Mr Leal has joined the firm’s Finance practice from Scottish firm Burness Paull, where he has been a partner since 2018.

He is a Scots and English law qualified lawyer with an excellent track record in advising both borrower and lender clients on a wide range of finance matters. His practice focuses on real estate finance, acquisition finance, trade finance, securitisation, restructurings, and fund finance, both domestically and internationally.

Mr Leal has previously worked for Herbert Smith Freehills in both London and Moscow, as well as running a successful family business.

Simon Rae, DLA Piper’s managing partner in Scotland, said: “Allan’s strong relationships and knowledge of the local market will be invaluable as we continue to grow our offering in Scotland. He has a strong record of working with domestic and international clients on complex matters and his arrival will allow us to expand our existing Finance practice and will help us to build on our successful track record both in Edinburgh and across our global platform.”

David Trott, international head of DLA Piper’s finance, projects & restructuring group, added: “Allan’s arrival will enhance our penetration into the growing leveraged and real estate finance space. He has strong client relationships in Scotland and Europe, and will work closely with our existing team to capitalise further on market opportunities that we are seeing across our practice.”

With the appointment of Mr Leal, DLA Piper continues to expand its platform in Scotland.

The firm recently hired partner Stuart Murdoch from Burness Paull, who specialises in financial services disputes and regulatory matters.