Dundas & Wilson
No of UK Partners: 73
No of UK Assistant Solicitors: 171
Other UK Fee-Earners: 70
www.dundas-wilson.com
The sudden collapse of Arthur Andersen in 2001 following the Enron scandal came as a surprise to most people, but to the lawyers at Scotland’s leading firm, Dundas & Wilson, it came like a bolt out of the blue.
Dundas & Wilson became the first major law firm in the United Kingdom to explore the ‘multi-disciplinary partnership’ (MDP) model in 1997 when it joined the legal network of Arthur Andersen to the great disdain of many in the legal profession, who saw MDPs as a surrender of lawyers’ independence.
Yet despite its rivals’ glee that the firm would be left rudderless after the demise of its parent firm, the events of 2001 barely seem to have knocked Dundas off course. In the first full financial year (2002/03), following its new-found independence, the firm increased its turnover by 8% and profits by 12%. It has maintained this performance ever since, despite the difficult corporate market endured by Scotland’s lawyers in recent years.
“The firm has had significant success in retaining, developing and winning significant client relationships, highlighted by various significant reappointments, expanded mandates from some existing clients and major new wins,” says managing partner, Chris Campbell.
These clients include Standard Life, Royal & Sun Alliance, Lloyds TSB/Scottish Widows, National Grid Transco, HBOS, National Australia Group Europe, RBS, Scottish and Southern Energy plc, Land Securities, Scottish Water, Ardana Bioscience, Glasgow University and the Grosvenor House Group.
Unsurprisingly then, the firm has no plans to give up its independence again in a hurry, despite apparent approaches from DLA Piper and Ernst & Young’s associated law firm, Tite & Lewis. Instead, its plan is to develop the firm’s brand on a UK-wide basis and to expand its English law practice. It has already reinstated its London office (originally opened in 1993 before being subsumed into the Andersen Legal Network) which presently contains 31 lawyers. It has made significant investments into its IT systems to improve client service and ensure the efficient functioning of its network.
The remainder of its workforce are based across its Edinburgh and Glasgow offices (which have 160 and 80 fee-earners respectively) which provide a full range of legal services – banking, corporate and commercial, corporate recovery, projects/ PFI, employment, dispute resolution, planning & transportation, property, IP/IT, EU and Competition, construction & engineering, tax, pensions and environmental law.
The final plank of Dundas & Wilson’s post-independence masterplan is to recruit and retain the best talent.
“Through our clear business strategy, the quality of our people and our emphasis on our client relationships, we continue to grow our turnover and profits and distinguish ourselves from our competitors,” says Campbell.
“Those Scottish legal firms who are able to continue to invest and recruit are best placed to be successful and sustain growth. We need people who constantly strive to be the best they can be and are passionate about exceeding our clients' expectations.”
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