The City of Edinburgh Council has settled out of court with its legal advisers, DLA Piper, according to an officers’ report.
The report states: “The litigation against DLA Piper Scotland LLP was resolved out of court in March 2026.”
The details of past dealings and any agreement made with the lawyers who advised the local authority during the first tram project will remain secret, but this brings to an end matters arising from the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report produced by Lord Hardie.
In 2023 Lord Hardie published his report into the original Edinburgh Tram project. This was delivered late, over budget and only half the proposed route was built. The council appointed its Monitoring Officer to decide whether any of the related decisions amounted to maladministration – and they found that there was.
The Hardie report had criticised the council for its part in delivering the first part of the tram project which ran from Edinburgh Airport to York Place. The Hardie report found a number of failures in the level of oversight of the project by the council, and while the term “maladministration” is not defined in legislation it generally means a serious or systemic failure.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer found that the council had caused serious and systemic failings which “could be described as organisational incompetence”.
Hardie also said that the firm “gave primacy to the obligations owed to Tie” (this was the arms-length company set up by the council to oversee the trams) despite the council being the firm’s client with responsibility for the budget.
The Hardie report levelled blame at TIE, and The Scottish Government for what were described as “avoidable failures”.
DLA Piper were represented by Roddy Dunlop, KC, Dean of Faculty. At the Inquiry he said the risks facing the council were “blindingly obvious”.
The action against DLA Piper had been paused for the duration of the 13-year long enquiry after the council raised an action against the firm for £200 million in damages. The council then raised the sum to £222 million and said that the law firm failed to give it adequate warning of the financial risks involved in signing a contract to deliver the tram.
Lord Hardie offered this video round up of his report which cost £13 million.
Since the report was issued the second part of the tram has been delivered – Tram to Newhaven – and a third extension is proposed from Granton to the Edinburgh Bioquarter. A report on the recent consultation is expected next month.
