Press Releases

Fraser Mitchell has re-joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a Partner in the planning team, bringing to the firm and its clients almost two decades’ planning expertise, with a particular focus on the housebuilding, commercial property and clean energy sectors. Fraser, who trained at Shepherd and Wedderburn and spent a number of years in the planning team, adds further strength in depth to the firm’s market-leading planning practice ...

Peter Smith has joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a Commercial Property Partner, heading the firm’s real estate team in the Aberdeen office and bringing 19 years’ expertise advising clients in the real estate sector. Peter will lead the development of the firm’s real estate practice in the north-east of Scotland to further strengthen its presence in the region ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn is bolstering its top-ranked rural team with the addition of six lawyers including accredited agricultural law specialists Petra Grunenberg and Ellen Eunson. Petra, who is ranked as a Leading Individual by Legal 500 and previously led the rural team at Blackadders, will join Shepherd and Wedderburn as a Partner on 5 September, while Ellen joined as Director on 18 August. Both will be based in the firm’s Aberdeen office ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn’s private wealth and tax team has been named Out-of-London Practice of the Year at the prestigious Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2022. Judges described Shepherd and Wedderburn as ‘one of the best Scottish independents’, and noted that the firm’s private wealth and tax team in the Central Belt rose to the top tier of the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth rankings this year. Shepherd and Wedderburn was the only Scottish firm nominated in any category ...

We were delighted to advise our client, the Scottish National Investment Bank, in its investment in pureLiFi, a wireless communications start-up that uses light to transmit data. John Morrison, who led the Shepherd and Wedderburn deal team with support from Ian Crombie and Sophie Bailey, said: “It is a pleasure to have worked with the Bank to facilitate this deal, which supports the roll-out of innovative communications technology and the creation of high skilled jobs in Scotland ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP has promoted five of its lawyers to Partner, six to Legal Director and six to Associate, 10 of whom began their legal careers as trainees of the firm. The promotions will take effect on 1 May. The newly-assumed Partners are Alison Rochester (media and technology), Susan Swan (infrastructure), Leigh Herd (property and infrastructure disputes), Stephanie Hepburn (commercial disputes) and Nathaniel Buckingham (property and infrastructure disputes) ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn is delighted to have worked on a pro bono basis to establish the newly formed Sportschallenge Trust, and to support Sportschallenge, the popular sports-themed fundraiser, as it returns to Aberdeen. The Sportschallenge event hosts businesses from across the north-east of Scotland as they battle it out in a Question of Sport-style quiz ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has introduced an interactive virtual work experience programme to give aspiring lawyers an insight into what life is like as a trainee solicitor at the firm. In collaboration with Forage, a virtual work experience specialist, the firm has created a short programme focused on intellectual property (IP) law, offering one to two hours’ work experience that replicates the tasks that trainees undertake ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has introduced an interactive virtual work experience programme to give aspiring lawyers an insight into what life is like as a trainee solicitor at the firm. In collaboration with Forage, a virtual work experience specialist, the firm has created a short programme focused on intellectual property (IP) law, offering one to two hours’ work experience that replicates the tasks that trainees undertake ...

Ian Bowie has joined Shepherd and Wedderburn as a Partner, bringing to the firm and its clients more than 25 years’ expertise advising on real estate projects, with a particular focus on energy and natural resources. Renowned for his technical skills and client focus, Ian supports clients active in the energy, minerals, food and drink, real estate investment and development sectors ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has supported long standing client Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) in its £164 million purchase of the UK fish farming interests of Greig Seafood ASA. Specialists from across the firm provided sector-leading expertise to SSF on numerous aspects of this prominent acquisition, with our regulatory and markets lawyers advising on the competition law aspects of the deal, and the corporate finance and banking teams successfully concluding the deal on 15 December ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has been awarded Platinum Employer Partner accreditation by STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, attaining the highest of three accreditation levels awarded under STEP's Employer Partnership Programme. The firm previously held gold accreditation under the scheme but this has been upgraded to reflect the strength of the policies, practices and structures that support its private wealth and tax offering ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn’s banking and finance team was last night named Transactions Team of the Year at the prestigious Law Awards of Scotland. This is the fourth time in five years that the banking and finance team, led by Partner Fiona Buchanan, has been recognised at the Law Awards of Scotland. Now in their 18th year, the awards, run by The Herald newspaper, celebrate the achievements of law firms and solicitors in delivering services of the highest quality to clients ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has established a dedicated Environmental, Social and Governance Advisory Group to assist clients with their sustainability, workforce and regulatory commitments. The ESG Advisory Group, comprising lawyers with relevant, specialist expertise drawn from across the firm, is already supporting clients active in a variety of sectors in developing their ESG strategies ...

Louisa Knox, Partner in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s pensions team, has been appointed as a Non-Executive Board Director of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the industry body for financial and professional services in Scotland ...

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 ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has been appointed by Energy Transition Zone (ETZ Ltd) to support its plans to reposition the north east of Scotland as a globally recognised integrated energy cluster, creating sustainable jobs while playing a crucial role in meeting the net zero ambitions set out by local, Scottish and UK governments. Following a competitive tender, Shepherd and Wedderburn has been selected to advise ETZ Ltd on all corporate, property and construction, and regulatory matters ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn is continuing its investment in Aberdeen by moving into flexible Grade A office accommodation, which offers capacity to double the firm’s headcount in the city as it anticipates sustained growth in the region. The law firm’s move to premises at 37 Albyn Place later this year comes as part of an ambitious three-year strategy to grow its business across the north east by supporting clients active in key growth sectors, such as renewable energy ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has supported Morton Club Together in its acquisition of a majority shareholding stake in Greenock Morton Football Club Limited, meaning the football club is now entirely owned by its fans. Morton Club Together is a community-owned, volunteer-run organisation that aims to ensure Greenock Morton football club is run in a sustainable way ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn has been reappointed to British Land’s Specialist Legal Panel following a competitive tender process to advise on all Scottish law matters. British Land is a leading UK property company, with a portfolio of high quality commercial property focused on London campuses and retail and fulfilment assets. British Land owns or manages a portfolio valued at £12.7 billion, making it one of Europe’s largest listed real estate investment companies ...

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) has elected Shepherd and Wedderburn Partner Joanna Boag-Thomson as its Chair. Joanna, a media and technology specialist, was first appointed to the SCDI Board in 2019 and was elected Vice Chair the following year. An acknowledged expert in intellectual property, Joanna’s key areas of expertise are technology transfer, collaborations and brand exploitation ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn acted for the Scottish National Investment Bank (the Bank) in its equity investment into Nova Innovation, a leader in tidal energy. Nova Innovation manufactures and distributes innovative subsea tidal turbines, which transform the power of the sea into clean, predictable energy. The Bank provides patient capital investment to businesses, projects and communities as part of its mission to build a stronger, fairer, more sustainable Scotland ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn acted for Clydeport Operations Limited (COL) in concluding an option agreement with the sustainable energy company XLCC to construct a facility at Hunterston Port to produce high voltage sub-sea cables for the transmission of renewable energy ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn reported 4.1% turnover growth to £59.3 million in the year to 30 April 2021, with profits before partner distributions rising 13% to £25.3 million. In recognition of the exemplary resilience, adaptability and commitment shown by colleagues to clients during this most challenging of years, colleagues received an exceptional bonus of 5% of annual salary in addition to bonuses payable under the firm’s performance-related bonus scheme ...

Shepherd and Wedderburn would like to say thank you to our clients for their kind feedback, which has seen six of our lawyers recognised as leading individuals in the latest edition of the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth rankings. This includes a new Band 2 ranking for our private wealth and tax practice in Aberdeen and new personal rankings for Douglas Sinclair and Gillian Campbell, who leads the private wealth and tax and charities teams in the north of Scotland ...