Helen Gillies > CMS > Aberdeen, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile

As ‘one of the top corporate and commercial practices in Scotland’, CMS manages and negotiates a range of transactions including M&A, PE, venture capital and capital markets work. The firm has a UK-wide portfolio of deals, handling the investment, operation and exit pieces of blockbuster deals, as well as possessing a specialist commercial practice that regularly works in tandem with the corporate offering. Frank Fowlie heads up the practice from Aberdeen, and Helen Gillies and Jack Letson handle proceedings from Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively. The ‘stand-out’ Gillies is praised for her ‘strong business mind and strategic perspective’ across a range of industries and is well-equipped to handle M&A, management buy-outs and venture capital transactions, while Letson brings further expertise in cross-border joint ventures and public company takeovers. Bruce Harvie works for a wide variety of investment vehicles and early-stage venture capitalists, whereas Kate Darracott is chiefly noted for her equity capital markets and US securities acumen. Robbie Somerville is also key name to note. Graeme Bruce retired in 2023.