Press Release

Shepherd and Wedderburn has promoted 12 solicitors to Associate in its latest round of internal promotions, while 16 Associates have become Senior Associates, all effective 1 October.

Andrew Blain, Managing Partner of Shepherd and Wedderburn, said: “I would like to congratulate our new Associates and Senior Associates and thank them for the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to the success of our firm. Their new roles are in recognition of their skill, hard work and commitment to providing the highest quality service to our clients. I wish them all the best as they embark on the next step of their careers with Shepherd and Wedderburn.”

New Associates
Abby Doig (banking and finance): having joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trainee in 2014, Abby advises on a broad range of cross-border deals for the banking and finance team and is an integral member of the services regulation practice.

Roddy Forgie (media and technology): Roddy joined the firm as a trainee in 2013, before qualifying into the media and technology practice, where he is now involved in delivering the trade and commerce offering, focusing on international trade matters and complex commercial contracts, particularly for regulated businesses.

Dan Boynton (pensions): Dan joined the pensions team as a newly qualified solicitor in 2016, and advises a range of trustee and employer clients, with a particular focus on data protection and pension scheme investments.

Sarah Leslie (employment): Sarah first joined the firm as a summer placement student in the pensions team. Sarah is now an integral member of the employment team and advises across all areas of employment law and HR issues.

Kara Gallagher (infrastructure): Kara has considerable experience advising funders, public sector clients and private sector clients on PPP, NPD, PFI and hub projects. Kara's experience spans a number of sectors, however, she has a particular focus on health and education.

Gabby Ives (property): Gabby joined the English Property Unit in London in 2017. She works with a number of the firm’s key clients on a range of transactions, including sales/purchases, leasehold matters and real estate financing.

Lucy Mulreany (banking and finance): Lucy trained at Shepherd and Wedderburn and joined the banking and finance team on qualification. She specialises in the Scottish aspects of funds finance, securitisation and real estate finance matters.

Kirsten McKinnon (private wealth and tax): Kirsten joined the private wealth and tax team two years ago and has continued to develop a particular interest in rural succession and the complex issues it presents.

Craig Brodie (property): Craig has been part of the firm’s property and infrastructure division since 2017, with a particular focus on commercial and residential development, strategic land, regeneration projects and leasing.

Alistair Kennedy (infrastructure): Alistair has been with Shepherd and Wedderburn since 2014 as part of the non-contentious construction team, where he acts for a broad range of clients including funders, developers and public sector bodies.

Thomas McFarlane (commercial disputes): Thomas joined the firm as a newly qualified solicitor in 2014. He has wide-ranging experience in the field of litigation and dispute resolution, advising both commercial clients and individuals in relation to a variety of contractual and delictual claims. Thomas appears regularly on behalf of clients in the Sheriff Court and has experience in a variety of Court of Session actions, as well as in alternative methods of dispute resolution, such as mediation.

Scarlett Leigh (property): Scarlett joined the London office as a trainee in 2014, qualifying into the English Property Unit in 2016, where she has developed wide-ranging experience across the areas of investment, landlord and tenant and energy and renewables.

New Senior Associates
Neil Casey (property and infrastructure disputes): NeiI joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in October 2014, initially working in the commercial disputes division before joining our construction and special projects team. Neil works mostly on landlord/tenant disputes, construction disputes and general property disputes as well as a variety of contract disputes and debt recovery matters.

Laura McMillan (commercial disputes): Laura joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trainee in 2011, and works in the commercial disputes team in Edinburgh, with a focus on disputes relating to finance and insolvency.

Nathaniel Buckingham (property and infrastructure disputes): Nathaniel joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a trainee in 2013, following a previous career as a civil engineer. Nathaniel’s role involves helping clients navigate and resolve their construction disputes.

Leigh Herd (property and infrastructure disputes): Leigh joined the firm as a trainee in 2012, qualifying in 2014. Leigh is part of the property and infrastructure disputes team, specialising in contentious construction, with her experience ranging across the field of construction, engineering and major projects disputes. Leigh is an accredited specialist in Construction Law by the Law Society of Scotland, the Vice Chair of the Scottish Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and the External Examiner for the LLM in Construction Law for the University of Strathclyde.

Andrew Winton (commercial disputes): Andrew deals with a broad range of commercial disputes, with a particular focus on industrial disease claims, and completed his dual qualification exams last year.

James Bulpitt (banking and finance): James is a member of the banking and finance team in Edinburgh, focusing on funds finance, securitisation, receivables finance and general banking.

Katy Fitzpatrick (banking and finance): Katy joined the firm as a trainee and specialises in banking and finance. She is dual qualified in Scots and English law and primarily advises clients on real estate finance, project finance and corporate and commercial banking matters across the UK.

Alexandra Lane (rural): Alexandra joined the firm’s rural team in Aberdeen in 2017. She advises on a variety of rural property matters and specialises in agricultural holdings matters, both contentious and non-contentious.

Pamela Binnie (property): Pamela has a strong property background and has had exposure to a broad range of commercial transactions for clients including investors, landlords, tenants, housing associations, developers, healthcare operators and banks.

Emma De Sailly (rural): Emma joined Shepherd and Wedderburn’s rural team in 2014. She specialises in all types of rural property work, including acting for the owners of landed estates, forests and farms.

Siobhan Dunphy (property): Siobhan joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a solicitor in 2014 and acts primarily on commercial leasing, investment sale/purchase and real estate finance transactions. Her clients include pension funds, banks, and property investors, and she also regularly acts alongside London law firms on referral matters - advising on the Scottish property aspects of cross-border investment and real estate finance portfolio transactions.

John Townsend (property): John joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2011 as a trainee. His work revolves around the commercial property sector, with a focus on office and retail property and renewable energy developments.

Emma Guthrie (property): Emma has been at the firm for eight years since starting as a trainee in 2013. She is part of the commercial real estate team and works on a variety of transactions, primarily on acquisitions/sales. She also deals with asset management across a diverse range of property types in Scotland including retail, office, industrial and hospitality.

Magdalena MacLean (planning): Magdalena joined Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2018, and is qualified in Scotland, and England and Wales. She advises on a wide range of contentious and non-contentious consenting and environmental matters

John Vassiliou (immigration): John joined the firm in March 2021 and works on a diverse range of matters ranging from sponsor licences and recruitment of foreign workers to complex British nationality work. John was recently appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law, and has been invited to teach an annual guest seminar at the University of Glasgow’s LLB honours immigration course.

Gillian Moore (employment): Gillian joined the employment team as a newly qualified solicitor in 2013. She provides clients with pragmatic, solution-focused advice on the full range of employment law and HR issues, including disciplinary and grievance matters, long term and persistent absence, performance improvement, employment status, and family and flexible working arrangements.