Anderson Strathern Strengthens senior team

Anderson Strathern, an independent law firm, has bolstered its senior team with the promotion of five new partners and three directors. These appointments are part of the firm’s strategy to expand its services in various sectors including rural land, public and third sector, real estate, employment, private client, and energy.

New Partners:

• Karen Craig has been promoted within the firm’s Rural Land and Business department. With expertise in estate, farm, and forest transactions, renewable energy, and telecommunications mast leases, Karen also contributes to property litigation and the Crown Estate Scotland team.

• Gillian Harkness-McKinlay specialises in corporate, commercial, charities, and public law. Her experience includes managing public sector outsourcing projects, charity governance, and community renewables projects. She serves on the Charity Law sub-committee of the Law Society of Scotland and the ICAS Charity Panel.

• Anne Lawrie brings a broad range of real estate experience, handling commercial leasing, investment acquisitions, and property development. She provides asset and estate management strategy to a diverse client base across public and private sectors.

• Jon McGee works in the Commercial Real Estate team, advising on property, conveyancing, and estate management. He supports public sector and higher education clients on major infrastructure and utilities projects.

• Robin Turnbull is a specialist in employment law, known for his high success rate in Tribunal advocacy. He represents a range of clients, including large employers, global corporations, and public bodies, and covers niche areas such as service user discrimination and AI implications in the workplace.

New Directors:

• Shirley Evans offers expertise in property and commercial litigation, focusing on lease disputes, anti-social behaviour actions, and land compensation claims. She is recognised as a leader in social housing by Chambers & Partners and serves as a Legal Member in the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).

• Laura Murray works in the high-net-worth team within the private client department. She advises on tax, trusts, estate planning, wills, and estate administration, and is a Notary Public and member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

• Stuart Orr specialises in renewable property work within the Rural Land and Business team. His experience includes clean energy projects and renewable project finance. He was recently highly commended in the Associate category at the Scottish Professional Awards.

Fraser Geddes, Chair at Anderson Strathern, commented: "We’ve had a very successful 2024 to date, moving our Edinburgh team to a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Capital Square and opening an office in Kirkwall, Orkney to boost our growth across the highlands and islands. We’re aiming for continued growth in 2024/25, and our newly promoted directors and partners will support those ambitions. We are proud of our continued commitment to promoting talent from within the business."

These strategic promotions reinforce Anderson Strathern’s commitment to expanding its expertise and service offerings as it continues to grow and enhance its market position.