to Thompsons is to call 0800 0891 331 so that we can direct your enquiry to the right team member or you may wish to fill in our claim form so that we can call you back.

We have a comprehensive No Win No Fee package available for most of the types of claim we take on* – if you don't win your case, you can walk away without paying any fees. It's as simple as that.

If your claim is successful you pay Thompsons Scotland a pre-agreed percentage of your damages award.

*Some cases, such as medical negligence claims, cannot be carried out on a No Win No Fee basis, and some of our Other Services, such as Will Writing and Estate Administration (Executry) will incur fees.

For personal injury claims carried out under our No Win No Fee package we will pre-agree a percentage of any compensation you are awarded to cover our costs and if you win your case you then pay Thompsons this percentage of your compensation. There are never any up-front costs under the Thompsons No Win No Fee package and you only pay our fees if your case is successful.*

Some companies deduct 25%, 30% or even 40% from successful claims – we strive to keep our fees to a minimum, but each case is individual and we will always discuss a capped percentage with you before you go-ahead with your claim.

So, what is Thompsons fee? In the vast majority of cases, this figure will not exceed 20% of your total financial settlement.**

* Some cases, such as medical negligence claims, cannot be carried out on a No Win No Fee basis, and some of our Other Services, such as Will Writing and Estate Administration (Executry) will incur fees.

** Higher fees may be charged when we are instructed through claims management companies

At Thompsons we strive to keep our fees to a minimum, but each case is individual and we will always discuss the fees with you before you go ahead with a personal injury claim. Typically, our fee is a capped percentage of any compensation you are awarded and we will discuss this with you before you go-ahead with your claim. In the vast majority of cases, this figure will not exceed 20%.*

* Higher fees may be charged when we are instructed through claims management companies

Thompsons Scotland is the largest law firm in Scotland. We are dedicated to working for the victims of accidents and injustice; we never work for insurance companies or big business defenders in personal injury claims. Over the years we have won numerous awards for our work and for our individual lawyers

Thompsons Scotland is a partnership. The owners of the Firm are the equity partners listed below:

• Laura Blane
• Wendy Durie
• David Martyn
• Patrick McGuire
• Laura Connor

Frank Maguire, (04/10/1955 – 17/09/2011) was an award-winning Scottish lawyer and a tenacious campaigner for the victims of injustice. He joined the Firm, then Robin Thompsons & Partners, as soon as he finished university and was appointed a Solicitor Advocate in 1994.

Frank Maguire was a passionate campaigner for the improvement of rights for the sick, injured and vulnerable. Over the course of his prestigious career he represented people from all walks of life across Scotland, including miners involved in the miners' strikes, victims of the Piper Alpha Disaster, victims of asbestos exposure, and hemophiliacs infected with Hepatitis C and HIV.

You can find out more about his campaigning, key cases and numerous awards in our section dedicated to Frank McGuire – Scottish Solicitor.

Thompsons Solicitors was originally founded by William Henry (Harry) Thompson in 1921. Harry was one of the leading lawyers of his time and a champion of the trade union movement. His law firm, W H Thompsons, Solicitor, was passed on to his sons, Robin and Brian, who were also passionate advocates for workers' rights and the progression of personal injury compensation law.

Thompsons Scotland was set up in Edinburgh in 1979. The Firm started out with two partners and three support staff. You can find out more about our history and how the Firm has grown over the years on the Thompsons Scotland – Our History page .

The Thompsons Scotland team comprises of more than 200 personnel – including partners, solicitor advocates, solicitors, associates, and professional legal support staff – who work across our five main offices.

Many of our team have numerous professional memberships and work with charities and support organisations across Scotland.

If you wish to enquire about work experience opportunities with Thompsons Scotland please email your details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. stating what type of work experience you are interested in and your current employment or education circumstances.

To see how we how we process your information please see our Data Protection Privacy Notice (Recruitment).

If you wish to enquire about a career with Thompsons Scotland please email your CV and covering letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. stating what job or type of job you are interested in.

To see how we how we process your information please see our Data Protection Privacy Notice (Recruitment).