Dundas partners prepare to elect new management team

Partners will gather at the firm’s Glasgow office on 20 June to listen to candidates’ timed presentations and take part in a Q&A, and will then vote in a secret ballot. The firm aims to make the results of the election known to the staff on the same day, with the successful candidates taking up office on 1 August for a four-year term.

Incumbent chairman David Hardie, who called and ran the election, told The Lawyer: “In the circumstances we thought it was the best way.”

The firm’s previous managing partner Donald Shaw stepped down two years into his second three-year term in office in March (8 March 2012), and is now a client partner in the firm’s real estate team.

Shaw’s resignation came not long after the firm’s tie-up talks with London firm Bircham Dyson Bell fell through (10 October 2011).

Head of performance and resources Caryn Penley, who also leads the firm’s debt, recovery and restructuring practice, and head of operational excellence Allan Wernham, who also heads the firm’s real estate team, stepped in to replace Shaw as interim managing partners. Penley and Wernham are now both standing to replace Shaw permanently on a joint ticket.

Corporate partners Colin Massie and Michael Polson are also standing for managing partner, although individually.

Real estate partner Iain Lindsay and IP and IT partner Laurence Ward have both put themselves forward to replace incumbent chairman Hardie, who has decided to step down three years into a role that was originally designated for four years (18 May 2009).

In a statement, Hardie said: “Dundas & Wilson is a great firm with a proud history. This is an exciting time for a new leadership team to shape our future and build upon our continuing success.”