Shepherd & Wedderburn acquires Aberdeen law firm CLP

Law firm Shepherd & Wedderburn is expanding its presence in Aberdeen with the acquisition of the city's Commercial Law Practice (CLP).

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Shepherd & Wedderburn
 chief Stephen Gibb said Aberdeen remains a 'cornerstone' of the Scottish economy. Picture: ContributedShepherd & Wedderburn
 chief Stephen Gibb said Aberdeen remains a 'cornerstone' of the Scottish economy. Picture: Contributed
Shepherd & Wedderburn chief Stephen Gibb said Aberdeen remains a 'cornerstone' of the Scottish economy. Picture: Contributed

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will see CLP partners Mike Anderson and Keir Willox become partners at Edinburgh-based Shepherd & Wedderburn, which also has offices in Glasgow and London. Fellow partner Maaruf Razzak becomes a director.

Anderson said the partners and staff at CLP, founded in 1995, were “excited to be joining a UK firm of the stature of Shepherd & Wedderburn and I look forward to the challenge of helping to drive the business forward in this part of the country and beyond”.

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He added: “We believe that there is a huge opportunity for Shepherd & Wedderburn to cement its position in the North-east, building on our combined strengths.”

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Shepherd & Wedderburn chief executive Stephen Gibb said that Aberdeen and the North-east remains a “cornerstone” of the Scottish economy, and the acquisition of CLP will be followed by further senior hires next year.

“This acquisition means that we now have a significantly bigger footprint in the region and that in turn means that we can offer clients the benefit of an enhanced raft of services such as litigation, planning, banking and finance, rural and private client advice, together with the corporate, commercial real estate and business law advice already offered.”

The firm’s takeover of CLP follows the recent hiring in Aberdeen of John Rutherford, formerly a senior corporate manager at Pinsent Masons, and Charles Scott, former managing partner of Mackinnons.

Rutherford said: “Working in Aberdeen, I certainly understand the current economic challenges facing businesses in the region. However, I also see businesses which are robust and innovative and adapting well to a difficult economic climate.

“I look forward to working with our new colleagues from CLP in order to help these inherently strong organisations find the right solutions to enable them to forge ahead.”