Thorntons expands into west with Glasgow opening

Full service law firm Thorntons has opened its first office in the west of Scotland, with a base in Glasgow city centre.

The Dundee-headquartered practice said it was responding to growing client demand in establishing the premises at Spaces, 1 West Regent Street, and the move was in line with strategic growth plans.

Thorntons has previously provided services in Glasgow through its existing team in Edinburgh, Tayside, Angus and Fife.

The main offering provided from the new base will be business law. Partners Hugo Allan, a specialist in commercial property, Pamela Muir (insolvency) and Liam McMonagle (intellectual property, media and technology) will lead the team there, splitting their time between that office and Thorntons’ Edinburgh operation in Haymarket. Working alongside them will be Gurjit Pall, an immigration and visas associate, Aimee Gibbons and Richard Duffy from commercial property, and Iain Boyd, a trainee in business law. Other advice will continue to be provided by Thorntons’ network across the firm.

"An expanding client base in the city and surrounding towns has meant that our lawyers have been spending more and more time in Glasgow, so an office presence here was simply imperative for both Thorntons and its clients", said managing partner Craig Nicol.

"We intend to develop our Glasgow operation and fully establish our name here, placing it on a similar footing to our Edinburgh office. In 2004 we had a team of just three people in the capital, but today more than 80 colleagues work from our new larger offices at Citypoint in Haymarket.

"It’s a really exciting time for the firm and with the introduction of permanent residence in Glasgow, we believe it underlines our wider growth ambitions and strengthen our status as the firm of choice for all legal needs."