Neil Robb, partner and head of commercial real estate, has been appointed chairman of Blackadders LLP.
Neil will take up his role and join the board in August. At the same time, Simon Allison, the head of the employment team, is stepping down from the board after serving a three-year term.
Neil said: “This is a great honour and I’m delighted to be joining the board and working with the team to continue to grow the firm and achieve our ambitions.
“This role will enable me to help connect the firm across Scotland and work with clients and partners to showcase the full range of services we offer. We are determined that Blackadders will always be a great place to work and a lawyer of choice and I’m looking forward to playing my part in ensuring we continue to deliver on our goals.”
Neil will join joint managing partners Emma Gray and Ryan McKay, Kirk Dailly, head of business services, and Laura McDowall, head of private client, on the board.
Emma Gray said: “We are delighted that Neil has been appointed as chairman - he will be a fantastic addition to the board. He brings a clear understanding of our strategic vision, a strong commitment to driving it forward and is well-known and respected both within the firm and in the wider profession.”
Left to right: Ryan McKay, Neil Robb, Emma Gray
Neil graduated from Aberdeen University in 1990 and trained and worked in Aberdeen before being a founding partner in the late 1990s of Plenderleath Runcie LLP, a boutique firm focusing on property, business and private client law. Neil focussed primarily on property and business law.
After 20 successful years, Plenderleath Runcie merged with Blackadders in 2019 and Neil became a partner in the Commercial Real Estate department latterly becoming the department head.
Emma and Ryan took over in the summer of 2022 and set out on a path to reposition the firm and grow operations across Scotland. Their aims were set out in the firm’s 5 by 25 strategy which set ambitious targets for growth.
Blackadders is now in the final year of that strategy with the five initiatives the firm is aiming to achieve by the end of the 2025/26 financial year being:
- Increase turnover to £25 million
- Achieve a profit margin of 35%
- Be regarded as an employer of choice in the industry
- Act as a destination lawyer for clients
- Ensure Blackadders LLP is regarded alongside the top five Scottish law firms.
Blackadders reported growth in turnover and profit in its latest accounts and expect to report further growth for the financial year ending 31 March 2025.
While the focus will be on completing the current strategy, the Board of Blackadders is already setting its sights on the next five years and beyond.
Blackadders has been shortlisted as a finalist in three categories of the Scottish Legal Awards 2025 including Firm of the Year (under 250 employees). The firm is also shortlisted for Legal Technology & Support Team of the Year and the Private Client team has been shortlisted in the Family or Private Client Team of the Year category.