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Seventh term for Drummond at the helm of Brodies as Scots indy continues its emphatic form

Brodies has re-elected both its chair Christine O’Neill (pictured) and managing partner Bill Drummond to another term in each role.

The Scottish firm’s partnership unanimously re-elected O’Neill to serve a second consecutive term as its chair having first been elected to the position in 2013.

Litigator O’Neill will continue to work closely with Drummond who has been re-assigned as managing partner for the seventh consecutive three-year term, in what is one of the UK’s longest-serving managing partner roles.

Drummond was first elected in 1998 and has served the firm for 35 years. As the firm’s head, he takes on strategic development, hands-on management and the job of bringing greater transparency to professional development across the firm.

The firm was in growth mode last year and in November took its private equity offering up a notch by hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Karen Fountain as part of a double hire into its corporate group. Alongside Fountain, Brodies recruited CMS Cameron McKenna partner Douglas Crawford, who starts in May.

This came after the firm hired a 15-strong family law team including its head from rival firm Simpson & Marwick in May.

It wasn’t a bad year in terms of financials either, after the firm turned in a strong financial performance, reporting a double-digit growth in both revenue and profits per equity partner (PEP) in its audited accounts for the 2014/15 financial year. Gross revenues rose 11% at the firm to £57.9m for the 2014/15 financial year from £52.1m in the previous year, while PEP jumped 12% to £532,000, up from £474,000 the previous year.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk