Harper Macleod hires partner for Lerwick office

Harper Macleod has appointed a new partner based in its Lerwick office, bringing the firm's team strength in Shetland to 12.

Stewart MacGregor, who grew up in Shetland, took up his position this month. He will principally carry out property work, including liquor licensing, while also providing support to the firm's private client team on a range of personal legal matters such as wills and powers of attorney.

After moving to the islands at the age of 11, Mr MacGregor lived and worked in the islands for 20 years before leaving to study law. He was most recently a partner at Kippen Campbell in Perth.

His arrival at Harper Macleod comes after Chris Dowle stepped down as a partner into a consultancy role at the end of 2017. The firm established a base in Lerwick which it merged with local practice Dowle, Smith & Rutherford in 2015.

Partner Paul Rutherford commented: "We are delighted to welcome Stewart to the firm and I'm sure he's going to be a big asset to our clients as we move forward. Over the past two years we've been able to develop the services we can offer and given the people of Shetland access to a much greater range of expertise and strength in depth. However, we're also still a local firm steeped in the community and that's why it's great to bring in someone such as Stewart who knows Shetland so well."

He added: "Over the past year we've been able to recognise Richard Donaldson's increased profile in the firm and the community by promoting him to associate level, and we've also been joined by solicitor Jenni Gear who has a brought a particular focus on family law matters. It's fantastic that Chris Dowle is very much still part of the firm and able to lend his knowledge where required, and we're looking forward to a further year of growth in 2018."