RICHARD Masters has been appointed as chairman of law firm Pinsent Masons’ operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, writes Ian McConnell.

Mr Masters was managing partner of Scottish law firm McGrigors at the time of its 2012 merger with Pinsent Masons. He joined McGrigors as a graduate lawyer 30 years ago, and played a key part in the Scottish firm’s growth ahead of the merger deal.

Pinsent Masons noted that the post of chairman of Scotland and Northern Ireland had become vacant after the death of McGrigors and Pinsent Masons stalwart Kirk Murdoch earlier this year.

Mr Masters said: “I am delighted and honoured to take on the role of chairman for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and will build on the foundations laid down by Kirk Murdoch, who was a strong influence on me both personally and professionally.

“My objective is to support our lawyers in Scotland and Northern Ireland in maintaining and growing our market share and reputation, while making a significant contribution to the firm’s overarching ambition of being the market leader in the global sectors in which we operate.”

London-based Pinsent Masons has more than 500 lawyers and support staff based in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Belfast.

After three years as Pinsent Masons’ head of client operations and a member of the executive board, Mr Masters became executive chairman of Cerico, the compliance and regulatory specialist that is majority-owned by Pinsent Masons.

Mr Masters will continue as a non-executive director of Cerico, Pinsent Masons said.

John Cleland, managing partner of Pinsent Masons, said: “Richard’s previous experience at executive board level and his successful tenure in charge of Cerico will be instrumental in further strengthening Pinsent Masons’ offering to clients in Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Pinsent Masons employs more than 2,500 people in total, including in excess of 1,500 lawyers. It has more than 400 partners. It also has offices in Munich, Paris, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Doha, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne.