Scottish Legal Awards
Kennedy honoured for 40 year career
Honoured: Baroness Kennedy received her award in Glasgow
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC received a Lifetime Achievement Award in celebration of her 40 years of legal service championing civil liberties and human rights.
The highly regarded honour is presented each year at the Scott + Co Scottish Legal Awards and Baroness Kennedy accepted the prize at the ceremony attended by a record 450 lawyers in Glasgow where she was born.
She was among 17 winning businesses, teams and individuals in the annual competition which rewards the best of Scottish legal practice across the country.
The independent programme which launched 15 years ago is decided by a large expert judging panel, chaired by Shonaig Macpherson.
She commented: “It’s been another exciting year showing the great diversity, innovation and skill at work every day in the Scottish legal industry.
“Alongside my colleagues on the judging panel we have received a large number of detailed entries which have given us great confidence in the sector and in the competition.
“The decisions are never easy but we do spend considerable time debating the merits of every entry in detail prior to making a decision.
“It has been a particular pleasure to see honorary awards in Lifetime Achievement for Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and Malcolm McPherson who collected our Managing Partner of the Year award. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners this year.”
Among the major winners were Digby Brown who won the Scottish Legal Awards Firm of the Year after a year in which they reported high growth figures.
The senior leadership award, Managing Partner of the Year, was presented to Malcolm McPherson, Senior Partner of Addleshaw Goddard for his role delivering the full merger of HBJ Gateley into global firm Addleshaw Goddard.
The newly combined firm is now ranked 15th in the UK and has over 200 partners and 1100 lawyers. In Scotland, recruitment of legal staff since the merger has increased by 15%.
Many individual awards were handed out including the hotly contended Rising Star of the Year, sponsored by Quiver Management to Ruth McColgan of Stirling Council. The Head of the Employment Team at Blackadders, Simon Allison, collected the popular prize for Lawyer of the Year, sponsored by The Law Society of Scotland.
The Residential Property Team of the Year, sponsored by Property Searches Scotland, was collected by Edinburgh-based Coulters after delivering a year of strong growth in a range of innovative ways.
THE WINNERS IN FULL:
Firm of the Year sponsored by First Title Insurance
Winner: Digby Brown Solicitors
For strength and depth in a speciality area and delivering excellent growth.
Finalists:
Gillespie Macandrew LLP
Innes & Mackay
MBM Commercial
Thorntons
Lifetime Achievement Award sponsored by The Times Scotland
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
For 40 years of legal service and championing of civil liberties and human rights
Managing Partner of the Year sponsored by Scott & Co
Malcolm McPherson, Senior Partner, Addleshaw Goddard
For overseeing the full merger of HBJ Gateley into Addleshaw Goddard in June 2017 creating a newly combined UK firm ranked 15th in the UK. Recruitment of legal staff since the merger has increased by 15%.
Community Contribution Award sponsored by Frasia Wright Associates
Joint Winners:
Digby Brown – for high value fundraising and significant time donations.
Innes & Mackay – for community impact and standard profit share donation
Finalists
Anderson Strathern
Faculty of Advocates
Gillespie Macandrew LLP
Innes & Mackay
Shoosmiths LLP
The Law Clinic
TLT LLP
Watermans Accident Claims and Care
Excellence in Client Care
Winner DAC Beachcroft
For training and client focussed communication
Finalists
Allan McDougall Solicitors
McDougall McQueen
Paris Steele W.S.
In House Legal Team of the Year
Winner – Skyscanner
For a stand out submission showing global experience and a team driven by great leadership.
Finalist
Legal & Governance Conveyancing Team, Aberdeenshire Council
Family Law Team of the Year
Winner – Innes & Mackay
For its innovative approach delivering 35% growth in team revenue
Finalists
Family Law Matters Scotland
Harper Macleod LLP
Livingstone Brown
MacRoberts LLP
McDougall McQueen
Morton Fraser LLP
Corporate Deal Team of the Year
Winner: Gillespie Macandrew LLP
For valuable, diverse and complex deal completions
Finalists
DLA Piper LLP
MacRoberts LLP
Criminal Defence Firm of the Year
Winner: Adams Whyte Criminal Defence Lawyers
For an outstanding detailed entry showing a highly capable team working in a well-managed environment
Finalists
Beltrami & Co
Capital Defence Lawyers
Livingstone Brown
Government Legal Team of the Year
Winner: Minimum Unit Pricing Litigation Team, Scottish Government Legal Directorate
For a significant legal win at appeal marking a worldwide first for Scotland.
Finalists
Legal Services Planning and Environment Team, Aberdeen City Council
Legal & Governance Conveyancing Team, Aberdeenshire Council
Support Team of the Year sponsored by Wolffe
Winner: ESPC
Highly Commended: Moore Legal Technology
Finalist
Professional Practice Team, Law Society of Scotland
Innovation in Practice sponsored by Blue Parrot
Winner: DWF LLP – The Scottish Counter Fraud Team
Finalists
Altis Legal – the revolutionary e-conveyancing platform to support digitisation
Blackadders LLP – Employment Lawyer In Your Pocket- the good humoured podcast
DUAL Asset Underwriting – An online comparison site for procuring title insurance policies
Resolve Medicolegal Ltd – the facilitators of medical witnesses to the legal profession
Residential Property Team of the Year sponsored by Property Searches Scotland
Winner: Coulters
For impressive growth and exceeding clients expectation on price
Finalists
Gillespie Macandrew LLP
Harper Macleod LLP
Innes & Mackay
McDougall McQueen
Paris Steele W.S.
Litigation Team of the Year
Winner: Anderson Strathern
For high quality delivery in a wide variety of cases
Highly Commended: Mass Litigation Team, Thompsons Solicitors for the baby ashes scandal
Finalists
Allan McDougall Solicitors
Anderson Strathern
Clyde & Co
DAC Beachcroft
Digby Brown Solicitors
MBM Commercial, Dispute Resolution Team
Paralegal of the Year sponsored by Millar & Bryce
Winner: Bilaal Shabbir, MBS Solicitors
For a complexity of high quality work beyond expectation
Highly Commended: Arlene Dunbar, Aberdeen City Council
Finalists
Kylie Jensen, Clyde & Co Scotland
Nikki Skelton, Clyde & Co Scotland
Joe McCluskey, Thompsons Solicitors Scotland
Beth Speakman, Watermans Accident Claims and Care
Rising Star of the Year sponsored by Quiver Management
Winner: Ruth McColgan, Stirling Council
For a dedicated and highly admired quality of work in child protection
Finalists:
Andrew Fraser, Harper Macleod LLP
Grant Hassan, Harper Macleod LLP
Usman Aslam, McGlashan MacKay
Eilish Lindsay, Thompsons Solicitors
Amy Haughton, Thompsons Solicitors
Lawyer of the Year sponsored by The Law Society of Scotland
Winner: Simon Allison, Blackadders LLP
For leadership, significant progress and awareness in employment team
Finalists:
Michael Kelly, MacRoberts LLP
Lindsay Bruce, Thompsons Solicitors
Peter O’Donnell, Thompsons Solicitors
Stephen McGowan, TLT LLP
