Lorraine Currie, one of only four solicitors accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in freedom of information and data protection law, has joined Anderson Strathern following eight-years at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s office.

Having recently returned to work after having her first child, she credited the firm’s flexible working policy for enabling her to return to private practice while maintaining her work-life balance, which allowed her to set the the specific working hours she needed to handle childcare alongside her casework.

Tim Macdonald, an agricultural law specialist, brings almost a decade of experience working on the purchase and sale of farms and estates, agricultural tenancies and farming partnerships.

He said: “It is important for me to be able to balance my role as the parent of three young children with my legal career, so when Anderson Strathern outlined their options for flexible working it was a big draw for me. The initiative is firm-wide and applies from day one, regardless of role.”

The firm has also appointed Caroline Pringle as a senior member of its private client team. She has a decade of experience advising families, trustees and organisations on their estate planning and asset protection, with a particular focus on succession planning, inheritance and capital gains tax mitigation. Named one of eprivateclient’s ‘Top 35 Under 35’ in 2016, she said she chose the firm for its “fantastic reputation”, as well as its forward thinking and supportive approach which fits with her commitments to her family.

Chris Weir has been appointed director within the professional regulation team. Having worked closely with Anderson Strathern in his previous role, he said he was “hugely impressed” by the firm’s knowledge in public law and professional regulation. But it was the agile working policy that was the crucial decider for Mr Weir, who is a father of two.

Bruce Farquhar, partner and chair at Anderson Strathern, said: “It’s no secret that law firms are having to work hard to recruit the best people right now. The fact that we can do so is testament to our commitment to offering agile working from day one.

“It is definitely giving us an edge at a time when professionals of this calibre have so many options to choose from. Last year we enjoyed strong performance and, with these experts bolstering our team, we are robustly placed to drive further growth in 2023.”