Mr Kirchin succeeds Malcolm McPherson who has retired from the partnership, but remains with the business as a consultant.

He started his career with AG legacy firm HBJ as a trainee, joining BP’s upstream business in Aberdeen as a legal counsel before returning to the firm as a partner in 2002. He has led the corporate team in Scotland since 2012 and, in his new role, will also sit on the board of Addleshaw Goddard which has 12 offices worldwide in Asia, the GCC, Germany, and the UK.

John Joyce, Addleshaw Goddard managing partner, said: “David is one of our best-connected partners, excellent at building strong relationships with clients and enthusiastic about growing AGs brand in Scotland and so he is absolutely the ideal person to lead, encourage and ensure that we continue to expand our business in this key market.”

He added: “Malcolm has enjoyed a long and incredibly varied and successful career leading HBJ through five mergers, the last one being the one which brought the firm to AG in 2017. He has our thanks for the important contribution he has made as senior partner for Scotland and as a board member and for leading our Scottish business since the merger. We are delighted that Malcolm will continue to provide an invaluable resource in helping build relationships and support clients and people within the firm.”

Mr Kirchin said: “I am delighted to succeed Malcolm in this role and am proud to have been a part of all that has been achieved in our business in Scotland. Our business has grown and developed significantly across the practice areas and sectors in which we operate.

“While much has changed, our commitment to the success of our teams, our clients and the markets in which we operate will be unwavering. We have a continued plan to invest in our business in Scotland and so I look to the future with a real ambition to continue that growth and development.

“I also want to thank my colleagues for their impressive efforts through this period of health and economic challenge, they have shown true professionalism in their resilience and ability to adapt in supporting our clients.”