LAW FIRM APPOINTS SENOIR PARTNER AS PART OF GROWTH PLANS

Renowned private client lawyer Lisa Law (pictured above) has joined Ledingham Chalmers as partner in Inverness: underpinning the firm’s ambitious growth plans.

Mrs Law takes up this senior role as Ledingham Chalmers looks to double its turnover to £25million by 2025.

She is one of only ten solicitors accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in incapacity and mental disability law, and the only one based in the Highlands.

Originally training as a management accountant, Mrs Law also qualified as a Scottish law accountant in 2000. She began studying law the same year and is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Having lived and worked in the Highlands all her life, most recently she was a legal director, based in Dingwall and Inverness, with another nationwide law firm.

Her appointment is the third hire for the private client team in the Highland capital and the fourth across Scotland, since Ledingham Chalmers acquisition of Inverness legal practice Anderson Shaw & Gilbert (ASG) on 1 November 2022.

Senior associate Suzie Falconer in Stirling, as well as senior solicitor Keir Marshall and paralegal Larah Burke both based in York House in Inverness, joined the team shortly after the ASG deal, which created a business with an annual turnover of around £14million.

Firm-wide since the deal there have been seven new starts in various roles, ranging from administrative support to partner, across teams in Aberdeen, Inverness, and Stirling.

Along with partner JP Campbell, Mrs Law will head up the Inverness private client team, tapping into its considerable expertise, with support for clients including advising on contentious trusts and executries, succession planning for high-net-worth individuals, wills, powers of attorney and guardianships.

The growing private client presence complements the estate agency work long-established by ASG with Findlay Boyd as conveyancing partner along with Iain McDonald as director.

Mrs Law said: “Ledingham Chalmers’ fast growing private client team has earned a reputation for offering trusted, strategic advice to clients on matters such as business succession, estate planning, asset protection and trusts.

My expertise complements that and includes guiding clients through what can be particularly difficult stages of their life, whether the loss of a loved one, navigating choices around handling adult incapacity or assisting with the — sometimes stressful — guardianship order court procedure.”

Managing partner Jennifer Young said: “Our focus on ambitious growth means having the right people in the right place to deliver what we know is a valuable service for clients.

Lisa’s appointment is the perfect illustration of the way the firm is building on strategic acquisitions, most recently the deal with ASG.

Not only is Lisa an accredited specialist in incapacity and mental disability law, but she brings with her an exceptional background in private client law.

Combined with our other recent appointments, we’re adding even more strength and depth to our team to make our growth ambitions a reality. Across the firm, there’s real optimism in what lies ahead.”

Ledingham Chalmers has two offices in the Highland capital. Its York House premises in Church Street are home to all estate agency, conveyancing, and private client personnel, while the corporate, rural, litigation and employment law teams work out of Kintail House. The commercial property team is spread across both offices.

Nationwide, the firm has a headcount of 199 including 28 partners, and has offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Inverness. Ledingham Chalmers works with public sector organisations and individuals, multinational and national companies, as well as high potential SMEs.

These clients operate across industries that drive the national economy including energy, oil and gas, renewables, commercial property, construction, agriculture, leisure, and tourism, as well as insurance.

Internationally, Ledingham Chalmers is the Scottish member of Lawyers Associated Worldwide, through which clients can easily access strategic, straightforward support in nearly 200 jurisdictions.