Solicitor and estate agent to merge with Scottish firm
LERWICK based solicitor and estate agent Neil Risk has announced a merger with Scottish legal firm Anderson Strathern.
Anderson Strathern has an existing client base in Shetland, as well as across the north of Scotland.
The business has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and East Lothian and it employs over 200 people.
Neil Risk will become a partner at the company and be head of the firm’s new Shetland office, with plans to expand the team in Lerwick over the next twelve months.
The merger will take place on 1 April and it will see all of Risk’s staff transition to Anderson Strathern.
He said: “We’ve worked well with Anderson Strathern over the last couple of years, including via referrals, and when the opportunity to join the firm came up we were convinced by the strategic rationale for a merger.
“Anderson Strathern’s various practices strengthen our offering to clients in Shetland and across the region, and we are also now actively looking to recruit in Lerwick over the next year.”
Risk’s existing client base includes private customers, families, landowners and SMEs, with practice areas focused on residential property, private client, commercial property, crofting and other work related to commercial business clients.
Anderson Strathern’s managing partner Murray McCall said: “Neil has established and grown a highly-rated team operating out of Lerwick and our combined offering means we will be able to offer a broader range of legal, asset management and HR services in Shetland and the local region.
“There are strategic reasons for expanding our footprint in Scotland. A northern Scottish presence supports our strategic objective to be the independent Scottish law firm of choice. Strengthening links in the north of Scotland, and the island communities in particular, will be much easier with an office and local presence in the region.”
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Risk said he started his own firm with one secretary 26 yeas ago – “a secretary who is still with the firm and is now a senior member of the team”.
“Two decades on, the team has grown to eight, many of whom have been with the firm for a substantial amount of time,” he continued.
“That means we have been able to offer our clients a high quality service down the years, and we’re proud to have so many longstanding and loyal clients.
“Shetland, in common with other communities throughout Scotland, has shown resilience through the pandemic and the expectation is that we can now look forward to a brighter future for the local economy.”
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