A Scottish law firm has taken over another legal business headquartered in the same city.
Solicitor and estate agents Watermans said it has acquired Edinburgh legal firm Cooper Johnson Law.
The deal sees Hazel Johnson appointed as the new head of private client as Watermans builds on recent growth to expand that area of the business.
Ms Johnson and the expanded private client team will work alongside the existing well-established personal injury, dispute resolution, conveyancing and estate agency divisions at the company’s Edinburgh office in Leith. The firm also has branches in Glasgow and Dundee.
Scott Whyte, Watermans managing director, said: "We are delighted to be welcoming Hazel and the clients of Cooper Johnson to Watermans.
"In our very first discussions, it was clear that the two firms were a great fit for each other as we share very similar values and approaches on how legal services should be provided. That personal, ‘human’ approach will set us apart within the market and allow us to continue to grow in this area. I look forward to seeing the great work that we can do together.
"This move is a real win-win for both firms with Watermans benefiting from Hazel’s experience and leadership that will drive our private client department forward and Cooper Johnson’s clients benefiting from the extended range of legal services that will be on offer to them as clients of Watermans."
READ MORE:
Scottish law firm doubles headcount after takeover
Thorntons announces raft of new promotions
Law firm launches new specialised dispute resolution team
Ms Johnson said: "I am delighted to be moving forward with Watermans after 20 years working in the area of private client helping clients and their families with wills and estate planning.
"It is work I continue to enjoy and I am sure the move is the right one for me and all my existing clients and connections. I am very positive about our plans for the future which is really ‘business as usual’ but with the better support a bigger firm will offer while keeping the personal touch.
"Being ‘head’ of a department is not so important to me as being part of a team and having already spent a good bit of time around their office, I know that is what Watermans is all about."
The value of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel