Kennedys continues Scotland growth with third partner hire

11/04/2022
Lesley Allan

GLOBAL law firm Kennedys has appointed a third partner from Clyde & Co as it continues to expand its team in Scotland.

Liability expert Lesley Allan specialises in catastrophic and large loss claims and has extensive experience in fatal accident inquiries as well as data protection and freedom of information issues.  

She joins Daniela Fusi and Gavin Henderson who both moved from Clyde & Co at the beginning of this year, taking the total number of fee earners to more than 20 working across Kennedys’ two offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

As part of its growth plans, the firm also recently increased its office space in Glasgow through ‘WorkWise’ – a major workplace transformation programme designed to improve the working environments of its people across the globe. 

The team is still based in the same building, on Bothwell Street, but has taken over more floor space, from 1,145sq ft to 1,920sq ft.

Lesley, who studied law at the University of Glasgow, started her career as an in-house litigation solicitor for local authorities in Strathclyde and North Lanarkshire.

Her public sector experience includes a significant amount of work relating to historic child abuse claims.

She moved to Simpson & Marwick in 1999, which later merged with Clyde & Co where she was also a member of the firm’s operations board. 

Lesley said: “I have long admired Kennedys’ commitment to innovation as a means of responding to and anticipating the future needs of its clients.”

“It is an exciting time for the legal sector, with technology increasingly transforming the way we work, and I am delighted to join a firm such as Kennedys which is at the vanguard of that change.” 

Rory Jackson, managing partner of Kennedys in Scotland, said: “Lesley is highly respected in Scottish legal circles and myself and a number of colleagues have had the pleasure and privilege of working with her in the past.” 

“I know she will fit seamlessly into our tight-knit team and build on the already broad range of services and expertise that we are able to offer both our local and international clients.”

Nick Thomas, Kennedys’ managing partner, added: “Our presence in Scotland has gone from strength to strength since first opening there in 2015, enabling us to thrive and grow even during the challenges of the last two years.”

“Our clients value the fact that they are able to deal with someone locally but have access to experts across the world markets as and when it is required. It is that resource, along with our excellent people, on which Kennedys’ success is built and I know Lesley will be a welcome and valued addition to the team.”

Lesley’s appointment is the latest in a series of recent hires as Kennedys continues to strengthen its capabilities across its 43 global offices. 

As well as Daniela and Gavin in Scotland, the firm has recruited government building safety advisor Paul Lowe and white collar crime and investigations specialist Iskander Fernandez to its London team.  

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