Kennedys' 'desire for Scotland' realised

International law firm Kennedys has launched new offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, giving it a presence across the whole of the UK.

The firm has also recruited two well-known Scottish solicitors in Frank Gill and Rory Jackson to run its new offices.

New partner Frank Gill, the principal of niche commercial litigation firm Francis Gill & Co will be joined by his team who already have strong links with Kennedys having acted with them in a number of cases for many years.

"There are many synergies between the work that my own firm specialises in and the work undertaken by Kennedys, which will allow me to continue servicing my existing client base as well as Kennedys' clients that are based in Scotland," he said.

Gill will be joined by Rory Jackson from McClure Naismith who, as well as defending liability insurance matters, insurance liability and regulatory partner, will also handle health and safety, regulatory and environmental matters.

"I am excited at the prospect of working with Rory to lead the firm's office in Scotland," said Gill." The Scottish legal market is vibrant and we look forward to working with our new colleagues to develop the firm's Scottish presence."

Commenting on the move, senior partner at Kennedys, Nick Thomas, said: "We've made no secret of our desire to be in Scotland, we already have a number of insurer clients in the country and opening up in Edinburgh and Glasgow, under the expert leadership of Frank and Rory, will further enhance how we serve our existing clients and provide us with a very strong platform for further growth, which I expect to occur rapidly."

In November 2014the firm obtained a licence from the SRA to operate under an alternative business structure (ABS) in the UK. The firm emphasised that the licence is not intended for obtaining external investment. Rather, that it is necessary to accommodate the firm's four non-solicitor partners.

The ABS licence came at a time of unprecedented growth for the firm, which reported a 10 per cent increase in turnover in 2013/14 to £128.5m, of which £98.3m came from UK activity alone.

John van der Luit-Drummond is legal reporter for Solicitors Journal