A Scots law firm with offices in Aberdeen and Inverness said it enjoyed its strongest performance in eight years but was concerned about a legal skills shortage becoming “acute”.
Ledingham Chalmers paid out £131,000 to staff as part of the profit-related pay scheme after turnover increased by 18% to £11.6million for the year 2013/14.
The firm, which has offices in Aberdeen, Inverness, Stirling and Edinburgh, said the figures represented a “record financial year”, the best since becoming a limited liability partnership in 2006 and reflected a busy year across all parts of the business including private client, rural, corporate and litigation, it said.
Jennifer Young, chairman of Ledingham Chalmers, said she was “delighted” with the firm’s growth but said the firm was concerned about its ability to bring in enough talent after hiring five new partners last year.
She said: “Skills shortages within the profession remain a concern, particularly with the opportunities that are open to the next generation of lawyers to diversify within the private sector. “This is not new in the Aberdeen market, but is perhaps more acute at the present time, as the demand for talent grows.
“It is our view that corporate, litigation and private client services will continue to grow throughout 2014 and into 2015. In Aberdeen particularly, the commercial market is showing no signs of slowing.”
Results for the group including its subsidiary Golden Square Wealth Management saw turnover rise 15% to £12.4million.
Group costs also rose to £7.7million, a £500,000 increase from the previous year. The firm said that was mainly due to personnel costs, including the £131,000 for the profit-related pay scheme.