Praised for its ‘unrivalled breadth and depth of knowledge’, boutique firm SKO fields a strong team, whose expertise runs the full gamut of family and child law matters, with demonstrable strength in multijurisdictional work, novel child law cases and surrogacy and parentage matters. The highly regarded Rachael Kelsey, a ’towering figure in family law’, has considerable expertise advising on both Scottish and international family law, and is a key member of the team alongside Robert Gilmour, who takes point on surrogacy, parentage and cohabitation issues, Alison Edmondson, who focuses on high-net-worth matters involving corporate and tax issues, Susan Oswald, who routinely acts for local authorities on public child law cases, and associate Seonaid Cochrane.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘It was very reassuring to have Robert Gilmour on my side with objective yet empathetic advice to achieve what was a favourable outcome. His calm and pragmatic approach focusing on the job in hand allowed me to step back from the emotion of the situation and see the important issues.’
‘Alison Edmondson is an excellent lawyer, who is extremely experienced and knowledgeable. She is able to grasp difficult issues and adopt a pragmatic approach in order to find mutually acceptable outcomes. She works well and is impressive in the context of not only acrimonious litigated cases, but also collaborative family law cases. She is also an excellent mediator as is Robert Gilmour.’
‘Rachael Kelsey: The matriarch of Scottish law; the 'go-to' Scottish lawyer for international work. Rachael is exceptionally collaborative and kind with an inner core of steel. She delivers a really high level of service. SKO has a heavyweight, expanding team - Susan Oswald is also excellent.’
‘Scotland's strongest team of family lawyers. Formidable international family law experience to boot. In my view, SKO is the leading Scottish family law specialists. They have an unrivalled breadth and depth of knowledge. Their lawyers are consistently responsive, empathetic and demonstrate a deep understanding of the law.’
‘Robert Gilmour is renowned for his technical knowledge. He has been particularly helpful in relation to surrogacy matters, where he appears to be a leading expert on Scots Law. Alison Edmondson offers clients an impressive combination of empathy, legal knowledge and pragmatism.'
‘SKO is the pre-eminent family law firm in Scotland. The level of expertise from this firm is staggering, with Rachael Kelsey being an absolute powerhouse of legal knowledge with outstanding knowledge of complex international family law. She is hugely engaging and grasps tricky issues with a mastery of the subject. She is also a fantastically engaging speaker disseminating complex and dry material with impressive ease.’
‘Without a doubt, Rachael is a towering figure in family law. SKO is a top-tier family law firm - the level of knowledge is unparalleled. She is in a class of her own. I work mostly with Alison Edmondson and Robert Gilmour, who are both skilled and committed practitioners able and willing to take on difficult cases. In the last year, I have been impressed by Seonaid Cochrane, whose efficiency is rapidly becoming legendary.’
‘Rachael Kelsey stands far above her peers in this area - her legal expertise and client skills are second to none - she is indefatigable - this, alongside her contribution to international family law, is nothing short of staggering.’

Work highlights

Acted for a wife on a reported high-value Court of Session divorce with complex valuation and corporate structure issues.
Acting as Edinburgh agents on legally aided, reported public child law, judicial review case concerning privacy issues.
Handled a UHNW multijurisdiction prenup.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Rachael Kelsey

Hall of fameSKO

Founding Partner of SKO. Remains the only 'Hall of Fame' family lawyer in Scotland in the current Edition of the Legal 500; the only Scottish lawyer in band one of Chambers High Net Worth (2023) and the first Scottish lawyer in the Spears 500 Family Lawyers Guide. Only Family Lawyer shortlisted for Lawyer of the Year Award at the inaugural Legal 500 Scottish Law Awards in 2023, where she was also shortlisted as Private Client Lawyer of the Year. Elected President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) in 2023- the first Scot and the only woman from the UK in the thirty-seven year history of the Academy. Described as, "the doyenne of Scots family law" by both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 and The Times Scottish Lawyer of the Week in July 2020. Accredited as a Specialist in Family Law and as a Family Mediator by the Law Society of Scotland. Practice centres on financial provision, often in cases with an international or intra-UK dimension. Significant experience in cross-border, intra-UK and abroad, cases. Particular expertise in acting for LGBTI individuals (child and financial cases). Increasing corporate advisory and reputation management practice. Family arbitrator with, and trainer for, FLAGS (Family Law Arbitration Group Scotland). Trained collaborative lawyer. Past chair of Board, (Director and trustee) Family Mediation Lothian and treasurer of CALM (the organisation of accredited family solicitor mediators in Scotland)) and past chair of the Family Law Association.

Leading individuals

Alison Edmondson

SKO

Director of SKO Family Law Specialists – SKO. Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in family law and as a family mediator. Founding member of steering group of FLAGS (Family Law Arbitration Group Scotland) and FLAGS arbitrator. Trained collaborative lawyer. Past tutor in family law at Edinburgh University. Postgraduate certificate in mediation and conflict resolution from University of Strathclyde. Practice centres on financial provision and financial issues arising from separation and parenthood. Has particular interest in tax issues in family law cases – a subject on which she has written for the ‘Journal of the Law Society of Scotland’ – and unusual and/or complex cases including disputed paternity legal rights (inheritance) claims and family contracts including pre and post nups.

Robert Gilmour

SKO

Director of SKO Family Law Specialists. Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in family law and as a family mediator. FLAGS (Family Law Arbitration group Scotland) arbitrator. Practice covers the full range of family and child law cases. Recognised for particular expertise in cohabitant claims – acted for successful applicant in ground breaking and widely reported Supreme Court case of Gow v Grant (undertaking all advocacy at first instance) and advising on surrogacy and artificial reproductive technology. Extensive experience of advocacy including conduct of proofs, debates and other contentious hearings in the Sheriff Court (Scotland wide).

Susan Oswald

SKO

Founding director of SKO Family Law Specialists. Accredited by Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in child law and family mediator. Particular, and widely acknowledged, expertise in child law issues. Extensive experience acting in cross-border public child law matters (especially for Local Authorities and English agents). Routinely appointed by the courts as a reporter and curator ad litem in family cases. Practises full range of family law cases including divorce, separation and financial provision. Extensive experience in child residence and contact cases, adoption, child abduction (Hague and non-Hague) and specific issue order applications. Extensive experience of appearing in the Sheriff Court. Highly sought after mediator and adept at assiting in the most intractable matters.

Other key lawyers

Rachael Kelsey, Robert Gilmour, Alison Edmondson, Seonaid Cochrane, Susan Oswald

Legal 500

Our Team

FAQs

Marketing Resources

Newsletters

Contact us

Family

SKO