Harper Macleod turnover soars past £25 million

The business, the second largest professional services partnership in Scotland with 72 partners, was recently named “Scotland’s Law Firm of the Year” – the 8th time it has received that title in the past decade. The firm has enjoyed a stellar year with significant growth across the country, including a greatly increased presence in Edinburgh and a venture into Shetland.

Chairman Professor Lorne Crerar said: “This has been, beyond doubt, the most impressive year to date for Harper Macleod and a very important indicator for us is that our growth has been across the full spectrum of the sectors of the Scottish economy, broadly categorised as private, public or third sector.

“Exceeding clients’ expectations in our delivery of outstanding legal services assessed upon criteria of expertise, delivery methodology, relationship focus and price is a message our clients tell us they appreciate and is a key factor for existing and new clients using Harper Macleod.

“It is particularly satisfying that ‘corporate Scotland’ is increasingly acknowledging that because our pricing is lower than our mainstream competitors it does not mean our service delivery and expertise is in anyway compromised - quite the contrary.”

Chief executive Martin Darroch, who took up his post a decade ago when the firm’s turnover was £10m, said: “Clients of law firms are no different from those in every other industry – they are demanding high quality services that are delivered in the most efficient and value-added way. This has been a source of opportunity for Harper Macleod, as the firm has always been geared up to deliver the services that our clients want, as they want them. It’s also no coincidence that we have won many highly competitive public sector appointments during the past 12 months.

“Our performance has also enabled us to attract talented people to the firm and maintain our strategy of organic growth with a sole focus on the Scottish market. That’s a market which isn’t growing as a whole, so the only way to thrive is to increase market share and that’s exactly what we’ve done.

“We have made significant investments in the past year and with a strong balance sheet are well placed to make moves where we see a real benefit. However, we expect this to be a year where we consolidate the significant additions we have made to the maximum benefit of our clients and our people.”