Thorntons expands Edinburgh office with lateral hires

Thorntons, the Tayside headquartered legal firm has announced a significant expansion of its Edinburgh office with three lateral hires, two of them partners.

Gordon Cairns, previously with Gillespie Macandrew and Christian Melville, who joins from Morton Fraser, increase the Edinburgh partner count to seven. They are joined by Graeme Wilson, who joins as area property manager.

Mr Cairns is a general practitioner with particular expertise in the sale and purchase of residential property, preparation of wills and powers of attorney and issues relating to elderly clients. Mr Melville brings a broad range of expertise to the private client team, including in succession issues, capital tax mitigation, trust law, charity law, and asset protection.

Mr Wilson has worked as a property valuer since 2011. Previously, he held positions with McEwan Fraser Legal and McQueen Legal.

The firm said the appointments "signal a major expansion of Thorntons’ Edinburgh operation, with the firm adding dedicated residential property, estate agency and private client teams to its offering in the capital". It aims to become "a significant presence in the city having established a small office in 2004 to service a core client group".

Thorntons joint managing Partner, Scott Milne, said: “Bringing the accumulated experience of these three highly respected individuals to our Edinburgh office is a real statement of intent for Thorntons.

“The appointment of Gordon and Christian will enhance the range of services we can offer private clients. Graeme is our first estate agency appointment in Edinburgh. For the last few years, our plan has been to extend our successful estate agency business into Edinburgh. We are aware it is a competitive market place but are confident our model will prove attractive to sellers in and around the capital.

Thorntons recently announced a merger with Kirckaldy firm Clarkson Hamilton from 1 June.