Turcan Connell

Turnover at Scottish private-client boutique Turcan Connell was flat in 2011–12, coming in at £22.3m.

The firm, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year having spun out of Dundas & Wilson in 1997, focuses almost exclusively on private-client work, although it has been doing an increasing amount of charities and property work since the beginning of the recession. It is also doing more in the way of business law, although this is mainly focused on family-owned businesses and has spun out of the work it does on the private-client side.

Not all the firm’s fees are generated from legal services, with around 25–30 per cent of turnover coming from Turcan Connell’s wealth management and offshore businesses. The wealth arm offers investment advice from asset managers, while the offshore business, which has bases in Guernsey and Geneva, provides trust and company management services. Both feed into the legal side of the firm.

Given this set-up, the firm has long been a supporter of alternative business structures, with joint senior partner Douglas Connell stressing the importance of being able to offer senior staff in both subsidiaries the same ownership and remuneration rights as equity partners — something that is not currently permissible in Scotland.