Prior to joining Burges Salmon, Ms Russell, who is dual-qualified, was a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn, based in its Edinburgh office. An experienced advisor in UK employment law, she acts for company boards, in-house legal counsel and HR professionals on sensitive HR matters, strategic projects and employment litigation across the UK and internationally.

The firm also announced five internal appointments to partner.

Catherine de Maid becomes a partner in the firm’s international private client team. She leads the firm’s philanthropy team and specialises in international tax, trusts and estate planning advice for a wide range of clients.

Also within the firm’s international private client team, Emma Heelis-Adams, who joined Burges Salmon as a trainee, has been made a partner. She specialises in providing tax advice to high net worth and ultra-high net worth international clients.

New partner Patrick Parkin, who also joined the firm as a trainee, specialises in commercial projects, public procurement and regulatory matters, with a focus in healthcare and technology.

Specialising in land and rural property, Ross Simpson will become a partner in the firm’s real estate team. His practice is predominantly landowner focused.

Matt Walker will become a partner in the firm’s dispute resolution team. He specialises in managing disputes and handling regulatory investigations and enforcement situations arising out of the finance sector.

Burges Salmon’s managing partner, Roger Bull, said: “Our focus at Burges Salmon remains very clear: we are fiercely proud of our independence and we are committed to being an exceptional law firm for our clients and an exceptional place to work for our people.

“Building on these foundations, I am delighted to announce the appointment of these six fantastic lawyers to the partnership who will each help us continue to deliver this vision.”