We profile the five firms competing for Corporate Law Firm of the Year at Scotland Dealmakers 2026?

Corporate Law Firm of the Year is certain to be one of the most hotly contested categories in this year’s Scotland Dealmakers Awards.

Insider Media

The country’s legal profession continues to evolve, with consolidation, mergers and new entrants combining to change the face of what has always been a fiercely competitive market.

The market north of the Border continues to be dominated by indigenous players such as Burness Paull, alongside large international practices like CMS and Addleshaw Goddard.

That scale was reflected in the latest results for Burness Paull, which saw its turnover top £100m for the first time following double-digit growth.

The firm’s chairman, Peter Lawson, no doubt echoed the feelings of many of his peers when he pointed to “cautious optimism” in the M&A market, while ongoing economic volatility helped keep restructuring and insolvency experts more than busy.

Meanwhile, some 30 years since its formation, Glasgow-based Macdonald Henderson – another firm making this year’s shortlist – continues to punch above its weight, ranking ahead of significantly larger national and international competitors operating in the Scottish market.

Here, we profile all six contenders in the Corporate Law Firm of the Year category.

The judging panel was chaired by Brian Aitken of Nevis Capital. It included Craig Gallagher of Stronvar Aerospace, Paula Skinner of Harper Macleod, Jeff Corray of Piper Sandler, Andy Hall (ex-Barclays), Samantha O’Neill of KPMG, Lee Donaldson of LDC, Andrew Kerr of Weir Group, Graham Macdonald of Vaso Global, Deyrick Smith of Nationwide and Debbie Mayor of Grant Thornton.

The judging process was carried out over two days. All entries were scored by judges and debated on shortlisting day, before the judges split into groups to assess entries further. On the final judging day, category winners were debated and decided by the group.

Conflicts of interest were managed by the chairman, with judges who had an issue sitting out the evaluation of affected categories.

The Scotland Dealmakers Awards, run in partnership with Insider Media and The Scotsman, take place at DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central this coming Wednesday, 11 November.

This year’s winners will go forward to face their counterparts from around the four nations at Insider’s 2027 UK Dealmakers Awards.

Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The firm, which won the title last year, also has 22 locations worldwide.

The firm’s corporate transactional team includes one of Scotland’s leading private equity practices, advising investors and investees alike. It also has a strong corporate real estate practice and one of the few surviving capital markets practices in Scotland.

In the qualifying period, AG’s team advised on 52 deals, with a total deal value of £1.92bn.

Burness Paull

Burness Paull has some 700 people, including 91 partners, advising clients from its offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The firm’s corporate team comprises 46 lawyers, including 18 partners. The team supports Scotland’s dealmaking community by helping founders, businesses, investors and accelerators secure investment, navigate complex transactions and pursue growth at home and internationally.

Macdonald Henderson

Macdonald Henderson has reinforced its position as one of Scotland’s leading corporate law practices, demonstrating that excellence in dealmaking is defined not only by scale and volume, but by outcomes, expertise and client trust.

In 2025, the firm was recognised by Experian as Scotland’s most active legal adviser by deal volume for the second year in a row, ranking ahead of significantly larger national and international competitors operating in the Scottish market.

Pinsent Masons

Global legal giant Pinsent Masons employs more than 550 people across its three Scottish operations, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The firm has some 490 partners and 3,600 people on its global books, operating from 31 locations around the world.

Among its key deals over the past year, Pinsent Masons advised Norwegian-listed Odfjell Technology on its acquisition of a 70 per cent ownership stake in Kaseum Holdings and Razor Oiltools.

CMS

Despite sustained macroeconomic uncertainty, higher financing costs and a challenging deal environment, the CMS Corporate Scotland team has continued to build its market position. During the qualifying period, the team completed more than 80 corporate transactions.

The team comprises eight partners, 22 fee earners and three trainees, with two further mid-level lawyers joining, demonstrating continued investment in future growth and confidence in the M&A market in Scotland.

Dentons

Between 2023 and 2026, the Dentons Scotland corporate team delivered strong growth. Fee income increased by 10.6 per cent and the team continued to invest in talent and grow headcount.

In July, Dentons revealed that its UK, Ireland and Middle East region had achieved a double-digit rise in revenues, with its Scottish offices contributing to the gain. A highlight of the year was advising TBR Global Chauffeuring on its sale to Lyft for £83m.