Search for an Arbitrator

Shona is based in Edinburgh. She was part of the initial small group who took steps to introduce family law arbitration to Scotland. Accredited as a family Law specialist by the Law Society of Scotland, she has over 30 years’ experience in the field of family law, working as a solicitor, mediator and collaborative practitioner in addition to her qualification as an arbitrator.

Shona is a family law solicitor working in a specialist family law firm. She qualified in 1988. She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in Family Law and as a Family Mediator. Shona is trained in collaborative practice. She trained as a Family Law Arbitrator in 2011. She now sits on the National Committee. She was involved in setting up the website for the “therightkindofdivorce.com”. Please see the MTM website for additional information.

Ruth has significant experience in financial claims following the breakdown of a family relationship. She has dealt with, and acted as child welfare reporter in, many cases involving disputed care arrangements for children. She is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and has a particular interest in cases involving a cross-border or international element.

Siobhan has spent most of her thirty-something career practising exclusively Family Law. More than 20 years have been based in Glasgow City Centre but instructed countrywide. She has conducted many high-value financial provision divorce and breakdown of cohabitation cases. These have been both litigated and non litigated. Some are reported, most notably Coyle v Coyle and Sweeney v Sweeney. Prior to a break from practice in 2019, she was a ranked individual in Chambers and Partners. She is now a Consultant to long-standing firm, Beltrami and Company.

Rachael is Treasurer of FLAGS.

Rachael was one of the founder members of what has become FLAGS and has subsequently been involved in training arbitrators in Scotland and abroad. She was the first person to act as an Arbitrator under the FLAGS scheme.

Rachael has been ranked in the top tier of family lawyers in Scotland in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for many years. She splits her time between Edinburgh and London.

Rachael is particularly alive to the benefits of arbitration as a way of resolving intractable disputes - offering, as it does, a swift, flexible, cost-effective and discreet determination. It is ideal where parties are stuck and can’t reach agreement, but share concerns about the court process- whether those concerns relate to who will make the decision in their case; how public the process will be; the lack of control over costs and/or the inflexibility of the court timetable.

Rachael is very happy to discuss the process of arbitration on a no commitment basis with referring solicitors and counsel and, in appropriate cases, unrepresented parties. She can be contacted by email at Rachael.Kelsey@sko-family.co.uk

Hilary is the head of the Family Law Department at Grant Smith Law Practice. She has a wealth of experience in a variety of child and family law cases. She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Family Law, Child Law and as a Family Law Mediator and regularly receives instructions from courts to act as a curator ad litem in cases involving children and reporting officer in adoption cases. Although based in our Turriff office, Hilary manages family law cases throughout our network of branches in Aberdeen, Banff, MacDuff, Buckie and Turriff.

Lesley is Secretary of FLAGS.

She is ranked in band 1 by Chambers UK legal directory and is accredited as a specialist in family law. She is considered one of the leading experts in Scotland. Rated highly by peers and clients alike, one source comments: “She has financial knowledge and gravitas. I think she is faultless” (Chambers UK). Lesley has all round expertise in the various dispute resolution models and she is committed to helping families transition separation and divorce in a cost effective and child focussed way. She has particular experience in cases involving pensions and the interface between businesses and family law.

Karen is a partner at Family Law Matters Scotland. A graduate of Glasgow University, she qualified as a solicitor in 1992. She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in both Family and Child Law, and is trained in collaborative practice. Karen particularly enjoys work with an international dimension, and has been instructed by the Scottish Government in a number of international child abduction cases. She also tutors in family law at Glasgow University. As well as FLAGS, Karen is a member of the Family Law Association, Consensus Scotland, and the Glasgow Bar Association.

Gillian is the Managing Partner and Head of Family Law at Turcan Connell. She is accredited as a specialist in Family Law by the Law Society of Scotland and was the first family lawyer in Scotland to be recognised as an Eminent Practitioner by Chambers UK. She is dual qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and England & Wales. Gillian is a qualified collaborative lawyer and family mediator in addition to being an arbitrator. She is a member of the Family Law Association, Resolution, and a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL).

Sharon is a respected specialist family lawyer of many years standing who holds the confidence and trust of clients and peers in delivering sensible and pragmatic outcomes whilst recognising that confidentiality and sensitivity in emotionally charged environments calls for careful and considered handling. As a trained collaborative lawyer, experienced litigator and  advisor , she brings the ideal skill set to any arbitration environment.

Sharon is FLAGS Edinburgh pod leader.

Director at Wright & Crawford solicitors (est 1906) a progressive multi-disciplinary practice . Denise is head of Family Law team and offers the full range of alternative dispute resolution methods. –Accredited family law specialist, accredited mediator, collaborative qualified and FLAGS arbitrator. Focus on getting clients to a speedy resolution in a civilised context .

Isabella practices within the areas of child and family law, undertaking cases across the spectrum of disputes arising in these areas. She has considerable experience of appearing in court and has appeared in sheriff courts across Scotland, the Court of Session (both Inner and Outer House) and the House of Lords. Isabella was among the first group of family lawyers in Scotland to undertake family law arbitration training  and now participates in the national committee of FLAGS. Although she lives in Aberdeen, she is in Edinburgh most weeks and undertakes work across Scotland.

Ruth is accredited as a Specialist in both Family and Child Law by the Law Society of Scotland. She graduated from Edinburgh University, and qualified as a solicitor in 1999, and has practised predominantly in the area of family law now for nearly twenty years. She is a qualified Collaborative Lawyer, a member of Consensus Collaboration Scotland and the Family Law Association.

Ruth is regularly appointed as a Child Welfare Reporter and Curator ad Litem. Her practice regularly includes both financial provision and complex child law matters.

Judith is partner in charge of the Family Law team of Taggart Meil Mathers. She is accredited as a specialist in Family Law and as a Family Law Mediator by the Law Society of Scotland. She promotes the use of alternative methods of dispute resolution and is trained as a collaborative lawyer. She litigates family cases where required. Judith is a committee member of the Scottish Family Law Association and Consensus.

Robert is a director at SKO Family, Edinburgh. As well as being a FLAGS arbitrator he is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a family law mediator and family law specialist.

Robert's practice covers the full range of family matters including financial and child related issues.

As a solicitor with extensive advocacy experience Robert brings to bear a combination of a sharp understanding of the needs of the client together with a clear and focussed approach to the arbitration process itself.

I was accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Family Law in 2004 and the majority of my caseload relates to family law matters, including separation, divorce, co-habitants’ claims and actions relating to children.

I frequently find myself “up against Counsel” on the other side of my cases and I can hold my own in the most complex of litigation against the most experienced of Advocates. Clients are referred to me, in the main, through word of mouth. This is proof of the fact that former clients have been impressed at the handling of prior cases. With so much experience over a 30 year career, my client base continues to grow steadily.

I am keen to explore alternative ways of resolving disputes in the interests of my clients. I have trained as a collaborative lawyer. I have also been accredited by The Law Society as a Family Law Mediator. I am trained as a Family Law Arbitrator and, at present, I am offering arbitration to my clients as an alternative to dispute resolution in the Court Room. I have been appointed by the Court as an Arbitrator on one occasion and have represented clients in arbitrations twice.

I am a member of the Family Law Association; the Family Law Arbitration Group; and I am an active member of the local Collaborative Pod Group.

Scott specialises in Child and Family Law at the Scottish Bar. He is regularly instructed to advise and represent in matters such as financial provision on divorce and cessation of cohabitation, international child abduction, contact and residence disputes, particularly those with an international element and involving child relocation, permanence and adoption orders, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements as relating to family law and matters raising questions of jurisdiction. Scott sits on the Committee of the Advocates Family Law Association and the Board of Family Mediation Lothian. He is also a regular speaker at conferences on family law.

Alison is based in Edinburgh and one of the four arbitrators at SKO. She is one of the few family solicitors in Scotland to hold a postgraduate Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Resolution and has long been a proponent of non-court based forms of dispute resolution. She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Family Law and as a Family Mediator and is also a trained Collaborative Lawyer. Chambers & Partners describe Alison as "intellectually strong" and as being someone who “is admired for her work in novel financial proceedings, particularly those with complex actuarial and tax issues”

Fiona is a partner with Gibson Kerr and head Gibson Kerr’s family law team. She is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in family law and as a family mediator. Fiona is a trained collaborative lawyer. She has over 25 years’ experience in all aspects of family law both in relation to litigation and in the negotiation of family disputes. She deals with financial disputes and with disputes regarding children. Fiona practises exclusively in family law and is committed to working with clients to achieve a constructive and workable solution for them and their family.

Jenny is an expert family lawyer with an extensive track record of providing confidential support and specialist legal advice to a range of clients. She has been accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in family law, is a former family law lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and is also a collaborative lawyer.

Janys Scott is an experienced family law practitioner.   As a QC she deals with a wide variety of financial provision and children's cases, many of which feature in the law reports.  She is also a part-time sheriff and well used to adjudicating on contested issues.

Lorna has specialised in family law since 1995. She was one of the founding partners in the specialist family law firm, Patience & Buchan, before merging with Thorntons Law LLP. Lorna’s particular expertise is in high value financial cases and disputes involving children. Lorna is recognised as a specialist family lawyer and accredited family mediator by the Law Society of Scotland as well as regularly practising collaborative family law.

Fiona is a very experienced family law solicitor, accredited as a specialist by the Law Society of Scotland. She is well known for her robust support of her client's, her practical and realistic advice to them and her grasp of technical business complexities on separation. Hers is a hands on and solutions based practice.  Fiona is lead partner of the very well respected Morton Fraser Glasgow Family Law Team. She is media savvy (@fifisasan) but also a firm believer in treating all of her cases with the utmost discretion. A trained Collaborative lawyer, experienced litigator and advisor, she brings the ideal skills set to any arbitration environment.

Fiona is FLAGS Glasgow pod leader.

Cath Karlin is a leading family law specialist and has been a pioneer for positive changes in family law. She firmly believes that you can divorce with dignity and is committed to help you minimise the fallout to you and your children that divorce and separation so often brings. Cath has all round expertise in all dispute resolution models from litigation to Arbitration, Mediation and Collaborative Practice.  Her focus is on enabling her clients to make future focused decisions, helping them to tailor settlements to suit their own unique set of circumstances and providing commercial yet compassionate value driven advice.

Martin is an accredited specialist in Family Law and has been appearing in Family Law courts on a very regular basis since 1991.   He also has considerable experience with Guardianship disputes in terms of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and in particular those with family law aspects.

Amanda has her own dedicated family law practice: Amanda Wilson Family Law, having previously spent 15 years in the family team at a large firm, latterly as a partner. Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Family Law, she is a prominent family lawyer in Tayside and the former Dean of the Faculty of Procurators and Solicitors in Dundee. She has previously held the post of Director of Relationships Scotland – Family Mediation Tayside and Fife and is a member of the Family Law Association.

Amanda advises on all matters related to family law, including separation, divorce, residence/contact disputes, cohabitation matters, prenuptial agreements, civil partnerships, surrogacy, adoptions and protective remedies such as interdicts/exclusion orders.

In her practice, Amanda is keen to promote alternative methods of dispute resolution; especially where there are children involved. She recognises the importance of trying to achieve an amicable and respectful, yet fair outcome for her clients. This lead to her training as a Collaborative Lawyer and latterly, as a FLAGS Arbitrator.

Amanda is keen to promote Arbitration as a means of resolving disputes, as she appreciates that it can offer greater flexibility, speed and value for money which traditional methods often cannot provide.