Partner promoted as MacRoberts announces office changes
Legal firm MacRoberts has announced a further partner promotion as it reshapes its business in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Corporate senior associate Gary Baines, based in the Glasgow office, will be assumed as partner on 1 May 2021. His appointment follows Kyle Moir, who was promoted to partner in November 2020 working in the property team.
The firm said it had also retained most of its qualifying trainees in areas such as corporate, construction and IPTC, and is recruiting additional lawyers in areas including construction, corporate, rural and private client.
In Edinburgh, in the coming months, the firm will move to a new office location at 10 George Street, which is designed to support its focus on hybrid working and the creation of collaboration hubs, replacing the traditional office model. This is in line with the strong preference expressed in feedback from staff, taken during this year and last. At the same time it has reduced its office space in Glasgow as part of a drive to control costs as it "successfully navigated its way through challenging trading conditions".
MacRoberts said its "overall success in 2020-21 followed a year where one-off costs, including those taken to reshape the firm’s property footprint, further significant investment in IT infrastructure and the onset of the pandemic contributed to a drop in profits to end April; however the firm has immediately bounced back this year. The firm’s property, rural and private client business in Edinburgh, Murray Snell, also recorded its busiest year ever".
Neil Kennedy, managing partner, commented: "Our people have been remarkable this year, more than in any other. The commitment, resilience and innovation shown across the firm has enabled us to deliver a seamless service to all of our clients during lockdown. As we now look to the future, I am convinced that agility, flexibility and choice for our people and our clients will bring long-term benefits to quality of service and the promotion of a genuine work-life balance, both of which are critical to modern, progressive law firms."