Anderson Strathern

Anderson Strathern is a full-service law firm with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, East Lothian, Shetland and Orkney. It advises businesses, individuals and the public and third sectors, and says its history dates back to the Scottish Enlightenment, more than 325 years, with one client that has been with the firm for more than 270 years. The current LLP was incorporated in 2007.

Murray McCall leads the firm as managing partner. An employment lawyer based in Glasgow, he has been named Managing Partner of the Year at the Herald Law Awards. Carole Tomlinson, a private client lawyer dual-qualified in Scotland and in England and Wales who has been with the firm for more than 16 years, became chair on 1 April 2026, succeeding Fraser Geddes.

A stronger year in the accounts

Group turnover was £38.8m in the year to 31 March 2026, according to the LLP’s accounts at Companies House, an increase of 7% on an annualized basis after a shorter previous accounting period. Profit before tax rose 18% on the same basis to £11.4m. The firm employed an average of 331 people, excluding its 58 members, up from 321: 229 in legal roles, 21 in operations and 81 in administration.

The members’ report records two lateral partner hires into commercial real estate, Iain Baird, who specializes in renewable energy, and Dawn MacPherson, plus five directors promoted to partner across rural, dispute resolution, private client and Northern Isles teams. New clients in the year included Scottish Power Energy Retail, Martifer UK, Aveni and Tom Kitchin Ltd, and the firm won the contract to advise the National Centre for Music on the redevelopment of the former Royal High School on Calton Hill.

“There’s no denying that the change of pace in technology and AI across the legal sector is having a huge impact,” McCall said when the results were announced in September 2026. The accounts note growing demand for advice on cyber, AI and data protection.

Recognition and reach

The private client team was named Private Client Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2026. A year earlier Catriona Watt, head of the firm’s inquiries unit, was named Lawyer of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2025.

For businesses and families outside the central belt, the firm has built a Northern Isles practice. It opened in Orkney in a co-working space in summer 2024 and in August 2026 moved into its own office at 31–33 Bridge Street in Kirkwall, alongside its established Shetland base.