Scots-born banking lawyer to lead Pinsent Masons

A Scots-born banking and finance lawyer is to be the next managing partner of international law firm Pinsent Masons, which has a significant Scottish presence in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

John Cleland, currently head of financial institutions (covering banking, restructuring and financial regulatory), has been elected to succeed David Ryan from May 2015, ahead of Richard Masters, managing partner of McGrigors who led the 2012 merger with Pinsent Masons, and Adrian Barlow, head of property. 

Based in Leeds, Mr Cleland was brought up in Ayrshire before studying at Cambridge University, where he graduated MA, and London, where he added an LLM.

Mr Ryan commented: "My congratulations to John and I am delighted to be handing over the reins to him. John has without doubt the strengths and capabilities required of the role. I'm looking forward to helping him to make the transition and continuing to work with him in the senior leadership team."

Describing his election as a "tremendous honour", Mr Cleland responded: "The firm is now entering a crucial period in which profitable growth will be the key to our continued success. I look forward to working with [senior partner] Richard Foley and the senior management team towards achieving our vision of becoming an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate, namely advanced manufacturing and technology, energy, financial services and infrastructure."