First of all, Inverness-based partner Victoria Leslie has joined our board.
Then, reinforcing our commitment to our commercial client base, senior associates in the corporate team Sarah Londragan and Andrew Stott — based in Stirling and Inverness respectively — are promoted to partner.
Victoria, a University of Strathclyde graduate, is now a full equity partner. She heads up the firm’s litigation department in the Highland capital. She regularly acts for commercial, public and private sector clients and is an experienced litigator who specialises in contractual disputes as well as contentious executry and will matters.
Victoria joined us in 2007, was promoted to partner ten years later, and has been a Law Society of Scotland-accredited specialist in personal injury law since 2015. She is also recognised in both the Legal 500 and Chambers UK 2022 rankings.
She will be an incredible asset to the board. Throughout her time at Ledingham Chalmers, Victoria has made an enormous contribution, consistently delivering for our clients while being an exceptionally supportive, knowledgeable and respected colleague.
In terms of our newly promoted partners, Andrew is president of Inverness Chamber of Commerce and, along with Sarah, continues to be integral to the firm’s support of Elevator accelerators, specifically Green Matters.
Other promotions
We've promoted a further five colleagues in Aberdeen and Inverness.
In Aberdeen, Louise Simpson from the private client team moves up to senior associate while senior solicitors Lois Craig (rural) and Emma McNay (defender reparation) step up to associate. Rosie Allan from the family law team becomes a senior solicitor.
Inverness-based Natalie Coll from the private client team also moves up to senior solicitor, hot on the heels of passing all her Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) exams at the end of last year. This meant she became only one of three lawyers practising in the Highlands to have this comprehensive qualification in the trusts and estates discipline.
Growth plans
The promotions are a key part of our growth plans to double revenue to £25million by 2025, along with recruitment, and recognise the talent of each of these remarkable lawyers and their contribution to the firm.
When it comes to hiring, I’m pleased to say that while we’re operating in an exceptionally competitive recruitment market, we’re attracting impressive people to work with us.
We have a headcount of 166 including 28 partners — and we've had five new starts since January. Meanwhile, we're recruiting for around 12 posts across all four offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Stirling, not including intern and trainee positions.
This is an exciting time — and our growth strategy is certainly ambitious — but it’s a challenge we’re up for.
