Pinsent Masons Vario bolsters senior leadership with hire of Edinburgh legal director

Pinsent Masons Vario has today announced the appointment of Gary Gray as the first Legal Director of its Company Secretarial (CoSec) team. 
 
Gary joins Vario in Edinburgh after 18 years with Burness Paull, the last eight of which he spent as the firm’s Head of Governance and Company Secretarial. In that role, he managed the team responsible for delivering the firm’s company secretarial service to a breadth of international clients operating across a range of sectors and industries. 

Founded in 2013, Vario is one of the top legal flexible legal resources in the UK, with more than 70 consultants working in Scotland ,where it is the pre-eminent law firm-backed Alternative Lega Services Provider (ALSP).

Comprising Chartered Company Secretaries and experienced paralegals, Vario’s CoSec function is a high-growth element of the group, doubling its revenue in the previous financial year. The team supports an extensive global client roster with the creation, governance and management of legal entities. Now in post, Gary will operationally lead the team while basing himself in the Pinsent Masons’ Edinburgh office.

Matthew Kay, Partner, Vario Group Head said: “Over the last five years, Vario’s revenue has trebled as we’ve held firm to our strategy, broadening our offer to encompass managed legal services and expanding our presence into new territories like Ireland and the Middle East.

 
“Our CoSec service is a vital element of the Vario offering, providing clients the support they need as they grapple with evermore complex, cross-border regulatory demands.

“Gary’s significant experience heading up Burness Paull’s company secretarial operation means he is well placed to take the helm as we seek to grow our offering and compound Vario’s reputation as a leading provider of law firm-led flexible legal services across Europe and Asia-Pacific.”  

Gary Gray added: “Vario has already established itself as the pre-eminent Alternative Legal Services Provider for clients across Pinsent Masons’ key sectors.

“With my comprehensive understanding of clients’ CoSec requirements, I intend to further grow the team’s contribution to Vario’s impressive trajectory by evolving our offer to address legislative developments before they become headaches for our clients. This agility in our service offer will continue to be a differentiator for Vario.” 
 
Gary is the immediate past Chair of the Chartered Governance Institute’s Scottish Branch and has twice been recognised in the Governance Hot 100.

He is the second long-serving Burness Paull employee to join Pinsent Masons in the last month, following on from the appointment of Edinburgh-based Walter Clark who is a Partner in the UK financial services corporate team.

Separately, Glasgow-based Partner and Vario’s Head of Account Management, Gerladine Kelm, has been awarded the inaugural Legal Pioneer Award by the Law Society of Scotland in recognition of her contribution to legal freelancing and “helping make it a sustainable career option for lawyers”.