Harper Macleod is a leading independent Scottish law firm with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Lerwick and Thurso, offering a full range of commercial and personal legal services across Scotland, the UK and further afield. At Harper Macleod, it's all about you, not us. We put your needs at the heart of everything we do. We believe that your success determines our success and because no two clients are the same to us, we'll work harder than anyone else to understand your needs and objectives. You need problem solvers and advisers, not just lawyers. Our inquisitive nature means you can be sure we'll get under the skin of your business or personal related matter and provide you with an effective solution. It's this drive that sets us apart and delivers a better outcome for you or your organisation.
The rankings below show the areas of expertise that Harper Macleod LLP offers to clients. You can see how good the service offered is in comparison to all other law firms nationally.
Data shown above is based on the reviews and client feedback collected by ReviewSolicitors over the last 12 months.
Most expensive excel spreadsheet I’ve had the misfortune to encounter. The free sweets, crayons and logo’d tat in reception comes at a price.
Good link sales (wills and conveyancing) - must have been the easiest case his opposite number has had. His first divorce case and it showed.
Without an inheritance I would be homeless thanks to this shoddy outfit.
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I always felt the service I was provided with was very professional.
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Satisfied with outcome.
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Jenni Hear was helpful and provided a very efficient service.
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Jenny Smith was very on hand and understood my tight timescales and no time while out of office to ensure I was able to complete on my house purchase by ensuring I was aware of all points of my seperation agreement.
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I had not had a claim ever so I had no idea what to do. The 2 girls dealing with my case were excellent.
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The manner in which our business was conducted (including explanations/clarifications) helped us to better understand the various legal situations and options available ect…
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Thank you very much for your excellent service
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Your help, patience and care of my health and situation was first class. Thanks you will never be enough
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Overall service was excellent and very efficient.
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Very good service provided and so friendly too!
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After reading the reviews I am delighted I will not be pursuing my losses with this company. Victoria came on the phone didn't know the facts of the matter at all. The only fact she did know was her fee, then at the end of the call saying "bye-bye" in a sarcastic high voice...like she had won the conversation...Anyone reading this please use Digby Brown they care more about the clients losses, rather than money-making.
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Harper Macleod LLP responded to this review on 16 November, 2018
Hi Raymond, Thank you for getting in touch to let us know you were not satisfied with the service you received. We have passed your message onto our team for review and if you would like to discuss the matter further please get in touch at marketing@harpermacleod.co.uk. Thank you.
Criminal lawyer
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Shocking customer service
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Shocking customer service.
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Chris primarily advises family owned and owner managed businesses based throughout Scotland, including many with business interests in a number of other jurisdictions. Recent work and deals include acting for a number of well known Scottish based businesses on a range of matters including in relation to mergers, acquisitions, disposals, and business and owner succession planning. Sectors in which Chris has been active and has a particular interest are in the marine economy, transport and healthcare. For a number of years, Chris has been involved with employee owned businesses and transitions for which The Legal 500 recognises he is “particularly knowledgable about the Scottish employee ownership market". Chris is the Lead Partner for our Highlands & Islands operation. He has in the past, participated in the Entrepreneurship course run by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Strathclyde, tutored at the Glasgow Graduate Law School in Company and Commercial Law on the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, and lectured in Company Law at Inverness College. Chris has also held non-executive director appointments on the board of two Highland-based companies. Chris has previously been shortlisted as a "Rising Star" and "Corporate Lawyer of the Year" at the Law Awards of Scotland. The Legal 500 notes that "Harper Macleod stands out among its peers for its niche OMB and family-owned business expertise" and that clients are "very impressed by Chris Kerr's skills and hard work".
Gary deals with a broad range of private client, residential and commercial property matters acting for both individuals and property developers. He has many years of experience in advising housebuilders on site acquisitions and assembly through to plot sales of completed homes. He also heads up Harper Macleod’s Estate Agency Service in the Highlands and is currently a Director of the Highland Solicitors Property Centre.
Julie Doncaster, Inverness & Highlands Lawyer, advises clients on wills, estate and succession planning, inheritance tax advice, formation, management and termination of trusts, charity law, powers of attorney, guardianships, planning for nursing home care costs and the administration of executries. She has a particular interest in personal injury trusts and succession arrangements for business and farm owners. Julie has successfully argued numerous high value tax cases with HMRC. She has provided opinions for high net worth personal injury cases and has advised and worked with many charities reviewing their structure and improving their day to day administration. She regularly presents to external organisations on her specialist areas; personal injury trusts, estate and tax planning and care of the elderly and frequently contributes to legal publications on these matters. Julie tutors on the Diploma in Legal Practice at both Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.
David has a wide range of experience in corporate and commercial work and has been involved in a number of commercial transactions, including sale and purchase of business assets and land, and, exclusivity, option, and lease agreements for energy projects, working principally for landowners with commercial project possibilities on their land. David continues to develop our practice in the North of Scotland through his corporate and commercial experience and key client connections. He is also closely involved with Harper Macleod’s Thurso office and is a regular visitor to the area, advising local clients on all their legal requirements.
Calum advises clients on a wide range of rural and commercial property work, including agricultural tenancies, forestry purchases and sales, farm purchases, community group purchases, land reform and other rural property matters. Based in our Inverness office, he has also acted for developers and landowners in a number of renewable energy projects and he has significant experience in community renewables projects. Calum has particular expertise as a crofting lawyer, advising both crofters and landowners on a variety of crofting law matters including applications to the Crofting Commission and the Land Court. He has advised in particular on renewables projects on croftland. Calum has advised clients across the Highlands and Islands including the Crofting Counties of Inverness-shire, Ross-shire, Argyll, Caithness and Sutherland. Originally from the Isle of Skye, Calum is a fluent Gaelic speaker. Calum has spoken on TV, radio and at conferences on land reform, renewables and crofting law. Calum is on the Rural Affairs Committee of the Law Society of Scotland and is a director of Highland charity, New Start Highland.
Ross’ practice covers the areas of real estate & banking and commercial litigation & dispute resolution. In the area of real estate & banking, Ross has significant experience in acting for lenders and borrowers in high value secured finance transactions, dealing with the obtaining/granting of fixed security over all forms of commercial and rural property, as well as harbours and other key infrastructure. Ross also deals with commercial purchases and sales, commercial leasing and property diligence arising from corporate transactions, and manages the property estate of a number of the firm’s clients in the Highlands & Islands. In the area of commercial litigation & dispute resolution Ross has particular expertise in property and construction related disputes acting for developers, contractors and landowners and has experience in litigating in the Court of Session and Sheriff Courts, as well as undertaking adjudication and alternative dispute resolution procedures. Ross is assisted in this area by James Duff, one of our solicitors in Inverness. Ross is a former President of Inverness Chamber of Commerce and is heavily involved in various events and initiatives of importance to the economy and business community in the region.
Kenneth has extensive experience of commercial and property litigation. His experience includes complex litigation in the Court of Session, Sheriff Court, Commercial Courts and Lands Tribunal. He has also represented clients in arbitrations and regulatory matters. Kenneth is experienced in complex cases involving large volumes of materials but equally adept where matters are more keenly focussed. He will often look to focus wide-ranging issues down to the core dispute to save clients time and cost. Acting for former tenants in a £1M+ dilapidations claim. Defending the Commercial Court of Session action before negotiating a settlement figure for a third of the claim and less than the clients had provisioned for. Acting for landlords in a Commercial Court of Session Action. Defended over a disputed Schedule of Condition. Settled after successfully negotiating a £400k payment where the former tenants had denied liability.
Jill has extensive experience advising public and private sector clients in relation to public procurement; competition law including UK and EU merger control, state aid, anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance; other regulatory matters; and all types of commercial contracts. In relation to public procurement, Jill regularly advises on strategic issues such as the choice and structure of procurement procedures; shared services; competition law; pricing methodologies; TUPE implications; supplier performance; and challenges to the procurement procedure and contract award decisions. Jill also assists with the conduct of procurement procedures (including competitive dialogue) and all procurement and subsequent contractual documentation. Jill also advises on post-award issues such as insolvency of contractors, permissible extension to contracts and changes to contract conditions. In relation to state aid, Jill’s advice includes structuring projects to ensure compliance; assisting with responses to state aid complaints; providing advice on state aid compliance for the benefit of project funders; and advising on the interaction between state aid rules and public procurement. Jill also advises both private sector and public sector clients in relation to all types of commercial contracts including contracts for services, agency, distribution, licence agreements, franchise agreements, terms and conditions of business, joint venture agreements, funding agreements and loan agreements. Jill also advises on regulatory matters including statutory powers and duties, data protection and freedom of information, corporate governance and corporate constitutional matters.
Lesley primarily advises family owned and owner managed businesses based throughout Scotland, including those with business interests in other jurisdictions. Lesley has a wide experience of transactional corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, disposals, investments, shareholder arrangements, joint ventures, share capital reductions, share buybacks, corporate reorganisations and demergers.
Grant provides family law services across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Grant was promoted to Associate in April 2017. Given the geographic scale of the Highlands, Grant has been working on the use of technology and marketing to reach more rural areas to meet client demand. He provides advice on all aspects of family law, most commonly involving separation and divorce, financial provision, child maintenance, cohabitation, pre & post nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, residence, contact, relocation, adoption and protective remedies. He firmly believes that it can be advantageous for individuals to resolve their disputes without the use of litigation in the first instance. In June 2017, he became a qualified Collaborative Lawyer and member of International Academy of Collaborative Practitioners. This allowed Grant to promote the firm’s ability to offer alternative forms of dispute resolution to clients. In cases where circumstances dictate and Court action is necessary, Grant is an effective litigator. He has experience in appearing in Sheriff Courts throughout the North of Scotland and also working on cases in the Court of Session alongside Counsel. He has particular interests and expertise in separations involving complex financial issues such as business and pension interests.
Andrew provides advice to clients on a range of commercial real estate transaction including purchases and sales for investors, SMEs and other owner-occupiers; the advising of lenders and borrowers on rebanking, securities and the related due diligence; and, a wide array of matters relating to the grant and operation of commercial leases. Previous experience includes acting for investors in the acquisition, development, leasing of commercial properties, including liaising with the clients, their accountants, agents and other advisors; advising an investor in the refinancing of their property portfolio; and working with and advising insolvency practitioners in connection with the property aspects of transactions.
Ewan is experienced advising clients on a wide range of employment-related matters, including matters arising throughout the whole employment relationship, from recruitment through to termination of employment. Ewan regularly conducts advocacy at Employment Tribunals for both Claimants and Respondents. In conjunction with providing advice on day to day employment matters, Ewan provides support in relation to the employment law aspects of commercial transactions.
Angus is a member of the Dispute Resolution team based in Inverness. Angus deals with a variety of civil and commercial matters and has experience in both Sheriff Court and Court of Session practice and procedure.
Natalie provides advice on all aspects of family law, including child contact and residence disputes, adoption, separation, divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships, pre and post nuptial agreements and co-habitation. Natalie understands that seeking advice about family matters can often be difficult, however, she works closely with clients to understand their circumstances and what they wish to achieve. Where possible, Natalie will look to resolve matters outwith the Court room providing what is often a more cost effective and less stressful outcome. However, in situations where this is not possible, Natalie has experience appearing in Sheriff Courts across the North of Scotland and can advise fully on the Court process. Originally from Edinburgh, Natalie moved up to the Highlands in 2014. Natalie has a varied background, starting off her legal career in the private client sector. Natalie then spent a number of years specialising in personal injury law, family law, and criminal defence, during which time she was shortlisted as Trainee Solicitor of the Year at The Law Awards of Scotland. Natalie is also the Treasurer of the Faculty of Solicitors of the Highlands.
Angela specialises in a variety of Rural and Commercial Property work. She is familiar with the rural life, having been brought up with an agricultural background in Caithness and maintains a close relationship with the farming community. Angela is engaged by a wide variety of clients and is actively involved in a range of transactions such as farm and estate acquisitions and sales, community buy outs, voluntary registration of estates, crofting and sales and purchases of land and buildings.
In 1988, Lorne Crerar and another young partner in a Glasgow court firm took a couple of support staff and converted its business division, which had recently started, into a separate commercial practice. The new start was Harpers, which subsequently took over a niche corporate firm called Macleods, to become Harper Macleod. In 2002, Martin Darroch joined the firm as Finance Director and was appointed Chief Executive in 2006 - Harper Macleod was the first firm in Scotland to appoint a non-lawyer chief executive - with the now Professor Crerar as Chairman. Over the years the firm went from strength to strength, expanding its footprint all over Scotland. In 2014, the firm took over niche private client practice, Bird Semple, to significantly extend its offering in personal legal services. Today, Harper Macleod is one of the largest professional partnerships in Scotland, serving clients and their interests in Scotland, the UK and beyond and generating in excess of £26 million in turnover - a figure that has consistently grown regardless of the economic backdrop.
