SCOTTISH law firm Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie LLP has underlined its growth ambitions in the Highlands and Islands by adding seven new recruits to its fast-expanding Inverness office.

Rod MacLean, who has moved from Murchison Law, has joined WJM as a partner in its private client division. Five of the other six recruits have also moved from Murchison Law.

Glasgow-based WJM noted Mr MacLean had “25 years’ experience in private client practice across Edinburgh and Inverness”.

Among the other recruits to the Inverness office is Roddy Cormack, who will head up WJM’s construction team as a legal director. Mr Cormack moved from Ledingham Chalmers.

Solicitors Hannah Prentice and Lauren Farquhar, paralegals Anna Macleod-Adams and Jenni Evans, and secretary Marion Urquhart, have all joined WJM in its Inverness office from Murchison Law.

The recruitment drive has increased the number of people in WJM’s Inverness office from 18 to 25. WJM, which also has offices in Edinburgh, Dunblane and Dunfermline and has a total headcount of about 150, noted its Inverness premises had been extended to nearly 3,000 sq ft.

Angus MacLeod, lead partner at WJM’s Inverness office, said: “Our Inverness office opened in 2011 with one person at the helm and in just eight short years we have seen exponential growth in our team and our client base. The new recruits have been chosen because of their high level of relevant expertise and their strong local connections, which give them an innate understanding of life and business in the Highlands and Islands.”