WORKNEST, the Employment Law, HR, and Health & Safety specialist, has appointed Gerard O’Hare as Legal Director for Scotland.
In his new role, Gerard will lead WorkNest’s Legal and HR teams across the UK firm’s Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen offices spanning a team of over 25 employment solicitors, trainee solicitors and HR professionals.
Gerard’s promotion to head up Legal Advisory Services in Scotland completes his rise from trainee to country director. He trained at Maclay Murray & Spens, which owned employment law specialist Law at Work at the time. Joining Law at Work he rose the ranks to senior employment solicitor, then became head of team following Law’s acquisition by Marlowe plc and merging into the new WorkNest brand in 2021.
Responsible for ensuring a high quality of service is delivered to WorkNest’s Scottish clients, he will also manage relationships with several key client accounts.
Gerard said: “This business has extraordinary heritage combined with plenty of fresh thinking. Since joining many years ago, I haven’t looked back and I’m very proud to take on this leadership role.
“At WorkNest, we’re specialists in what we do, offering commercial and pragmatic solutions. Lawyers should of course know the law, but clients stay with us because we frame our advice around the law and seek to get to grips with what result our client wants. I’m pleased to still work with clients I’ve served for 13 years.
“Our model, working on a retained basis, means our clients can use us as much or as little as they like, meaning we can develop long-lasting relationships. We become trusted as part of a client’s own team, often acting as a sounding board – whereas a traditional law firm’s clock will be ticking, holding them back from a true client relationship. This is especially the case with SME and public sector clients.”
Gerard’s promotion is the latest recognition of senior talent within WorkNest. The firm recently appointed Iftikhar (Ifti) Ahmed as its new Chief Executive Officer and Gary Jones to Chief Financial Officer. They were previously Chief Operating Officer and Group Finance Director respectively. Outgoing CEO, Gavin Snell, and CFO, Andy Gunson have moved into new Group-level leadership roles in Marlowe’s Governance, Risk and Compliance division.
Commenting on Gerard’s promotion, Ifti said: “Gerry epitomises our commitment to high quality, personalised service. We have a strong record of supporting Scottish SMEs, mid-market businesses, and the public sector, and we plan to grow this through excellence. Both product and technology innovation will support the delivery of our core business lines whilst our expert delivery teams remain the front and centre of our offering.”
