The three biggest Scottish firms have now unveiled their financial results for 2025-26, with Brodies holding onto its considerable lead as the highest-grossing firm in Scotland.
Brodies posted double-digit revenue growth for the second year in a row, up 11% to £138.8m, from £125.3m in last year’s results.
The results exclude Brodies Middle East LLP, which closed in January 2026 after a four-lawyer energy team moved to Clyde & Co in Abu Dhabi in July. The firm’s consolidated revenue last year was £126.7m, meaning that this year’s results equate to a 9.5% increase on a firmwide basis.
The firm’s profit per equity partner (PEP) also grew, up 5% to £930,000. Operating profit, meanwhile, was up nearly 10%, hitting £54.8m from £50m last year.
Brodies managing partner Stephen Goldie (pictured) said of the results: ‘The progress we continue to make is always aligned to that of our clients who demonstrate ambition and resilience every day. We thank them for trusting us to deliver the services they need.’
He continued: ‘Our colleagues remain at the heart of our firm, each one contributing to our progress and for which we give our thanks.’
Also contributing to the firm’s growth, Goldie noted, has been its investment in talent and expansion, as Brodies increased its equity partner headcount by one over the last year, and its total lawyer headcount by 7%, to 944.
The firm opened its Leeds office last December with the hire of construction partner Bill Barton. Brodies also increased its office space in Glasgow, and made three additional lateral hires, including criminal defence partner Neil Hay and disputes partner Graeme MacLeod in Edinburgh, and oil and gas partner Andy Russell in Aberdeen.
Goldie said: ‘Investing in more space in our Glasgow office and opening in Leeds underlines our commitment to Scotland and servicing our UK clients. Technology remains high on our agenda as we continue to introduce tools and explore the benefits of AI. The firm recognises that the expertise of our people blended with AI tools is what many of our clients expect.’
‘As we look ahead, our priority is to stay close to our clients to help them navigate the factors that influence their lives, businesses and organisations,’ he concluded.
Brodies’ corporate practice has been a key driver of its growth in the last year where the firm has worked on\ a number of deals across multiple industry groups, including advising industry tech investment firm Accel-KKR on a number of HR technology acquisitions across the Nordics.
The results mean that Brodies has more than doubled its turnover since 2016, when it posted £65m. This nearly 114% increase exceeds that of its closest competitors, with Burness Paull growing 97% in the same period, and Shepherd and Wedderburn growing 57%.
However, Burness Paull grew slightly faster in its most recent financial year, with a 12% increase taking its turnover to £105.2m – passing the £100m mark for the first time.
Burness Paull also increased its PEP by nearly 26%, to £851,000, albeit on the back of a 5.6% dip the previous year, as recorded in the 2025 LB100.
The third largest firm in Scotland, Shepherd and Wedderburn, has also released its financial results, posting a revenue increase of just over 6%, to £83.1m.
The firm’s net profit also grew by 2% to hit £36.7m – a slowdown from the 20% increase the firm notched in its previous financial year.
PEP, meanwhile, dipped 3.4%, to £635,000, as the firm increased its number of equity partners in the last year.
Outside of profitability metrics, Shepherd and Wedderburn has invested in its partnership, promoting five lawyers to partner and hiring English real estate partner Marcus Wright from Gateley in London, and corporate finance partner Donald Smith, who joined the firm in Edinburgh from animal health company Argenta, where he spent two years as general counsel.
The firm also appointed a new managing partner, Andy Hall, who is a Shepherd and Wedderburn lifer, and started in his position on 1 May.
In a statement, Hall said of the results: ‘This sustained performance reflects the strength of our client relationships, the quality of our work, the commitment of our people, and our continued focus on delivering high-quality service and value for clients across our core sectors.’
