Praised as a ‘go-to law firm for complex work’, CMS advises investors, corporates and shareholders on the full range of corporate transactions, including M&A, private equity, joint ventures, and public company mandates. The firm is especially active in the energy, real estate, financial services, and TMT sectors, with significant cross-border capabilities and a considerable US securities offering based in Edinburgh. Jack Letson leads the team and draws on a broad skillset to advise an extensive roster of public and private company clients, while Helen Gillies is active on Scottish, UK and overseas acquisitions, disposals and impact investments. Bruce Harvie has a solid track record acting on deals in the financial services and fintech sectors, and Kate Darracott is lauded as one of the ’best US Securities lawyers‘ in the market. Robbie Somerville provides further cross-border capabilities. Callum Swanson joined from DLA Piper in January 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Working with CMS was an absolute pleasure, and we appreciated how they made everything incredibly straightforward. We always felt like we were in safe hands.'
‘Bruce Harvie and Corrin Miller went above and beyond and it felt like they were truly invested in our journey. Their responsiveness, expertise, and commitment to our success made all the difference. Their ability to communicate complex legal matters in a clear and approachable way was particularly valuable to us.'
‘Helen Gillies stood out. Helen relates well to business owners. She led a very focused team that delivered on timescales.'
‘CMS' regional team in Scotland are a great balance of talented individuals, with attention to detail that provide an extremely high quality service from their regional offices.'
- 'CMS have a "client's eye view" on all the advice they give - providing both the legal implications but also the commercial view we crave when trying to advise our clients properly. When combined with their amenable nature, their pricing and their quality, they have established themselves as a go-to law firm for complex work.'
- 'In my view, what makes CMS regionally unique is that they are a genuine all rounder who are competitive on quality, resourcing, knowledge and approachability.'
‘Kate Darracott is an exceptional partner with a unique grasp of both US Securities Law and the UK corporate market. She is brilliant at helping navigate us through complex US legislation while maintaining a commercial eye on what we needed to achieve from a UK perspective, providing us with several options and also very clear advice. She is very user friendly, and one of the the best US Securities lawyers I have worked with.
- 'Kate Darracott was readily available and went above and beyond to explore various methods to solve our issues as they arose with very tight timelines.’
Key clients
- Sulmara
- Management and Sellers of Condatis Group
- Business Growth Fund
- Reactive
- Waracle Limited
- ERG S.p.A
- Cicor Technologies
- Nuveen
- EV Finco Limited
- Packaging with Robots
- Todd & Duncan Limited and Zhejiang Xinao Textiles Inc
- J&D Wilkie Limited
- Scottish Water
- Boluda Towage UK Limited
- Towers Watson Investment Management Limited
- Zeus Capital Limited
- Allenby Capital Limited
- Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust Plc
- CT Private Equity Trust Plc
- Analysys Mason
Work highlights
Advised Dunedin and other shareholders of EV Holdings Limited on its sale to Enersol RSC Ltd.
Advised PWR Pack and shareholders on a cross-border minority interest disposal and strategic partnership with Coesia S.p.A.
Advised the management team and shareholders of Condatis on Bridgepoint’s financing of a management-led buyout.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Jack Letson
Other key lawyers
Helen Gillies; Bruce Harvie; Kate Darracott; Robbie Somerville; Callum Swanson; Corrin Miller