Mr Smith brings corporate finance and boardroom experience in M&A, private equity, and equity capital markets from his time at Linklaters, Dentons, and most recently as general counsel at Argenta, a KKR-backed international pharma services group.

Mr Smith said: “I am delighted to join the corporate finance team at Shepherd and Wedderburn and look forward to using my experience to support clients with their corporate finance needs and to further expand the firm’s excellent corporate finance offering.”

Andrew Blain, managing partner, added: “We are delighted to welcome Donald to our team. His breadth of experience – particularly in life sciences, private equity and energy – will further strengthen our offering in key strategic areas for our firm.”

The appointment is Shepherd and Wedderburn’s second partner-level hire into corporate this year, after project finance specialist Graham Young joined its clean energy team in May, and comes as the firm marks a fifth consecutive year of revenue and profit growth. In July, it reported a 10% increase in turnover to £78.3 million and a 20% rise in net profits to £36.1m for the year ending 30 April 2025.

The firm’s corporate finance team has recently advised on a number of high-profile transactions, including the Scottish National Investment Bank’s investment into Orbex, Kelso Pharma’s acquisition of Alturix, and Epic Games’ acquisition of Loci.