UK law firm Shoosmiths has announced the recruitment of four senior hires, two associates and a support lawyer in its teams in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Well respected real estate lawyer Simon Dawes has joined the firm as a legal director in Edinburgh, whilst the employment team has onboarded Simon Mayberry as a senior associate. Angela Robertson has also joined the Edinburgh office as an associate in the dispute resolution and litigation team.
The Glasgow office has added to its headcount with the key appointments of Calum Stacey as a legal director in the commercial team, Rachel Munro as a senior associate within the real estate team and Pavan Sumal joining the employment team as an associate.
Calum, previously head of the legal team at Total UK (part of Total Energies SE) brings a wealth of experience as a specialist energy and infrastructure lawyer to his commercial role in Glasgow.
Dual-qualified (Scotland and England), Calum will play a pivotal role in the further growth of Shoosmiths’ energy and infrastructure sector group, bringing in-depth experience in B2B commercial contracts, aviation, infrastructure, procurement, compliance and regulatory matters. His expertise includes EV charging infrastructure (having previously worked with the Source London EV charging network) and fuel and biofuel supply, with a particular focus on the airline industry.
Rachel, who joins in March from Shepherd & Wedderburn and is a specialist in residential development with extensive experience in the housebuilding sector, further complements the formidable sectoral knowledge and expertise within the real estate team.
Pavan Sumal has also recently joined the Glasgow office as an experienced immigration specialist. She has extensive experience in personal and business immigration, advising on all types of applications from spouse visas, visit visas, points based system applications, indefinite leave to remain and citizenship. Pavan regularly advises companies of all sizes in relation to the recruitment of international workers and also represents clients at the Immigration Tribunal.
Calum, Rachel and Pavan are the latest of several key appointments made by Barry McKeown, Glasgow office head and real estate partner, who now oversees a head count of over 20 lawyers and support staff in Shoosmiths’ new office at the Garment Factory.
Earlier this week Shoosmiths announced it is to relocate its office in the capital to the Haymarket Edinburgh development by the end of 2022. There is now more good news for the Edinburgh office, led by corporate partner Alison Gilson as it adds further to its headcount to service growing client demand.
Simon Dawes, who joins from Pinsent Masons, is a real estate expert covering residential and commercial development as well as investment. He will be based in Edinburgh working flexibly and advising principally on English real estate matters. Simon’s arrival further strengthens Shoosmiths’ national living sector team, which was recently appointed to Taylor Wimpey’s legal panels in England and Wales, and Scotland.
He will be supported by Morven Pinkerton who has joined Shoosmiths from Morton Fraser. A highly experienced legal assistant, for the past 14 years Morven has developed expertise across a number of areas, including English real estate finance and property investment.
Simon Mayberry joins the firm as senior associate in the employment team. Previously with LexLeyton, Simon is an employment law specialist and has acted for SMEs, listed companies and trade unions. Supporting Kim Pattullo, joint head of employment law for Shoosmiths in Scotland, he will offer clients specialist expertise in collective employment issues, discrimination and equal pay.
Angela Robertson, who has moved across from Thorntons as an associate specialising in commercial litigation, will join a busy dispute resolution and litigation team headed up by partner Andrew Foyle.
Highlighting the significance of these latest appointments in Scotland, Janette Speed, real estate partner and head of Scotland for Shoosmiths, commented:
“Our Shoosmiths teams in Scotland are delighted to welcome our new colleagues to their respective Edinburgh and Glasgow offices, where I am very confident they will quickly play their part in providing our growing roster of blue-chip clients with the benefit of their specialist knowledge and sectoral expertise.
“Our continued investment in top class legal talent further underscores Shoosmiths’ strategy to grow our reputation as the ‘go-to’ firm for premium legal advice in Scotland, where we are increasingly pre-eminent in the real estate, corporate, commercial, employment and litigation sectors.”
