Burness Paull LLP - offering law advice from Scotland

Burness Paull LLP is a full-service, independent commercial law firm in Scotland.

We spoke to Peter Lawson, chairman of Burness Paul LLP, Scottish Law firm about the attractions of doing business in Scotland.

What does your company do?

"We are a diverse and high-performing team of lawyers. We bring together originality in our thinking and problem solving. We all choose to work incredibly hard and we encourage our teams to work creatively and collaboratively across our client services.

From our headquarters in Scotland, we can deliver legal support for clients anywhere – in Scotland, the UK, and internationally."
 

Clients tell us they love Scotland! And our clients are right: outside of London, no other UK region attracts more foreign direct investment projects.​

Tell us about your company's client base and your presence in the UK.

"We have offices in Scotland’s three largest cities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow) and we are deeply resourced (73 partners, over 540 people) in every sector important to our clients. At any one time, our teams are at different parts of the UK working with clients in many sectors, including: financial services, energy, technology, property & infrastructure, food & drink.

We are proud to share our clients’ journey, their ups and downs, growing with them and having fun along the way. Clients want, and from us they get, the very best legal advice - but they also want that advice delivered by people with their feet on the ground who understand the context in which their recommendations are being applied."

Is it important to be based in these cities to serve these clients?

"The important thing is being wherever our clients need us, working in partnership with them. Our teams are regularly in London and other parts of the UK. What's more, a great number of our lawyers are Scottish & English qualified and bring City of London Magic and Silver Circle experience. We provide clients with City quality from our headquarters in Scotland. 

Moreover, we have always had a ‘beyond Scotland’ perspective. We have a Scottish heart with a global mind."
 

The important thing is being wherever our clients need us, working in partnership with them. Our teams are regularly in London and several other parts of the UK.

What are the attractions of doing business in Scotland?

"Clients tell us they love Scotland! They tell us about the lower operating costs (40% lower than London), the skilled workforce, strong work ethic, the rich culture and the great lifestyle. And our clients are right: outside of London, no other UK region attracts more foreign direct investment projects. 

Local expertise is vital, as the law in Scotland differs significantly from other jurisdictions. Burness Paull is passionate about helping businesses investing in Scotland to have the best start and can guide them through the legal and regulatory landscape."

What are your company's expansion plans?

"Our expansion plans are made by listening to our clients and their expansion plans. We listen, reorganise and refocus. The latest iteration of listening and growing with our clients is an ambitious three-year growth strategy.

Over the past 12 months clients have trusted us with an increase in instructions across most sectors, with energy, technology and international business the key drivers.

The success of the firm’s international drive has been underlined by the growing number of mandates from outside the UK, which has helped the firm win a 30% increase in international instructions over the past year."