Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has promoted six Scottish-based lawyers to Partner in a 23-strong promotion round, while three senior associates in Scotland have been promoted to Legal Director.
Aberdeen-based employment law specialist Claire Scott, who supports the firm’s extensive portfolio of international energy sector clients, has been promoted to Partner, while banking colleague Shonagh Brown, also based at the firm’s Queen’s Road office, has been promoted to Legal Director.
Claire joined Pinsent Masons in 2019 as a Legal Director and is well respected in the north east as a leading advisor to international energy clients, with expertise in complex strategic projects, offshore working, employment litigation and the future world of work.
The promotions, effective as of May 1, strengthen the firm’s partnership outside of traditional legal services and underscore its strategic aim to build a purpose-led, professional services business with law at the core.
Glasgow-based Geraldine Kelm, head of account management for Vario Flexible Services in UK and Asia Pacific, has bolstered senior ranks in the firm’s Vario group and promoted to Partner, while Advanced Delivery Team (ADT) specialist, Hugo Cassidy, has been promoted as the firm strengthens its bespoke innovative tech-backed client solutions.
Christina Bowyer, Head of Pinsent Masons Pensions Services, has made partner leading the team in supporting businesses on critical pensions matters such as large-scale pensions and benefit arrangements and acting as an independent trustee.
The remaining partners span the firm’s core sectors – energy, infrastructure, financial services, technology science and industry and real estate – with those promoted based across the Middle Eastern, European, South African and Australian network.
Four Glasgow-based lawyers are included in the promotions round – Katherine Metcalfe (Health and Safety, Real Estate), Cameron McCulloch (Financial Services), David Ross (Energy and Infrastructure) and Brian Thumath (Energy), while Aberdeen based employment specialist Claire Scott also moves up from Legal Director to Partner supporting the firm’s Energy clients.
Senior associates in each of the firm’s three Scottish offices have been promoted to Legal Director - Shonagh Brown (Banking, Aberdeen), Sarah Munro (Employment, Edinburgh) and Fiona Rossetter (Construction Advisory and Disputes, Glasgow).
Senior Partner at Pinsent Masons, Richard Foley, said: “The provision of legal services has evolved beyond black letter law, and we’ve seen the benefit of combining stellar legal expertise with innovative, creative client-led solutions from across a broad suite of industries. Pinsent Masons has been at the forefront of this evolution and I’m proud to see that our 2022 cohort of new partners specialise in a range of legal and professional expertise from across our multinational network.”
Katharine Hardie, Pinsent Masons Chair of Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “The talent amongst our newly promoted colleagues this year is, once again, fantastic. The diversity of experience across sectors, and legal disciplines combined with broader professional expertise will enable us to continue to grow our business and redefine how we collaborate with and service our clients.”
The full list of those promoted to partner is as follows:
Richard Bartle – Real Estate (UK)
Clea Bigelow-Nuttall - International Arbitration, Energy & Infrastructure (UK)
Seema Bono – International Arbitration, Technology, Science & Industry (Dubai)
Christina Bowyer – Pinsent Masons Pensions Services (UK)
Hugo Cassidy – Advanced Delivery Team (UK)
Daniel Gardiner – International Arbitration, Energy (UK)
Kate Hardwidge – Financial Services (UK)
Alexis Hayworth – Financial Services (UK)
Geraldine Kelm – Pinsent Masons Vario (UK)
Thomas King – International Arbitration, Energy & Infrastructure (Johannesburg)
Sunjay Malhotra – Technology, Science & Industry (UK)
Mark Marfé - Technology, Science & Industry (UK)
Katherine Metcalfe – Health and Safety/Real Estate (UK)
Mhairi Morrison – Financial Services (UK)
Tom Nener - Technology, Science & Industry (UK)
Florian Quintard – International Arbitration, Energy & Infrastructure (France)
David Ross – Energy & Infrastructure (UK)
Louise Santos – Energy & Infrastructure (Australia)
Claire Scott – Energy (UK) Aberdeen
Gemma Thomas – Energy & Infrastructure (Australia)
Brian Thumath – Energy (UK)
Valerian von Richthofen- - Energy (Germany)