Property lawyer elected to CBI council

The head of Pinsent Masons’s Edinburgh office, Ewan Alexander, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the council of CBI Scotland.

Mr Alexander, who is a partner in the law firm’s property department and specialises in development, housebuilding, investment and leisure related work, said: “As a firm we believe it is vital to have regular engagement with the Scottish business community and I believe CBI Scotland provides that platform. I hope I can make a valuable contribution to the excellent track record of CBI Scotland as a strong voice for Scottish employers large and small.”

Four senior promotions at Johnston Carmichael

Scotland’s largest independent accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael has made four key appointments as part of its growth strategy.

In the tax team, Alex Docherty from the firm’s Edinburgh office and Glasgow-based John McAuslin become partners, whilst Aberdeen-based Stephen McIlwaine and Paul Cochrane from Glasgow have been made directors of the audit and tax departments respectively.

The promotions bring the total number of partners at Johnston Carmichael to 58. The company – one of the top 20 accountancy practices in the UK – has a workforce of over 630, working from 11 locations around Scotland.

Three join Blackadders

The Dundee-based law firm Blackadders has appointed three new solicitors to their expanding property team.

Kirsty Wilson and Lisa Martin have both joined the firm as senior solicitors in the residential conveyancing department while Fraser Morrison joins the commercial property team as a solicitor.

Ms Wilson and Ms Martin, who both qualified in 2010, worked in several other areas of civil law before focusing on residential property. Ms Wilson previously worked at Fife-based Pagan Osborne while Ms Martin joins Blackadders from the East Lothian firm of Paris Steele WS.

Mr Fraser, who qualified as a solicitor last year, joins the firm from the Edinburgh-based boutique commercial law firm Ennova where he worked on all aspects of commercial property transactions and acted for a wide range of clients including large companies, private individuals and lenders.