Digby Brown takes top spot at Scottish Legal Awards

Specialist personal injury law firm Digby Brown has come top of the pile at the 2015 Scottish Legal Awards, taking a total of five titles.

At the ceremony in Edinburgh last night, Digby Brown was named Firm of the Year, as well as taking the titles for Litigation Firm of the Year, Employer of the Year, and Community Contribution, while managing partner Fraser Oliver collected the award for Managing Partner of the Year.

Anderson Strathern claimed a hat trick of awards, taking the titles Employment Team of the Year and Public Sector team of the Year, while residential property head Sara Jalicy was named Rising Star of the Year.

Other sector winners were Family Law Matters Scotland, as Family Law Firm of the Year, Simpson & Marwick, as Residential Property Team of the Year, and Edinburgh tech company Skyscanner, for In-house Legal Team of the Year. DLA Piper celebrated with the Pro Bono Award.

The Royal Faculty of Procurators of Glasgow, including the Trainee and Newly Qualified Society (TANQ) took the award for Training Provider of the Year ahead of the Scottish Young Lawyers Association, who were highly commended; and Support Team of the Year was awarded to Millar & Bryce.

Specialist Lawyer of the Year went to road traffic lawyer Robert Sheridan of Scullion Law, Hamilton, while Kelie Cooper of Fort William firm MacPhee & Partners was named Paralegal of the Year.

Others who were highly commended included Morton Fraser in the Family Law category, ADLP and Thompsons in the Litigation class, University of Strathclyde Law Clinic for the Pro Bono Award, and MacPhee & Partners as Employer of the Year.

Douglas Connell, the founding partner of Turcan Connell, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award as he celebrates 40 years of practice since being made partner at Dundas & Wilson at the age of 24. In a tribute to the Edinburgh-based lawyer, who is also chair of the National Galleries of Scotland, the judges commended Mr Connell on a formidable career carving and building a highly regarded law firm.

Chair of the judging panel, Lorna Jack, commented: “I’m pleased to report that the Scottish Legal Awards continues to flourish. Judging day presents a vivid mixture of sparky debate, carefully worded opinion and an opportunity to be informed about positive developments in the sector. We have heard about the positive effects on business experienced by winning firms or individuals which link their award directly to business wins, career growth and improving team morale. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners and we wish them every success in the coming year.”

The awards raised over £14,000, mainly for It’s Good 2 Give and the building of The Ripple Retreat, a luxury residential respite home in the Trossachs National Park. The home, which is expected to commence building work this summer, will be gifted to parents with children who have cancer or long term terminal illness. A £2,000 donation has also been made to LawWorks Scotland.