The Legal 500

Work Department

Family law, private client group.

Position

Head of the family law team; accredited specialist in family law. Has more than 20 years experience in dealing with all aspects of this subject. She is a Judge of the First Tier of The Child Support Appeals Tribunal and has lectured to both solicitors and paralegals on family law. Former mediator and is also the author of a handbook on adoption law and is trained in collaborative law. She is also a notary public. Deals with adoption, antenuptial marriage contracts, child support legislation, child abduction within the UK and abroad, civil partnerships, domicile and jurisdiction difficulties, marriages in foreign jurisdictions, mediation, nullity of marriage, divorce, separation agreements, financial arrangements upon divorce including pension rights, and the procurement of court orders regarding parental rights, contact with and residence of children and special orders relating to their education. She has acted in a considerable number of cases involving parties of high net worth along with forensic accountants and other experts. She has had wide experience in the dogged pursuit of perplexing international ‘paper trails’ directed towards the discovery of valuable matrimonial assets spirited abroad. Regularly, clients are referred to her by solicitors throughout the UK who cannot, for professional reasons, act themselves in the matter. Important cases include: TvT (Action of divorce in Sheriff Court involving a wide ranging series of complex court orders in connection with children, personal protection orders and valuation of companies within the Isle of Man and the UK); GL (as legal representative of her daughter) v KP (instructed directly by a mother on behalf of her 10 year old daughter to recover funds amounting to a quarter of a million pounds which had been misappropriated by her former husband, the child’s father. The case involved deprivation of the father’s parental responsibilities and rights and for an interdict to prevent him acting as legal representative for the child. The case was settled out of court on the basis the father repaid the missing funds to trustees on behalf of his daughter. The case is the first known case of its type to be heard before the Court of Session and involved forensic accounting to track and recover the sums due to the child, bearing in mind a criminal act might be involved); Reduction of Divorce (instructed by Dr S, living in New York State, USA, a number of years ago in connection with his matrimonial problems. He and his wife were divorced in Pakistan in 1989 and again in the Court of Session, Scotland in 1994. In 2000 an action of Reduction was successfully raised to reduce the Scottish Decree of Divorce. The Inner House (commensurate with the Court of Appeal) has reversed this decision. This case has substantial financial implications as well as international and domestic ramifications. There is an ongoing dispute regarding interest to be paid and expenses of the 1994 case); GvG (Anderson’s family law team is currently involved in an international divorce action in which the matrimonial property is estimated to be valued in excess of £100m. The case involves complex aspects of Syariah Law; social and cultural differences and the constant threat of international child abduction).

Career

Trained Baillie Gifford (now Biggart Baillie) (1974). Made partner of present firm 2008. Tods Murray WS, general litigation (1974-76); Russell & Aitken WS, conveyancing (1976-77); Brodies WS, civil and criminal litigation (1977-81); left work to have a family (1981); Appointed Court Reporter to Sheriffdom of Lothian & Borders at Edinburgh in child-related cases (1981); employed by British Agencies of Adoption & Fostering in Scotland as part-time solicitor advising on child issues, lecturing social workers and solicitors (1982-85); part-time and latterly full-time litigation assistant at Murray Beith & Murray with emphasis on family law, practising exclusively in family law from 1990 (1986-95); made associate (1993); accredited as family law mediator (1993); head of family law unit, Shepherd & Wedderburn (1995-98); associate in family law unit, Balfour & Manson (1995-2005); trained as a collaborative lawyer (2004); Anderson Strathern (2005-date) – head of family law unit and partner (2008); accredited specialist in family law. Judicial appointments (2007); part-time chairman Child Support Appeal Tribunal (1993-date); part-time chairman Social Security Appeal Tribunal (1995-date); part-time chairman Disability Living Allowance Tribunal (1998-date); part-time chairman Housing Benefit and Tax Credits Tribunal (2000-date); appointed to sit in Commissioners’ re-hearing cases of difficulty/complexity (2001); chair of the Arbitration Bill Working Party of the Law Society of Scotland. Publications of note: “The Future Role of the Curator ad !item in Adoption Proceedings”, ‘Journal of the Law Society of Scotland’ (Sept 1983); “A Summary of the Law in Scotland”, ‘British Association of Adoption & Fostering in Scotland’ (booklet on child care law) (1983); “The Child Support Act and Departure Orders”, ‘Journal of the Law Society of Scotland’ (1997); article in ‘Scotsman Newspaper’ on the recent House of Lords cases of Macfarlane and Miller (2006); article in ‘Scotsman Newspaper’ on the outcome of the McCartney/Mills divorce settlement (2008).

Member

Family Law Association (2008).

Education

St Leonards School, St Andrews; University of Dundee (1972, LLB).

Leisure

Opera; Bridge.