Scottish legal firm reflects on successes of first full financial year incorporating its Fife operations

Leading Scottish law firm Thorntons has recorded strong financial results – reporting growth in turnover and profit across all areas of the business.

The 45 Partner firm, one of the largest full service firms in Scotland, has undergone a period of significant investment which has resulted in an impressive overall increase in turnover of 14%.

The firm has seen notable increases across many of its work types, with large upturns in business in Land and Rural, Immigration, Personal Injury, Family Law Private Client Residential Conveyancing and Estate Agency.

Staff numbers in the firm have grown from 324 to 376.

Thorntons has a network of 10 offices covering Angus, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perthshire and Fife. The footprint of the firm has grown following a number of strategic mergers and investments, most recently Watts Law of Montrose and Clarkson Hamilton of Kirkcaldy.

The continuing investment and merger integration costs have had a slight impact on short-term profitability for the firm which reported an 8% growth. The firm is confident that its commitment to continuously improving the efficiency of its operational processes and investment in service provision will ensure increased profitability in future years.

Craig Nicol, joint Managing Partner at Thorntons, said: “These results represent our commitment to invest for the long term and our clear strategy for growth across the business. I believe that our commitment to providing clients with a full service offering has ensured that our business remains strong amid challenging trading conditions.

“We merged with St Andrews, Cupar and Anstruther firms Murray Donald and Steel Eldridge Stewart in November and September 2014 so these figures represent our first full financial year incorporating our new Fife operations.

”We are continuing to expand our footprint and develop all our office locations, in particular Fife and Edinburgh. At this time, we are confident we have a stable base from which to grow in the short and medium term.”

Thorntons has also had a hugely successful 12 months receiving a number of awards, recommendations and recognitions in top Scottish business and UK-wide trade polls.

It was awarded the title of Scotland’s Best Employer in September 2016 and is one of the top 100 firms in the UK as listed by The Lawyer. It has been shortlisted for the Scott + Co Scottish Law Firm of the Year.

The outstanding level of expertise at Thorntons was also recognised in its rankings in the latest edition of industry bibles, Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Both directories are compiled using client feedback and Thorntons achieved its best ever performance in both publications.