Scottish Legal Jobs

The Fife-based firm has taken over the private client, agriculture, and property divisions of K&S, creating a combined firm with 10 partners, 120 staff, and annual income exceeding £5m. Three of Ketchen's five partners are making the switch. Senior partner Andrew Boyd, and private client and commercial partner Eugene O'Neale, both join Pagan as partners, while private client partner Ian Mason joins as a consultant. K&S's Glasgow office, meanwhile, is amalgamating with the Anderson Partnership.

Thomas Quail, partner and accredited family law specialist at K&S, is moving to Anderson. The Edinburgh-based firm's litigation department, led by K&S partner Shona Aird, is moving to Boyd Napier. Joseph d'Inverno, litigation and managing partner at Ketchen, has retired.

The Ketchen & Stevens name, a staple of the Edinburgh business scene for a century, will eventually disappear, though the enlarged Pagan Osborne will initially trade under the name Pagan Osborne ''incorporating Ketchen & Stevens private client and property''. Pagan said it intends to refurbish the former Ketchen headquarters on Edinburgh's Queen Street and expand its Edinburgh base over the next three years.

''The first key task is to transfer (our) ethos and modern way of working to the Edinburgh operation,'' the firm said. Alison Denton, Pagan's director of human resources, will take charge of integrating the two firms.

Alistair Morris, Pagan Osborne managing partner, said: ''Having an Edinburgh base is an important part of our business development strategy, and the acquisition of Ketchen & Stevens secures both very prestigious offices and a substantial portfolio of clients. ''It is a tremendous base from which to build and achieve our aspirations to grow the firm.

Morris added: ''We believe that a progressive business approach has to be brought to the modern legal firm if it is to meet client needs. For us, that means the fully-integrated development of legal and non-legal expertise, management training, personnel development, and greater business accountability.'' He said the focus of the expanded firm will be ''accessible wealth management'' for the professional market. The firm aims to expand its services to manage, protect, and build a person's individual assets through practice areas of tax and trusts, wills and powers of attorney, discretionary investments, and property.

Pagan Osborne lays claim to many professional ''firsts'', including the launch of dedicated property centres and the introduction of tax advice and asset management alongside its core legal services. Last year the 240-year-old outfit scooped the top law firm prize in the inaugural Scottish Legal Awards, founded by RJ Cuthbert Associates and sponsored by The Herald. Also last year three business law partners at Pagan quit to set up their own firm, CCW Legal, taking over Pagan offices in Dunfermline and Edinburgh.