Shepherd and Wedderburn appoints Aberdeen consultant

Shepherd and Wedderburn has announced the appointment of Charles Scott as a consultant to its Aberdeen office.

Mr Scott, formerly senior partner at specialist shipping practice Mackinnons, is well known in business circles in the north east, where he has been a commercial lawyer for the last 38 years.

His commercial practice in Aberdeen, one of the UK’s busiest ports, has focussed on harbour law and shipping, including ship purchases and sales, financing, chartering and shipbuilding contracts.

Mr Scott’s hire follows that of fellow Aberdonian, John Rutherford, who joined the firm’s corporate and commercial practice in Aberdeen in April.

Stephen Gibb, chief executive at Shepherd and Wedderburn, said: “Our corporate practice, which acted on deals with a value of £5.4 billion in 2015/16, routinely assembles multi-disciplinary teams of experts capable of interrogating and dealing with every aspect and eventuality of a deal.

“So the appointment of Charles was made not only to capitalise on his broad commercial acumen and strong links with the north east, but with a view to introducing new expertise and a cross fertilisation of ideas in the more niche area of shipping, an area which dovetails nicely with our Energy and Natural Resources practice.

“We have a thriving private client and rural practice which has gone from strength to strength, and Charles’ expertise here provides a further benefit to the firm in areas such as succession planning, estates, trusts, wills and taxation.”

Mr Scott added: “I am excited to be part of Shepherd and Wedderburn, and look forward to being part of the firm’s success story by serving old and new clients in the region.”