Shoosmiths joins Caledonian procession

National firm Shoosmiths has announced it is to merge with medium-sized Scottish law firm Archibald Campbell & Harley. This is the fourth in a series of Anglo-Scottish tie-ups announced this year.

The new business will be known in Scotland as ACH Shoosmiths, and subject to regulatory approval, will launch in the autumn. Shoosmiths has 113 partners with eight offices in England, while ACH has a single office in Edinburgh with 13 partners, with all being retained in the merger.

Shoosmiths said the move into Scotland was prompted by client demand. Chairman Andrew Tubbs said: ‘Clients have been telling us for some time that they wished we had a presence north of the border, and this is us responding to their wishes.’

He said: ‘In Archibald Campbell & Harley we’ve a perfect fit, in both business and cultural terms. We share clients and there’s crossover in practice areas, particularly real estate, retail, litigation and recoveries for lenders.

‘Opportunities will be created north and south of the border through cross-referral of both firms’ existing clients, and as a result of Shoosmiths’ ability to offer a true UK-wide service to national clients and prospects,’ he said.

ACH’s chief executive Rod Macphail said the firm had voted unanimously to merge with Shoosmiths. Macphail said: ‘We have worked with Shoosmiths for a number of years with mutual clients so this is a logical progression of an existing successful relationship.

‘There’s a real buzz of excitement and anticipation here about the merger because it enables both firms to meet client demand for multi-jurisdictional legal advice.’

Earlier this month national firm DWF announced plans to merge with Scottish firm Biggart Baillie. It followed the news that international firm Pinsent firm had merged with Scotiish firm McGrigors, while Bristol-based TLT will combine with Anderson Fyfe next month.