Lewis Silkin is opening in Scotland with the arrival of a three-lawyer team to expand its employment law offering across the UK and Ireland.
The incoming lawyers will be based in Glasgow and include Carolyn Miller, who joins as a partner from independent employment law consultancy Fish To Water and will head up the new office; Gillian Ross, who joins as a legal director from Pinsent Masons; and Alasdair McCrone, who joins as a senior associate from Addleshaw Goddard.
Miller specialises in issues such as discrimination, regularly representing claimants and respondents in employment tribunals. Ross brings employment law experience across a range of contentious and non-contentious matters, while McCrone’s practice covers HR and employee relations issues.
Richard Miskella, Lewis Silkin’s joint managing partner, said: “Entering the Scotland market has been a long-term growth objective for us, so today is a really exciting milestone. We’re focused on being where our clients need us, and have taken a considered and strategic approach to expansion which began back in 2004 when we opened our first regional office in Oxford.”
The firm said its Glasgow team will initially advise on all aspects of employment and business immigration law not classified as Scottish reserved legal activities, with such work regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales.
Miller arrives after more than a decade at Fish To Water, having previously been a partner at legacy firm MacRoberts (now Morton Fraser MacRoberts) and at Pinsent Masons, where she was a legal director.
Ross joins after more than 13 years at Pinsent Masons, where she became a senior associate in 2015. Prior to that she was a senior solicitor at McGrigors, which merged with Pinsent Masons in 2012.
McCrone arrives after just under a year at Addleshaw, having previously been an associate at Pinsent Masons, where he trained.
Miller said: “For over 20 years I have worked with businesses, individuals and employers in Glasgow and UK wide and I understand and appreciate the dynamic and entrepreneurial nature of my clients… Opening in Glasgow will enable us to build on the firm’s position as one of the most well-respected advisors in the employment field while bringing a fresh perspective to employment law in Scotland.”
Lewis Silkin’s Scotland expansion follows a similar move from top 50 UK national firm Freeths in 2023, which launched in Glasgow with the arrival of a two-partner real estate team from Addleshaw Goddard.
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