Brodies

Brodies LLP

Going above and beyond
Type	Limited liability partnership
Industry	Law
Headquarters	Edinburgh (HQ), Glasgow, Aberdeen and Brussels
Area served	Scotland and UK
Services	Legal advice
Revenue	£57.94m (2015)
Number of employees	92 partners
Website	www.brodies.com

Brodies LLP is Scotland's largest law firm.^[1] Its lawyers support Scottish, UK and global organisations in and from Scotland.

The firm offers legal advice to private and public sector clients both in the UK and internationally in its core business areas of corporate and commercial; energy (both renewables and oil & gas); real estate; litigation and dispute resolution; banking and financial services; employment, pensions and benefits, trust and tax, and personal and family.

Brodies' clients include multinational corporations, small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs, business people and individuals from all backgrounds who are active in almost every sector of the Scottish economy.

Financial Performance

In July 2015, Brodies reported that the successful completion of the first year of its 2014/17 strategic plan led to an 11.2% increase in turnover to £57.94 million in the 12 months to 30 April 2015.^[2]

During the past financial year the firm continued to develop client services across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, increasing costs by 8.8% to £30.9 million, leading to a 14.2% increase in profits before partner distributions to £27.1 million. Cash balances increased by 52.6% to £14.85 million.

2015 marked the fifth consecutive year of revenue and profit growth for Brodies. Over the past decade, the firm’s investment-led organic growth strategy has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

Investment activity included opening a new purpose-built office in Aberdeen to accommodate Brodies’ growing 70-strong team; recruiting lawyers regarded as leaders in their fields; internal promotions to enhance the delivery of key services; and sustained investment in IT and technology. Later this year Brodies’ teams in Glasgow will move into a new office at 110 Queen Street, further enhancing client facilities.

In 2014/15, the total number of lawyers and staff at Brodies grew 7% from 564 to 603, taking the firm’s headcount above 600 for the first time.

Over the same period, the number of partners rose from 80 to 82 and the number of other lawyers and professional advisers from 268 to 293; an increase of 9.3%.

Legal Rankings

Brodies is home to many solicitors regarded as leaders in their field and has more lawyers ranked as leading individuals in the independent legal directories Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners than any other firm in Scotland. In total, Brodies has 32 top tier practice area rankings in the current editions of the leading independent legal directories, including:

Awards

The achievements of Brodies and its partners have been recognised with numerous independent awards in recent years. These include:

UK Law Firm of the Year 2014, British Legal Awards ^[5]

UK National/Regional Law Firm of the Year 2015, Legal Business Awards^[6]

Scottish Law Firm of the Year 2014, Legal 500 Awards ^[7]

Legal Advisor of the Year 2014, Business Insider Deals & Dealmakers Awards ^[8]

Scotland Law Firm of the Year 2015, Who’s Who Legal Awards^[9] - the fourth consecutive time the firm has gained this recognition.

Partner of the Year, Business Stream Annual Awards^[10] in recognition of its lawyers’ “hands-on support”, “enthusiasm” and “willingness to go the extra mile”.

Bill Drummond, Managing Partner of Brodies, was named Managing Partner of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2014.^[11]

Bill Drummond was also named an EY Scotland Entrepreneur of the Year, 2014, and UK Management Partner of the Year at the Legal Business Awards, 2013.

Brodies’ intellectual property team was named Scotland IP Firm of the Year at the Managing Intellectual Property Global Awards in 2014^[12] and 2015.^[13] In 2015 the team also achieved a ‘Gold’ ranking in World Trademark Review’s global list of the 1,000 leading trademark professionals for the second consecutive year.

Offices

Brodies has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Brussels. Brodies is the only Scottish law firm to have an office in Brussels.^[14]

Information Security

Brodies became one of the first UK law firms to achieve certification to the 2013 version of ISO 27001 for its information security management system, implementing global best practice to safeguard information throughout the firm.^[15] ISO 27001 is regarded as the benchmark for information security management. The latest version of the standard has been updated to take account of changes in technology and risks in recent years.

Brodies sought ISO certification in response to growing demand among businesses for professional advisers to put in place robust information security regimes to safeguard commercially sensitive data in all forms and protect them from the financial and reputational damage that a data breach can cause.

In 2015 Brodies also achieved the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, a new Government-backed and industry supported scheme to guide businesses in protecting themselves against cyber threats.^[16]

Services

Brodies has practice areas in:^[17] Alternative Dispute Resolution; Banking, Finance & Contentious Banking; Construction & Engineering; Corporate; Dispute Resolution & Litigation; Employment, Pensions & Benefits; Energy & Infrastructure; Health & Safety; Insurance & Risk; IP, Technology & Outsourcing; Personal & Family; Personal Injury; Planning & Environment; Public Law, Regulatory and Competition; Real Estate; Restructuring & Insolvency and Tax.

Brodies runs the largest free seminar programme of any Scottish law firm and provides regular legal updates to its clients via email and social media.^[18]

PRIME Initiative

Brodies is a founding member of PRIME,^[19] a pioneering initiative by the UK's leading law firms to encourage greater diversity in the legal profession by offering quality work experience and continuing support to young people from less privileged backgrounds.

Brodies is committed each year to offering students aged 13–17 the opportunity to take part in a structured work experience programme that is coordinated and delivered by Brodies staff representing departments across their business. Brodies’ target is to offer places to 30 students each year across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

The programme delivers a minimum of 30–35 hours of work experience and is designed to give the young people involved an insight into all aspects of the business, not just law but also professional support services, such as IT, Finance, HR and Marketing.^[20]

Brodies continues to develop its relationship with Wester Hailes Education Centre, Edinburgh and Drumchapel High School, Glasgow and is expanding its PRIME programme to Aberdeen. Brodies’ target is to offer places to 30 students each year across its offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen

External links

• Brodies Website
• Brodies Twitter Page
• Brodies LLP Legal 500 Profile
• Brodies LLP Chambers Profile
• BFamily - Brodies' Family Law Website

References