The latest edition of The Legal 500, which ranks the top lawyers and organisations across 150 jurisdictions, including in Scotland, has recognised 17 of our experts across eight disciplines.
The rankings are based on feedback from clients, submissions from the legal firms themselves and a team of researchers’ findings.
Here’s the situation at a glance —
Agriculture and estates – Tier 2 (Scotland) — partner Jim Drysdale named as leading individual and key lawyer; partners Linda Tinson and Hazel Moir ranked
Commercial property – Tier 2 (elsewhere in Scotland) — partners Steve Morrice, Alan Michie, and Alasdair MacLure ranked
Corporate and commercial – Tier 3 (elsewhere in Scotland) — partners Peter Murray, Rod Hutchison and Jody Mitchell are all ranked for their work
Personal injury: Defender – Tier 3 (Scotland) — partners Graeme Edward, Victoria Leslie and Sarah Morris are ranked, with Sarah also mentioned as a next generation partner
Employment – Tier 4 (Scotland) — our head of employment law, partner Kirk Tudhope is ranked while Edinburgh-based partner John Lee is recognised as a key lawyer
Insolvency and corporate recovery – Tier 4 (Scotland) — partners Tim Thomas and Jody Mitchell are ranked in this field
Construction – Tier 5 (Scotland) — partner Sarah Stuart and I have been ranked for our work
Energy (excluding oil & gas) – Tier 5 — partners Jim Drysdale and Peter Murray are highlighted
In the middle of what is an exceptional year for our firm, the familiar presence and timing of the likes of the Legal 500 rankings are reassuring.
What also makes positive reading are the testimonials describing us, for example, as extremely knowledgeable, friendly, responsive and bringing “that extra something”.
What next?
As we look back on the past few months, it’s fair to say remote working has largely worked well. Like the vast majority of businesses, we’ve had the technology in place for a few years to allow home working. But this across-the-board requirement was brand new.
The IT side of things worked well, and we've more than met the challenge of delivering client work.
Across the firm there was a strong community spirit about embracing this change. Like so many others, that meant juggling work commitments with family commitments, including childcare and schoolwork, all in the middle of a global pandemic.
So onwards and upwards to next year, and to all those, including clients, who took the time to provide feedback on the service from the firm, a heartfelt thank you.
