Brodies LLP

Top 50 UK law firm Brodies LLP is the largest law firm headquartered in Scotland measured by income, directory rankings, and lawyer numbers.

Our approach to business today is influenced by our history, which dates back nearly 300 years to the time of the Scottish Enlightenment. That approach recognises the individual knowledge and expertise of our colleagues and the Enlightened Thinking that they deliver. That thought has a reach extending to all corners of the Scottish economy, and globally.

With more than 100 partners and nearly 800 colleagues working across offices in Aberdeen, Brussels, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and London, we work with our clients in the following core business areas: arbitration; banking and financial services; employment; energy (renewables and oil & gas); litigation; M&A, private equity and IP; real estate; pensions and benefits; personal and family and tax.

Brodies opened its first international arm in the UAE in 2023, with the launch of Abu Dhabi-based Brodies Middle East LLP.

Main areas of practice
Corporate and commercial:: The team advises corporates, public bodies and business owners and has exceptional credentials across a broad range of specialisms – private equity; general M&A; cross-border transactions; regulation and government work; investment funds; public/private partnerships, projects and construction; IP, IT and outsourcing; corporate tax; employment and immigration; employee benefits and pensions.  Additionally, there are specialists within the team who focus on the energy sector.

Banking and finance: Advising organisations across Scotland, the UK and internationally, the team has significant in-house experience with large financial institutions, and deals with complex and high value transactions, new product development, legal risk management and regulatory compliance. The team has particular expertise in renewables and other energy financing, including oil & gas; shipping finance; securitisation and capital markets; funds financing; re-banking; insolvency and restructuring; corporate borrowing; green finance; asset finance; portfolio sales and purchases; and social housing and care home transactions. Clients include UK and international financial institutions, alternative lenders, funds and corporates operating in all sectors from renewable energy and healthcare to food & drink and real estate.

Real estate: Brodies has the largest and most diversified real estate legal team in Scotland, with specialists who operate in every sector of the property market. Expertise includes investment, development and finance; commercial, residential and mixed-use development; out-of-town and high-street retail; leisure; hotels; licensing; land and rural business; land diversification; urban regeneration and construction; outsourcing projects; planning and property litigation.

Litigation and dispute resolution: The firm has one of Scotland's largest litigation practices. This includes ten solicitor advocates, who appear regularly in the court of session and sheriff courts throughout Scotland. Specialisms include commercial and contractual disputes; health and safety; compliance; insurance; professional negligence; clinical negligence; professional discipline and regulation; risk management; intellectual property and IT disputes; property litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including adjudication, mediation, international arbitration and expert witness. In addition, Brodies has a wealth of expertise in public law and regulation (with extensive experience of parliamentary, local authority, freedom of information and human rights issues), enhanced by expertise in competition law.

Private client/personal and family: The firm’s private client and family team is known for its core work in estate planning; wills; trusts; tax; divorce; child law; asset protection; charities and executries, in multi-jurisdictional areas, as well as for developing a variety of trust solutions.  Additionally, three of our private client lawyers are dual-qualified in Scots law and the law of England of Wales which allow them to advise clients with cross-border interests in matters of wills and estate planning, powers of attorney, probate and estate administration, trusts and succession planning.The firm's family practice includes 26 accreditations across the team, including 9 family law mediators, 12 family law specialists, 5 child law specialists, 2 solicitor advocates, and a family law arbitrator.