Possessing a team of ‘highly commercial and pragmatic lawyers’ who are ’real catalysts to delivering successful deals’, Addleshaw Goddard has consolidated its strong position in the Scottish market through the hire of former Dentons duo Derek McCombe and Iain Sutherland towards the close of 2023, who bring established expertise in M&A, private equity, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. The pair join the practice, which is renowned for its leading private equity and capital markets offering, as well as its broad sector focus that includes a significant volume of healthcare, tech, food and drink, and energy mandates. David Anderson leads the team and is well placed to advise on an array of cross-border instructions, especially in the tech and fintech space. Murray Jack‘s practice straddles M&A and private equity and sees a steady stream of instructions from investors engaging with the pharma sector. ’Stand-out partner‘ Laura Falls chiefly focuses on private equity deals, while David Kirchin has recently been active on retail, consumer and financial services transactions. Anna Brown handles PE investments, secondary placings, and joint venture agreements, and Andrew Ley is noted for his work in the food and drink and energy sectors. Sarah Dick is ’a fantastic lawyer who continually delivers ahead of expectations’. Maeve Wright and Kevin Beattie are also recommended for their support on a range of deals.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Highly commercial and pragmatic lawyers who look to build excellent relationships with other parties on deals which is a massive strength of the AG team and a real catalyst to delivering successful deals.’

  • ‘Laura Falls is a stand-out partner in AG's Edinburgh team - highly respected lawyer who is extremely commercial and constantly builds excellent relationships with all parties on deals. Sarah Dick, managing associate in AG's Edinburgh team, is a fantastic lawyer who continually delivers ahead of expectations and is also a very strong relationship builder.’

  • ‘A very commercially focused team with the clients desired outcomes front of mind, they are able to be creative when it comes to addressing an unusual scenario or requirement and are really user friendly.'

  • 'David Anderson's leadership shines through with client service focus in everything that they do.'
  • 'The depth of the practice across the three largest cities in Scotland means they have the bandwidth, capability and experience to deliver whatever the deal.'
  • 'The technology lens they can apply to corporate transactions is second to none in Scotland.'
  • 'Associate Maeve Wright is a brilliant up and coming lawyer.'
  • 'They embrace legal technologies to drive efficiencies, improve collaboration resulting in better outcomes.'

Key clients

  • Lloyds Pharmacy
  • NextWind Capital
  • Orkla
  • The City Pub Group plc
  • NXD Holdings Limited
  • The Shareholders of Envevo
  • Bridge Bidco
  • BGF
  • Brickability
  • Pioneer Bidco
  • Par
  • FireFish Software
  • GENinCode plc
  • XERGY
  • Intuitive Investment Group PLC

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Derek McCombe
Addleshaw Goddard

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

David Anderson

Other key lawyers

Murray Jack, Laura Falls, David Kirchin, Anna Brown, Andrew Ley, Sarah Dick, Maeve Wright, Kevin Beattie, Derek McCombe, Iain Sutherland