Gilson Gray swoops on Warners' conveyancing team

Law firm Gilson Gray has hit the expansion trail again by swooping on an Edinburgh rival's residential property team.

Deborah McCathie becomes head of residential conveyancing at Gilson Gray

Launched in 2014 after cherry-picking staff from rival practices, Gilson Gray has appointed Deborah McCathie as a partner and head of residential conveyancing.

McCathie, who spent nine years at Warners, will mainly be based primarily at the firm’s Edinburgh office and will be tasked with further expanding its residential property team across the country.

She said: “I was hugely impressed by the work atmosphere and ambition of Gilson Gray. It made for an easy decision to move and convince my trusted team that it was an exhilarating workplace to be a part of.

“The business is clearly riding a wave of positivity right now and is united by the same culture and ambition. It is very exciting to have this opportunity to develop a market-leading property proposition within a full-service law firm.”

A number of McCathie’s former Warners colleagues are also joining the firm, including Emma Mackenzie – who trained at Morton Fraser – and Cheryl Anderson, a senior solicitor who started her career at Neilsons. Other senior team members, to be appointed across Gilson Gray’s offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, are expected to be announced shortly.

Managing partner Glen Gilson said: “Debbie and her team have an excellent reputation and bring significant client support to the firm.

“We have every faith that Debbie will take our conveyancing offering to its potential. Many firms have reduced their exposure to this field of practice in recent years, yet we believe there is a substantial opportunity in this area of work. We believe a full service law firm requires to provide such a developed capability.”

Last year, Gilson Gray poached the entire commercial dispute resolution team from rival Morisons, including solicitor advocate Alex Garioch.