Saxton Bampfylde Scotland expands legal executive search focus as it welcomes industry leader Philip Rodney as Senior Adviser

Executive search firm Saxton Bampfylde has announced that former Chair of one of Scotland’s leading law firms, Philip Rodney has joined the company as a Senior Adviser. Philip’s appointment underlines the firm’s strategy as an exciting new contender in the legal search space in Scotland, focusing on appointments at partner and function head level.  This will support its further expansion into the professional services identifying the best leaders for executive and non-executive roles.

A stalwart of the Scottish legal profession Philip was latterly Chair of Burness Paull LLP until 2018 culminating 20 years of senior leadership roles. Since then, Philip has taken on a range of cross-sector non-executive appointments which reflect his experience and interests including Chair at Lar Housing Trust, Chair at Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre and Governor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Philip commented on his appointment:

“The opportunity to work with Saxton Bampfylde brings an exciting new avenue for me professionally and enables me to assist the excellent team in developing a unique offering in the legal senior recruitment market.

“Saxton Bampfylde has an amazing track record – 98 per cent success rate against an industry norm of 60 per cent. As they focus on the legal market in Scotland, my role is to provide wise counsel, market perspective and act as an ambassador to the firm which I am really delighted to do.”

“For 40 years I provided legal services to clients and in the last four I have been buying them. This has enabled me to see both sides of the table and provided me with a different perspective of what makes a great lawyer and leader. The selection process for the appointment of lawyers is becoming more and more sophisticated. General Counsel are much more likely to look beyond the brand and buy on the basis of a balance of specific expertise and value for money. That means there are better opportunities for new entrants to the market and that is an interesting evolution for the sector.”

Stephen Bampfylde, Founder and Executive Chair commented:

“We are delighted to welcome Philip – the combination of deep senior legal experience, consulting and entrepreneurial expertise and his passion and enthusiasm for values-led organisations. Our team in Scotland goes from strength to strength and is expanding in size. Philip’s appointment augments the offering particularly in the identification and support of senior executive and non-executive leadership in the legal space. This is a great endorsement of our team and the vision we have in the local market.”

Saxton Bampfylde is an employee-owned business, founded in 1986 and is now one of the world’s leading independent executive search firms and leadership consultancies, with a dedicated mission to delivering the very best for its clients, and candidates. With offices in London and Edinburgh, Saxton Bampfylde bring a genuine partnership approach to its work and proud to work with some of the world’s most interesting and important organisations.