With Scotland’s legal landscape undergoing such radical change over the past five years – a flurry of merger, consolidation and administration – remaining Scottish, independent and competitive might seem a tall order.
The team at Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP, however, believes it possesses the expertise, culture and values to make it right choice for clients in key sectors.
“It’s about building relationships with clients and providing the highest quality of service,” said Gillian Cowie, who specialises in telecoms and commercial property. “We’re people who care about your business. It’s not simply providing legal advice; it’s about what your business needs and how can we help.”
Colleague Andy McFarlane, who specialises in renewable energy and commercial property, added: “We are market leaders in key sectors, and we aim to stand out with our client service. With strength in specialties such as telecoms, renewables, agricultural and rural, healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and family business, we match that with a level of client support that is hard to beat.”
Gillian pointed out the length of service many of the team have with Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP: “We’ve always had a policy of taking on good trainees and bringing them up through the firm. It’s been one of our strengths; identifying and growing talent.”
The core team has been bolstered by strategic moves in recent years, notably its mergers with BMK Wilson in the central belt and with MacArthur & Co. in Inverness.
“In key sectors, we can compete with anyone in those markets,” said Andy, “but we can also stand above some of the ‘brand’ names by winning on the degree of client service we are able to deliver. That might be the quality of our IT, or because partners will get involved with their teams in the nuts and bolts of projects and transactions.”
The company cites the breadth and geographical reach of its commercial property group: “Whether we are operating in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dunblane or Inverness, clients will get the benefit of local knowledge supported by our in-house specialisms such as tax and agricultural/rural which add real value,” said Gillian.
“We provide quality technical advice but are always pragmatic, proactive, commercially-minded, and approach- able when delivering that advice.”
The team is ranked by both Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession and the Legal 500 as one of the best in the country. A large number are dual-qualified and able to practice law in England and Wales. This allows Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP to provide a UK-wide commercial property service. The advantage to our clients is a consistency of approach in cross-border transactions.
Advising a number of clients on significant commercial property transactions south of the border has been among the group’s recent highlights, whilst notable in Scotland has been its involvement in the first commercial sale of a battery storage project.
“We want to keep that momentum going,” said Andy, looking ahead.
Contact:
Gillian Cowie, Partner, & Andy McFarlane, Partner
0141 248 3434 / enquiries@wjm.co.uk
