Scottish law firm Gillespie Macandrew has brought in three senior figures to bolster its planning, corporate and finance functions, taking its partnership to a record 30 partners. The hires come as the firm, led by chief executive Gavin Merchant, reports turnover above £20 million for the first time in its history.
Nikki Robertson joins as head of finance. Her experience spans financial planning and analysis, business partnering, governance, regulatory processes and reporting at board level, and the firm says she pairs tight financial control with a collaborative style geared towards sustainable growth. Her arrival gives the leadership team a dedicated finance lead at the moment the business moves past a new revenue milestone, and adds governance and reporting expertise as the partnership grows larger.
On the legal side, Douglas Roberts becomes a partner in the corporate division. He advises employee-owned businesses on reorganisations, acquisitions and disposals, and brings wider corporate law experience covering mergers and acquisitions, equity investment and strategic advice. Chris Devlin joins the specialist planning team as a partner and adds a further accredited specialist to that team. He is an accredited specialist in planning and environmental law and works on complex development, infrastructure, housing, renewables and public sector projects across Scotland.
Merchant framed the external hires as one part of a broader approach to growth. He pointed out that the firm has also been developing its own people, having recently kept on eight trainees as newly qualified solicitors across its specialist areas. He linked the firm’s progress to nurturing talent, building leadership capability and keeping up its social impact work in local communities, which he said leaves the business well placed to meet changing client needs and “the high standards of service that define our firm”.
The appointments add weight in areas where demand from Scottish clients is broad, from employee ownership transitions to planning consents for housing and renewable energy schemes. With 30 partners and turnover now above £20 million, the firm enters the next stage of its growth plan with a larger senior bench and a finance chief in place to oversee it. Alongside the three senior arrivals, the decision to retain eight trainees as qualified solicitors shows a firm adding capacity at both ends of its career ladder, with experienced hires at the top and home-grown lawyers coming through below them.
