Three partners elevated to board as McGrigors pursues growth strategy

McGRIGORS, Scotland's largest law firm by revenue, will this week elevate three partners to its board as it continues to reposition itself as a UK rather than a Scots outfit.

Paul McBride, a corporate partner from L'Estrange and Brett, the Belfast-based firm that McGrigors took over in 2009, becomes the first member of the board from Northern Ireland.

Also joining the board are Jason Collins, who is in charge of the firm's professional and financial services team, and Bob Ruddiman, head of its energy practice.

Managing partner Richard Masters said that promoting Collins and Ruddiman to McGrigors' board was a clear signal of the areas in which the firm was planning to grow its business.

He said the firm was targeting the fast-growing asset management sector of the Scottish financial services industry.

Masters said the company was continuing to build on its firm base within the renewable energy sector, including wind and tidal power as well as "anaerobic digestion", in which bacteria are used to break down waste to produce energy.

"McGrigors has changed a lot over the past three years and I think it's only right that those changes be reflected in the composition of the firm's board," Masters said.

"We have a clear focus on our core sectors of energy, infrastructure and professional and financial services, so it makes sense to ensure that the heads of those teams have an appropriate level of input into the strategic direction of the firm.

"Similarly, our Northern Ireland practice has gone from strength to strength since the merger, so again it makes sense to bring in a representative of that office."

No one is stepping down from the board to make way for the new arrivals.

The promotions follow Masters being re-elected in January as the firm's managing partner for a second and final three-year term. The board was reorganised last year, with Kirk Murdoch becoming the sole UK senior partner, acting in effect as a chairman to Masters' chief executive.

McGrigors said it had won larger contracts following the takeover of L'Estrange and Brett than either firm could previously have handled, including due diligence on property relating to the 67 million sale of Tate & Lyle's molasses business to commodities group W&R Barnett.

Other recent deals in which McGrigors has been involved include last year's 600m takeover of Aberdeen-based Production Services Network by Wood Group and Edinburgh-based software firm Craneware's acquisition last month of US rival ClaimTrust.

McGrigors last year replaced arch rival Dundas & Wilson as Scotland's largest law firm for the first time in four years.

Dundas & Wilson's turnover fell by 8 per cent to 61m in the year to 30 April while McGrigors' grew by 16 per cent to 69m over the same period.

But Dundas & Wilson - which has also repositioned itself as a UK rather than Scottish firm - was still ahead in the earnings stakes, with profit per equity partner standing at 317,000, compared with 263,000 at McGrigors.