Brodies closes on big four

Rapid growth sees firm reach 250 fee earners

News, 8 November 2007

The annual "Legal 500" survey of the Scottish legal profession shows a newcomer to the ranks of the biggest fims.

Edinburgh-based Brodies has jumped in size from 175 fee earners in Scotland a year ago to 250 today, putting it alongside Shepherd & Wedderburn at 254, and close to Maclay Murray & Spens and Dundas & Wilson, both on 264.

The other three firms however also maintain large and expanding London offices, and can boast total fee earners respectively of 295, 346 and 360. Dundas & Wilson's London growth has been particularly marked in the past year, with 29 of their 46 increase in legal capability being based south of the border.

McGrigors, the fourth member of the traditional "big four" in Scotland, has a slightly smaller Scottish presence at 232 fee earners, but offices in London and Belfast take its total capacity also to 360, unchanged on last year.

Golds, which last year boasted the second highest number of Scotland based lawyers at 254, has since merged with English giant Irwin Mitchell, whose Scottish headcount this year is 246.

Size-wise, there is then a bigger gap to seventh largest, where Anderson Strathern comes in with 161 Scottish fee-earners - though the firm has jumped from 13th place with 127 lawyers last year.

Other firms to make the top 12 in Scotland are Turcan Connell (153 fee earners), DLA Piper (143), MacRoberts (141), and HBJ Gateley Wareing and Tods Murray, both on 131 - a whisker ahead of Burness and Morton Fraser.