By Ian McConnell

Scottish law firm Anderson Strathern has unveiled a trio of senior appointments, including hires from Burness Paull, and Shepherd and Wedderburn.

Gillian Harkness-McKinlay is joining Anderson Strathern from Burness Paull to become becomes director with responsibility for public sector work and charities.

Chris Devlin, who is joining from Shepherd and Wedderburn, is taking on the role of director, planning and environment at Anderson Strathern.

James McMillan is joining as a director from Dubai-based Al Tamimi & Company, which Anderson Strathern described as “the largest law firm in the Middle East”. He will head up the Scottish law firm’s corporate crime, regulatory and investigations team.

Bruce Farquhar, who chairs Anderson Strathern, said: “The public and third sectors, planning and the environment, corporate crime and commercial disputes are integral areas of expertise at Anderson Strathern and because we are also growing in each of these disciplines it’s an opportune time to make these strategic hires and we’re excited to have Gillian, Chris and James on board.”

Anderson Strathern has 53 partners and 285 employees across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Haddington and Lerwick.

The law firm's clients include Buccleuch, the Scottish Government, Crown Estate Scotland, Clyde Gateway, Scotmid, Apex Hotels, Ineos, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council, Transport Scotland, and the Royal College of Nursing.

Anderson Strathern said Ms Harkness-McKinlay, who was previously a director at Burness Paull, "brings extensive experience of project managing large-scale public sector outsourcing projects and third-sector mergers, and advising on corporate governance and project finance in public sector projects".

It noted that Mr Devlin spent more than a decade at Shepherd and Wedderburn, specialising in planning and environment law, and "has worked closely with clients in the renewable energy and housebuilding sectors" with "strong experience in roads law, and applications for judicial review and statutory appeals to the Court of Session in planning matters". Anderson Strathern highlighted Mr Devlin's part in advising City of Edinburgh Council on "various elements" of the new St James Centre. 

It noted Mr McMillan had worked at Dentons before joining Al Tamimi & Company in 2018.