How Pinsent Masons revenue soared to £650m in year firm supported Women's Aid pro bono and sponsored Dracula

Year-end results show that revenues rose by 7.2% to £649.6 million and profit per partner was £793,000, down slightly from £797,000 this time last year.

Laura Cameron was elected the firm’s first female managing partner midway through the previous financial year, and the 23/24 results mark the first full year of her tenure. Of Pinsent Masons’ 3,300 international staff, around 550 are spread across the firm’s offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Two Scottish partners - Julia Maguire and John Maciver - were appointed as Global Sector Heads for Energy and Financial Services respectively. Financial forensics specialist David Lister was recruited as a partner based in Edinburgh.

Among the key Scottish deals undertaken during this past year, Pinsent Masons acted for Natwest on their financing of Lone Star’s £111 million acquisition of Aberdeen’s Union Square shopping centre, and the firm advised the Scottish National Investment Bank and UK Infrastructure Bank on a £100 million joint credit facility for Ardersier Port owners Haventus.

Other deals include acting as UK counsel to Aker Solutions in its £2.75 billion joint venture with Schlumberger and Subsea 7.

Pincent Masons Managing Partner Laura Cameron | Pincent Masons

Managing partner at Pinsent Masons, Laura Cameron, said: “Longstanding year-on-year growth has enabled us to remain resilient and to invest into critical aspects of our business such as tech innovation, professional services capabilities and boosting our partnership via a combination of strategic lateral hires and internal promotions.

“From launching a satellite office in Abu Dhabi to strengthen our cross-border Middle Eastern capabilities to being the only law firm supporting the UK Government’s AI opportunity forum exploring how to more effectively deploy AI, we’re focused on enhancing creative and forward-thinking legal services delivery.

“While every business continues to grapple with a challenging economic environment, we’ve advised on a number of high profile mandates across our multinational business, from advising the International Finance Corporation on its dry port development in Laos to supporting Técnicas Reunidas on its energy transition project in Eastern Europe.”

During 23/24, the firm invested in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its work, launching a tech research and development team. Microsoft’s Copilot AI has also been rolled out across the business.

Outside of the firm, Pinsent Masons sponsored The National Theatre of Scotland’s all-female production of Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning and an accompanying outreach programme.

The firm’s trademark specialists also provided pro bono legal services to Women’s Aid to support the charity’s expanded Rail to Refuge scheme which financially supports survivors of domestic violence travelling to refuge accommodation in the UK.

Pinsent Masons Chair of Scotland, Katharine Hardie, added: “Last year we supported a broader range of organisations through our community engagement and pro bono work and engaged with more clients on meaningful social mobility initiatives that seek to shift the dial and broaden access to law and other careers We look forward to building on this success as we seek to apply our legal expertise more broadly across our communities.”