This week, we’re handing over the blog to Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP as Member of the Week! With 165 years in business and 150 employees, we’ll be celebrating their exciting recent developments and plans for the future.
Read below to find out their major milestones and mergers, plans for 2024, and their top tips for Chamber members.
Major Milestones and Exciting Developments
WJM recently merged with a very long-established local practice, Macandrew & Jenkins WS, a long-established and highly respected law firm in Inverness, which marks a significant step in our business journey.
This merger not only expands our collective service offerings, particularly in crucial sectors like property and private client work but also strengthens our presence across the Highlands & Islands and Moray.
We also announced the proposed investment in WJM by a leading legal and financial services firm Irwin Mitchell, which will strengthen our collective service offering across a range of key sectors.
We will now be working in collaboration to provide a full suite of legal and financial services operating out of more than 20 locations across Scotland, England and Wales.
In March this year, we also announced the launch of a drinks industry specialist team to provide legal support to those in the alcoholic beverage sector, including Inverness.
This came at a poignant time for the drinks industry, which has been particularly hit with many challenges over the last few years such as Brexit, supply-chain issues, inflation and the potential impact of the deposit return scheme.
All of these offerings will allow clients across the Highlands and beyond to access a broader range of sectors as well as experts from across the UK and beyond.
Looking to the Future
Aside from welcoming our new colleagues from Macandrew & Jenkins, we’re looking to recruit more qualified lawyers and paralegals to the team to support the client work we’re already doing, and grow.
There are lots of opportunities here, and a particular one to watch is the Green Freeport. It has huge potential for the region, and we’re keen to help make sure that businesses across the Highlands & Islands understand how best to make the most of that potential for themselves and their communities.
Looking to the future, our plans include working with our colleagues in Irwin Mitchell, post completion of the deal that will see them invest in WJM, to build these connections for Highland and Island businesses. IM have a serious track record in supporting foreign direct investment and already know their way around Freeports from their work with those in England like Liverpool.
We’re also eager to make sure that there are better connections between local businesses looking for capital to expand and grow, and investors looking to place their money. Look out for more WJM events and sign up to learn!
WJM and the Chamber
What do we value from membership? The ability to make connections with other businesses and work together for mutual benefit: the Chamber is a great place to network. We also value its campaigning and lobbying role for the region. As a firm we’re also keen to support the Chamber: as an indication of that, one of our senior lawyers, Kirstin MacDonald, has recently joined the Chamber board as a director. We’ve made lots of connections who have turned into clients. We’ve also met lots of like-minded businesses we can work in partnership with, sharing our skills with theirs.
Our top tips for Chamber members: go to events but also take the time to follow up individually with those you meet there. The business community here is diverse and geographically spread, but not so large that you can’t quickly build a good network. People here are welcoming – invest the time in getting to know others and good will come from it!