Two Scottish law firms merge to create 46-partner legal business

The deal sees smaller practice Davidson Chalmers Stewart join forces with larger peer Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie (WJM). Davidson Chalmers Stewart has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Galashiels. The acquisition tie-up will see the firm’s 70-plus staff transfer across to WJM, strengthening key business areas including corporate, property and commercial dispute resolution while “enhancing provision for clients”.

The combined firm will operate under the Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie brand from summer 2025 and will have more than 200 people including 46 partners working across five locations - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Dunblane and Galashiels - supported by the wider Irwin Mitchell team in Scotland, England and Wales. The move follows investment in WJM from Irwin Mitchell and is seen as a major step in its strategic plan for growth north of the Border.

Fraser Gillies, managing partner of WJM, said: “This deal adds significant strength to our corporate, real estate and commercial dispute resolution teams as well as bolstering our renewables expertise which is a key area for our business. We’ve long admired Davidson Chalmers Stewart’s business and the reputation it has built in similar markets to those in which we operate and culturally our firms are a great fit. We are looking forward to working alongside the new team to offer an even stronger service to our clients across key services and sectors.”

Andrew Chalmers, chair of Davidson Chalmers Stewart, said: “Our specialist expertise is sought after by Scottish businesses, and joining Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie and the wider Irwin Mitchell Group will now allow us to offer enhanced service lines for our valued clients.

“Our core values of excellence, loyalty, respect, initiative, and integrity are at the heart of everything we do so it was essential to us that we joined forces with a firm that was the perfect fit, sharing our culture and values as well as offering complementary areas of expertise.”

Mark Higgins, chair of WJM, and managing partner of Irwin Mitchell Scotland, added: “Irwin Mitchell began its expansion programme in Scotland by completing a deal to invest in WJM in January last year, and has grown its Scottish team with several new recruits across the year. This latest deal marks a significant milestone in our combined growth journey and we are looking forward to further increasing our market share across a full suite of legal services in Scotland and helping even more clients across the country.”