All sectors of the economy have been challenged over the last year as businesses have been forced to navigate the impact of Covid-19.
Professional services, including law firms, have not been immune to the effects of the global pandemic.
Nevertheless, despite such pressures, Scottish law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has continued
to grow.
The firm reported a 4.1 per cent increase in turnover to £59.3 million in the year to 30 April 2021, while profits before partner distributions rose 13 per cent to £25.3 million.
Throughout the year it promoted colleagues at all levels, in both legal and non-legal roles, and saw strong revenue growth across all its divisions.
Shepherd and Wedderburn’s corporate finance lawyers advised on 75 corporate finance transactions with an aggregate value of £7.1 billion in the year to December 2020, up 18 per cent on 2019. The team pointed to particularly strong client activity in clean energy and technology, two sectors in which the firm has a strong pedigree.
Speaking about the last year, Gillian Carty, Chair of Shepherd and Wedderburn, says: “We’re grateful to our clients for their continued support.
We’ve been at the forefront of clean energy for three decades. We are supporting clients in contributing to a green recovery from the recession
Gillian Carty
We started our financial year on 1 May last year, just six weeks into the pandemic, when none of us really knew what lay ahead.
“When we realised the pandemic would be prolonged, we quickly had to innovate and demonstrate our adaptability in order to continue delivering client services of the highest quality and maintain the quickest possible response times.
We were fortunate to have an established business continuity plan and an embedded agile working capability that has allowed us to continue to support clients remotely as colleagues work from home.”
During this reporting period, the firm has advised on a number of complex cases. One high-profile
example was acting for the Scottish Professional Football League in successfully defending the £10m claim made by Heart of Midlothian FC following the decision to end the season early due to the pandemic.
“This dispute resolution process was played out entirely virtually, which we wouldn’t have thought possible before the pandemic,” says Carty.
Investment has continued to form a key part of Shepherd and Wedderburn’s strategy despite the uncertainty caused by coronavirus, with Carty explaining that it is important for the firm to focus on the future in order to grow.
She highlights the strengthening of the firm’s private client team by bringing in 20 new colleagues from Dentons. “That move has been incredibly well received,” says Carty. “The market and client
reaction has been really positive.”
But the pandemic has presented specific challenges for the firm, its people and its clients. Carty’s therefore essential. Carty explains: “We were pleased to be able to continue to bring trainees into the
business.
We also continued with our internal promotions, which is important. No young person starting their
career wants to feel they’ve had the pause button pressed due to factors outwith their control.”
The pandemic has also given businesses a chance to think about how things can be done differently. For Shepherd and Wedderburn, Carty says that legal technology has come into its own, with even simple things such as how documents are signed having changed markedly.
Virtual meetings have also shown that discussions don’t always have to happen in person and that remote contact can be effective and benefit our carbon footprints.
“We’ve committed to the journey to net zero by 2030 and to achieve this, we all need to make a step change,” says Carty. “The pandemic experience, awful as it has been for everybody, has shaken things up and caused us to look differently at how we work.”
Looking ahead, Carty concludes: “Cop26 is an opportunity for us as we’ve been at the forefront of clean
energy for three decades. We now have about 90 lawyers working on all the various aspects of clean energy.
We are actively supporting clients in contributing to a green recovery from the recession and encouraging the private and public sector collaboration required for us to meet government net zero targets and tackle the climate emergency.
ACQUISITIONS, ADVISING AND APPOINTMENTS: HIGH POINTS OF 12 MONTHS OF GROWTH
Highlights of the year included:
- The acquisition of a 20-strong Scottish private client team from Dentons
- Promoting four lawyers to Partner and two to Legal Director three of whom began their legal
careers as trainees of the firm - Promoting 12 lawyers to Senior Associate and five to Associate
- Appointing 14 newly qualified lawyers
- Securing three lateral Partner and two Director hires
- The acquisition of a 20-strong Scottish private client team from Dentons
- Being awarded the highest attainable accreditations as an Investor in People (Platinum) and Investor in Young People (Gold)
- Committing to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and signing the Edinburgh Climate Compact
Notable deals, matters and panel appointments:
- Being appointed as sole legal adviser for corporate legal services to the Scottish National Investment Bank and being reappointed to the legal panels of Virgin Money and The University of Edinburgh
- Advising on a range of clean energy projects for clients including the Moray Offshore group, Five
Estuaries Offshore Windfarm Limited and BayWa r.e. UK Limited - Acting for Epic Games, a leading video games and video games engine developer and publisher, in
its acquisitions of Tonic Games, an award-winning games developer; SuperAwesome, a pioneer in the
‘kidtech’ market; and Cubic Motion, a provider of facial animation technology - Acting for IndigoVision Group plc, the AIM-listed video security surveillance company, in its
takeover by Motorola Solutions - Acting for the Scottish Professional Football League in successfully defending the £10
million claim made by Heart of Midlothian FC following the decision to end the season early due to the
pandemic - Acting for Baillie Gifford in agreeing a 20-year pre-let of 280,000 square feet at the £350 million Haymarket Edinburgh
