Murray Etherington

Executry assistant Yana Lagatski from Edinburgh and associate Rachel Anderson from St Andrews, both working in Thorntons private client team, alongside Perth partner Bruce Renfrew, have all qualified with distinction in their STEP diplomas.

STEP is the global professional association for practitioners who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning. Full STEP members, known as TEPs, are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience.

In addition to the diploma, Yana Lagatski was the recipient of this year’s STEP Worldwide Excellence Award. Ms Lagatski achieved this award for being the top scoring student at distinction level in STEP Advanced Certificate, Taxation of Trusts and Estates (Scotland) exam.

The Chambers High Net Worth 2022 guide has also been published recently and Dundee partner Nick Barclay has ranked Band 1 for Private Wealth Law.

A total of 16 firms and 35 individuals are ranked in the Chambers High Net Worth in Scotland, only three of which are ranked Band 1, making it an elite and prestigious list.

A previous managing partner at Thorntons, Mr Barclay has more than 30 years’ experience in the legal profession in the fields of wills, trusts, executries, inheritance tax planning and law relating to the elderly.

Murray Etherington, partner and head of private client at Thorntons, said: “Supporting career development and providing opportunities for further education to our people is one of our key pillars at Thorntons.

“The STEP Excellence Awards celebrate exceptional results, recognising the highest achievers across all STEP qualifications globally and it’s with great pride that we see three more colleagues acknowledged. For Yana to also receive the Worldwide Excellence Award is fantastic and further cements her bright future in the industry.

“Recognition and achievements like these are great for our people but our clients also benefit through their enhanced knowledge and expertise. We have great ambitions for our firm and our people have an important role to play on that journey.”