International law firm Pinsent Masons has promoted two Aberdeen-based lawyers to legal director and an Edinburgh colleague to partner.
The latest round of promotions saw the firm welcome 17 new partners across the globe, with senior associates Rachel Warner and Fiona Kindness taking up legal director positions at the Queens Road-based practice.
Rachel Warner specialises in upstream oil and gas projects and has a great deal of experience in the acquisition, disposal and operation of offshore assets, with recent transactions including Ithaca Energy’s $2bn acquisition of Chevron North Sea Limited and Total’s sale of a large package of North Sea assets for in excess of $600m
Rachel also advised Apache North Sea on the specialist oil and gas aspects of their sale of the SAGE System and Beryl Pipeline to Ancala Midstream, Total on the sale of its interests in the Bruce and Keith Fields to Serica Energy, and Total on the $904m sale of its UK midstream business at St Fergus to NSMP.
Fiona Kindness has a wide range of corporate finance experience, focusing on acquisitions and disposals an including MBO/MBIs, equity investments, joint venture arrangements and corporate restructuring. She spent a six month spell in Pinsent Masons’ Dubai office and her work regularly involves liaising with colleagues and clients in the Middle East, Singapore and Australia.
Fiona is also a senior tutor in corporate finance for the Diploma of Professional Legal Practice at Aberdeen University and away from work she is a competitive circuit driver, racing high performance cars including a Subaru Impreza and a MINI.
Edinburgh-based Kathryn Wynn, who is a specialist in data protection with a focus on the financial services and fintech sectors has been appointed partner. While much of her work is confidential, she has been heavily involved in helping businesses plan for Brexit and dealing with protection issues associated with Covid-19.
The promotions bring the total number of partners in the firm to 474 with female representation across the partnership reaching approximately 28%. This year almost half of those promoted are women, signalling the firm's continued progress towards a position where promotions demographics reflect the pool from which candidates are drawn.
Katharine Hardie, chair of Pinsent Masons in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “I am delighted that we are promoting three talented female lawyers who each make an important contribution to the offering we provide to clients in Scotland and to Scottish businesses working internationally.
“Both Rachel and Fiona are well established in the Aberdeen and the wider business community and have been central advisors in some of the north east’s most significant energy sector and corporate transactions in recent years.
“We are incredibly proud of the talent, skill and dedication of all of our people and as we all take stock and adjust to the challenges we face prompted by Covid-19, it's heartening to have some positive news that helps us look to the future.
“These promotions strengthen our position as a leading sector-focused, multinational legal services provider and mark an important step in our transition to become a professional services business with law at its core.
"The firm's commitment to provide its clients with innovative, solutions-based legal services is the touchstone of our business. Now, more than ever, developing talent that supports this is critical as our clients grapple with the challenges posed by coronavirus."
It was the first time that partner promotions have included staff out with traditional legal services. Hayley Boxall has been made partner in Forensic Accounting Services while director of Client Solutions David Halliwell has also been promoted to partner as the firm strengthens its capabilities as a professional services business with law at its core.
Pinsent Masons was one of the first law firms to establish an in-house forensic accounting team, offering clients a multi-disciplinary approach to disputes, consultancy services and investigations.
As the partner leading Client Solutions, David Halliwell works with a wide range of professionals across the firm to help clients transform the way they deliver legal services to their businesses, both through the firm's existing portfolio of process, resourcing and technology solutions and through collaboration to create new ones.