09/09/09
Law firm gets Scottish
Cardiff and London firm Capital Law has added a Scottish dimension to its business by teaming up with Edinburgh based lawyers CCW LLP.
The association sees senior members of each firm acting as consultants to the other, an arrangement which they say will help business clients overcome barriers to UK-wide operations created by separate legal systems.
Viv Du-Feu, partner at Capital Law said:
"Commercial laws in Scotland, England and Wales are increasingly similar, although Scotland has a legal system of its own. A growing number of our clients trade in Scotland, as they do throughout the world and this association with CCW gives them access to expert Scottish help as well as to lawyers with different areas of specific expertise to ours."
The fact that English and Welsh lawyers do not automatically qualify to advise on Scots law, and vice versa, has meant that there has always been a need for lawyers to refer clients to other law firms when issues outside their areas of expertise arise. This, said Mr Du-Feu can be problematic.
"Law firms have always tried hard to source reliable advisors for their clients' international legal issues, but this sometimes means referring their client to a relatively unknown lawyer. We believe that the kind of associations we have developed with law firms all over the world - and now with CCW in Scotland - will give our clients confidence that they're getting the very best advice."
The firm has spent the last fourteen years building relationships with lawyers through the international network Consulegis. It now has a bank of trusted lawyers in places like France, Germany, the US and Holland to whom it can refer work, and has a steady flow of instructions which come via these network members.
"Few medium sized law firms employ people to work in different jurisdictions, but many will have clients who from time to time need advice on foreign laws" said Mr Du-Feu.
"The best people to give that advice are lawyers who work day in day out in those countries. Our international connections have enabled us to create a very cost effective and reliable equivalent of overseas offices for our clients and we are delighted to have added a great Scottish firm to our team of associates."
Capital Law is no stranger to Scots law. Head of corporate and commercial Duncan Macintosh is qualified in both England and Wales and in Scotland. Through CCW, Capital Law will introduce the Scottish factor into all five of its core legal areas including employment, commercial disputes and property, as well as taking advantage of CCW's areas of expertise.
Mr Du-Feu said:
"This is an opportunity not only to extend our geographical reach, but also to pool our firms' resources. CCW has a superb insolvency team which will complement our own and its lawyers also focus heavily on some areas which we currently don't - business to business contracts being an example. We will tap into these specialisms and reciprocate by helping develop CCW'S employment law service, an area in which we have been very successful."
The association has already generated a number of cross referrals between the firms, most recently two substantial commercial disputes cases travelling from Scotland to Capital Law's headquarters in Cardiff Bay, and CCW helping a Capital Law client with an insolvency related acquisition. The firms believe this is the tip of the iceberg.
"Clients increasingly need to deal with lawyers who are based in other countries" said CCW partner John Clarke "and this sort of co-operation between law firms promises them a new level of service. We, like Capital Law, have long supported international networking and our clients have come to benefit from services equivalent to those provided by some of the biggest law firms in the UK, but they pay regional rates."
Ends
For more information contact Sara Robinson on sara.robinson@workingwordpr.com or 02920 646840 / 07950 509187.
Notes to editors
1. Capital Law LLP is a commercial law firm operating across five main disciplines - employment, company and commercial, recovery and insolvency, property and commercial litigation. In addition to these core legal services, the firm offers workplace issue resolution via its accredited mediator and a wide range of innovative training programmes.
www.capitallaw.co.uk
In September 2008, Capital Law expanded its business by buying the HR consultancy Holistic Services Limited and, through this division, now offers consultants specialising in human resources, occupational health, safety, health and environment, wellbeing and leadership training.
www.holisticservices.com
Capital Law is a member of Consulegis, the international network of law firms.
www.consulegis.com
2. CCW LLP was founded in 2003. Based in Edinburgh, with offices in Dunfermline and Salisbury, the firm is part of CCW Business Services.
www.ccwlegal.co.uk
CCW is a member of Avrio-Advocati, the network of international law firms.
www.avrio.net
