Murgitroyd promoted in US expansion

PATENT attorney firm Murgitroyd yesterday signalled its intention to expand in the United States by promoting Edward Murgitroyd, son of executive chairman Ian, to the post of deputy chairman.

Edward – who is based in the firm’s US east coast office at Durham, in North Carolina – already serves on the board as an executive director.

Glasgow-based Murgitroyd has 17 staff in its east and west coast US offices, from a total of about 230 people across 12 locations in six countries.

Chief executive Keith Young told The Scotsman: “That US total of 17 is up from just four people three years ago. That illustrates the level of demand we’ve had for our services in the US.”

That growth has been in part due to the promotion of the firm’s “IP Portal” service, which allows clients to protect their ideas and inventions across different countries.

Ian added: “Edward’s appointment reinforces the group’s commitment to business development and to our IP Portal offering, which has been a significant component of our growth in what has been a challenging business environment in the last few years.”

David Gray – a former finance director at Scottish Hydro Electric and ex-director at Scottish & Southern Energy – has also been named as a non-executive director. Young said that Gray brought with him experience of international business.