Shepherd and Wedderburn announces two Partner and four Legal Director promotions
Shepherd and Wedderburn has promoted two of its lawyers to Partner and four to Legal Director, effective May 1.
The newly assumed partners are construction law specialist Lauren Thomson and corporate finance specialist John Morrison, both of whom have been with the firm since traineeship.
Lauren has extensive, UK-wide experience of construction projects, advising employers, contractors, funders and end users across a variety of sectors including energy, retail, hospitality and the public sector.
With particular experience in property development and housing projects, she works closely with property and development finance colleagues to provide specialist construction support.
John is an experienced operator in the UK corporate market and has a wealth of experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships and private equity, with a focus on the renewable energy, technology and life sciences sectors. John is extremely active in the Scottish business community and, in his spare time, supports a number of ambitious entrepreneurs scale their businesses through the RBS Entrepreneur Accelerator, Bright Red Triangle, Launch.ed, the National Launch Academy by Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation.
In this latest promotion round, four senior Shepherd and Wedderburn lawyers are also promoted to the post of Legal Director. They are Alison Rochester, Lucy Hall, Neil Cowan and Gavin Charlton.
Alison joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trainee in 2008. Since 2012, she has specialised in commercial contracts and, since 2017, has headed up the firm's trade and commerce team, advising clients in all sectors in relation to their ongoing business and trading requirements. Alison holds practicing certificates in Scotland, Ireland, and England and Wales.
Lucy joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2012 and works in the firm’s London office as part of the banking and finance team. Lucy has extensive experience in finance transactions with specialisms in real estate finance, acquisition finance and derivatives transactions. She acts for a wide range of lenders, funds and corporate borrowers.
Neil joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2014. While primarily focused on securitisation and structured finance, he operates a broad practice within the banking and finance team, also advising on corporate lending and property finance transactions. Admitted as a solicitor in both Scotland and England and Wales, Neil advises major UK lenders, financial institutions and companies, regularly working with leading City, international and regional law firms.
Gavin joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trainee in 2007 and has over a decade of experience specialising in employee share incentives. He advises public, private and international companies on a wide range of matters relating to share schemes, executive compensation and corporate governance. Gavin is a member of the Share Plan Lawyers Group and the Association of Taxation Technicians.
Commenting on the new promotions, Shepherd and Wedderburn Managing Partner Andrew Blain said: “These well-deserved promotions recognise our lawyers’ specialist expertise, their knowledge and understanding of the sectors in which they operate, and their ongoing commitment to delivering client service of the highest quality. We congratulate them on their achievement, and wish them every success as they embark on the next stage of their careers at Shepherd and Wedderburn.”
From top left: Lauren Thomson; John Morrison; Alison Rochester; Lucy Hall; Neil Cowan; and Gavin Charlton.