HBJ Gateley strengthens employment team with partner appointment

HBJ Gateley has bolstered its employment law team with the appointment of David Hughes as partner.

Mr Hughes, who re-joins the firm from Clyde & Co, brings 25 years of dispute resolution and employment law experience to the practice. Over the course of his career he has acted for a wide range of clients in the public and private sectors in the Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Sheriff Court and Court of Session.

The appointment comes just weeks ahead of the firm’s merger with Addleshaw Goddard on 1 June, and will see Mr Hughes build on the combined presence in Aberdeen and Edinburgh, with a strong focus on the offshore oil and gas sector in particular.

Qualifying in 1992, Mr Hughes became a partner at Alan McDougall & Co. in 1995, before moving to lead Henderson Boyd Jackson’s (latterly HBJ Gateley’s) employment team in Scotland in 2000. In 2009 he became a partner at Simpson & Marwick, latterly Clyde & Co. In 2008 he was accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in employment law, and in 2012 he qualified as a solicitor advocate, with rights of audience in the Court of Session and Supreme Court.

He said: “I’m re-joining HBJ Gateley at a very exciting time for the firm. The merger with Addleshaw Goddard puts us in a strong position to develop our employment law practice across Scotland, especially in the oil and gas sector at a crucial time for the industry and the Scottish economy.”

Malcolm McPherson, senior partner at HBJ Gateley, said: “David is a tremendous addition to the team. He brings with him a wealth of technical expertise and a prolific reputation. His appointment marks part of our wider strategy to continue to invest in industry knowledge to better serve clients and grow our portfolio across sectors.”