James Aitken began practising as a lawyer in Falkirk in 1792 and in 1818 was joined by James Russel. The premises, from the very beginning, were in Kings Court – named after a public house called the King’s Arms. The firm of Russel + Aitken is therefore probably the oldest one in Scotland to be operating under the same name and from the same site – it’s been almost 200 years!

James Russel was also a businessman involved in the industrial growth of the town. Amongst his other interests he was the manager of the Falkirk Banking Company. His portrait still hangs in the offices.

The offices were built for the firm and looking from the courtyard it often strikes the passer by as odd that there is a lot of wall between the windows and the roof. This is because there is a stone vault over the ground floor rooms designed to make them fire safe and burglar proof – useful for the valuable legal documents - hence also the shutters.

Over the years the offices have been extended and now reach through to Cow Wynd and the 1993 façade designed by William Cadell. Consequently there are numerous levels within the building.