Gateley has added two partners to its Scottish practice, taking on real estate specialist Caroline James from Tods Murray and Squire Sanders corporate recovery expert Tim Cooper.

The firm, known as HBJ Gateley north of the border, has recruited James for its Glasgow office while Cooper will be based in Edinburgh but will split his time between the two locations.

James was a Tods Murray partner for more than 11 years and former head of English law at the firm, with a focus on cross-border transactions and complex property cases.

Cooper, who was made up to partner at legacy firm Hammonds in November 2008, has been involved in high-profile work including representing the administrators on the 2008 restructuring of Dolcis shoe chain and advising on the acquisition of Whittard of Chelsea in 2009.

Glasgow office head Alison Newton – herself a new hire for the firm after joining from McGrigors last October – commented: "Driving new growth is a key area of focus for HBJ Gateley in 2012 and these new appointments signify the calibre of individual we want to attract to help us with these aspirations.

The hires come after Gateley recruited Cobbetts partner duo William Ballmann and Rob Payne to launch a new Leeds office, while the firm also added two partners in London last summer with the hires of banking and finance lawyer Colin Mattis from Shoosmiths and TV and entertainment specialist Lisa Logan from City boutique Candey.

The firm entered Legal Week's top 50 ranking for the first time last year after posting a 23% leap in turnover to £63m on the back of a deal to acquire Halliwells' Manchester commercial practice.