The deal brings Baird & Company partners into the firm: John McAndrew as consultant and Carolyn Bean as head of private client, who, along with their team will continue to service their portfolio of Fife clients.

To consolidate the acquisition and ensure Baird & Company keeps its identity in Fife, it will rebrand to Baird Legal. Boyd Legal’s Kirkcaldy practice will also take on the Baird Legal branding, reflecting its commitment to the area and to offer better future provisions to clients.

Diana Boyd, managing director, said: “The essence of what we are about is ensuring that we are a large enough business to have a strong management team. This is increasingly necessary for firms to cope with the complexity of money laundering and all regulatory matters.”

Baird & Company was founded in the 1960s by Donald Baird, a key pillar of the Fife community. The acquisition is a move to future-proof the business and its legacy, expanding the team and enhancing its portfolio of legal services for its existing clients, including those across Fife, for generations to come.

Ms Boyd added: “Our management team, including new operations director Shona Black, has played a critical role in the acquisition and, going forward, will enable us to strengthen the business while the legal team continues to deliver an excellent legal service.

“Smaller practices are finding it difficult to cope with carrying out legal work and at the same time managing all the regulatory issues. Increasing consolidation within the legal market is something we are certainly going to see more of. We are promising a seamless transition with the acquisition and importantly, want to reassure clients that our excellent service will continue as usual.”