Shepherd and Wedderburn promotes seven Partners and ten Legal Directors
Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP has promoted seven of its lawyers to Partner and 10 to Legal Director. The promotions took effect on 1 May.
The newly-assumed Partners are Neil Cowan (banking and finance), Emma Guthrie (property and infrastructure), Lucy Hall (banking and finance), Magda MacLean (planning and environment), George McKinlay (property and infrastructure), Keith McLaren (private wealth and tax) and Emma Robertson (rural).
Neil Cowan joined the firm’s banking and finance team in 2014 and became a Director in 2020. Neil has a broad practice area covering commercial banking, mortgage portfolio transfers, property and acquisition finance, securitisation and structured lending.
Emma Guthrie joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2013, becoming a Senior Associate in 2021. Emma has a range of experience advising on all aspects of commercial property including developments, leasing, asset management, acquisitions, disposals, and real estate finance. Emma is also a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Property Law Committee.
Lucy Hall joined Shepherd and Wedderburn’s banking and finance team in 2012, becoming a Director in 2020. She specialises in acquisition and real estate finance and advises on deals with complex structures and often with international aspects. Lucy's experience includes advising corporate borrowers, banks and other financial institutions.
Magda MacLean joined Shepherd and Wedderburn’s planning team in 2018, becoming a Senior Associate in 2021. Magda advises on contentious and non-contentious planning and environmental matters, consenting strategies and energy consenting. She works primarily within the electricity and renewable energy sectors.
George McKinlay became a Director in 2019 and specialises in commercial property work, dealing primarily with property investment, development, regeneration and leasing. George has worked with both private and public sector bodies on numerous significant projects over the years.
Keith McLaren joined Shepherd & Wedderburn in 2021 as a Director in the private wealth and tax team. Keith advises individuals, families and trusts in relation to succession planning, asset protection, inheritance tax mitigation, executries (probate) and incapacity. Keith advises on both charity and philanthropy matters and is a charity trustee of a large grant-making charity. Keith is also a full member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).
Emma Robertson joined Shepherd and Wedderburn’s rural team as a Senior Associate in 2017. She advises on all aspects of agricultural tenancies, and also deals with the purchase and sale of estates, farms and other rural properties. She advises landowners and developers on a wide variety of renewable energy projects including wind turbine developments, hydro schemes and biomass systems. Emma is a member of the Agricultural Law Association.
Heather Bird (private wealth and tax), Kirsty Headden (pensions), Suzanne Knowles (restructuring and business advisory), Ashley McLean (media and technology), Laura McMillan (commercial disputes), Stephanie Mill (planning and environment), Gillian Moore (employment), Emma Paton (planning and environment), John Vassiliou (immigration) and Sarah Walker (commercial disputes) have also been promoted to the post of Legal Director.
Commenting on the new promotions, Andrew Blain, Shepherd and Wedderburn’s Managing Partner, said: “As a firm, we are committed to supporting the career development of all our colleagues and so I am delighted to be announcing these well-deserved promotions. These appointments recognise our lawyers’ specialist expertise, their knowledge and understanding of the sectors in which they operate, and their ongoing commitment to supporting our clients with legal services of the highest quality. We wish them every success as they embark on the next stage of their careers and thank them for their continued commitment to the firm and our clients.”