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  • ‘Donna Downes is a very senior and experienced family lawyer. Her reputation with the courts and associated professionals is second to none. She provides excellent support in relation to case preparation and is always on top of the copious amounts of evidence produced in public law children proceedings.’

  • ‘Donna Downes is the go to solicitor for public law children cases in Hertfordshire. Her knowledge and experience of representing parties in cases involving children who have suffered non-accidental injury, death and neglect is second to none. Her representation of vulnerable parents and young people is second to none. She is collaborative when needed but always robust in putting the needs of her clients first. Her attention to detail is impressive but her case management is tempered by the human experience making her an outstanding lawyer.’

  • ‘An excellent and well polished family law team. Instructed by guardians in complex and difficult matters. I dedicated and hard-working set who has a good market share of public law proceedings.’

  • ‘Donna Downes is an outstanding solicitor who works tirelessly for her clients and has an excellent grasp of the legalities in the cases which she is involved. She has excellent contacts and respect with experts and is able to manage brilliantly the task of arranging experts and professionals to be trial ready. She is the shining gem of Collins family law.’

  • ‘Donna Downes is a formidable mentor and exceptional lawyer. She is committed to provide legal representation to protect children from significant harm such as honour based violence, child sexual abuse, non-accidental injury, gang violence, drug and alcohol addiction, physical and emotional abuse, neglect.'

  • 'Danielle Messenger is meticulous in her preparation and is highly regarded for her robust, calm and approachable manner. She is equipped to litigate on such matters or creatively negotiate the terms of settlement.’

  • ‘Danielle Messenger was excellent from start to finish. Very professional. Explained everything I didn’t understand very clearly. Was easy to get hold of and no issue to big or small. Went above and beyond and made sure no stone was ever unturned. Would highly recommend her for family court. ’

  • ‘Danielle Messenger was absolutely magnificent throughout and really helped me cope with a very complex divorce and supported me personally and professionally. She was efficient, quick, direct and very thorough making the process less stressful for me and concluded speedily.’

  • The team led by Donna Downes is superbly organised.
  • Donna Downes is a force of nature! She is supremely organised, thorough and with an exceptional attention to detail that never compromises the bigger picture. Her negotiation skills are great.
  • I would not hesitate in recommending you to anyone requiring first class conveyancing services.
  • Done quickly and Paul was a pleasure to deal with.
  • Sympathetic to a difficult situation.
  • Kept me informed at all times and I could always talk to somebody.
  • Very pleased with the service, which lacked unnecessary formality and was professional throughout.
  • Donna will always go above and beyond on any case she is working on.
  • Excellent communication and advice.
  • You could not improve your service, it was excellent throughout.
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Home > Our People > Anna Murduck

Anna Murduck

Anna is a Senior Associate with over 20 years experience in Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Litigation. Anna joined Collins Solicitors in February 2015 as part of the complex and high value Civil Litigation Team.

Having obtained a First Class Honours Degree (BSc) from the University of Manchester and a Distinction in the LPC at The College of Law, Anna undertook her Training Contract with Blaser Mills Solicitors; qualifying as a Solicitor in 2005.

Upon qualification Anna worked for Weightmans LLP in the city for 9 years as a Defendant Personal Injury Lawyer. While there she was involved in a number of high profile cases including the Securitas Depot £50 million robbery, which was the largest cash robbery in British History. She worked for several major insurers, blue chip companies and numerous Police Forces and managed a very large caseload of complex, press sensitive and high value claims whilst also lecturing extensively to clients.

Anna's depth of knowledge, insight and expertise gained from her Defendant background has been of tremendous benefit to Collins Solicitors' clients. Her attention to detail is second to none, she is extremely intelligent and totally focused on securing the best possible outcome for her clients. Anna has an extremely down to earth approach, instantly puts her clients at ease and is highly sought after.

In addition to running a full case load, Anna is heavily involved in acting for circa 1500 clients in the Infected Blood Inquiry (IBI), Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) and involved in the connected Group Litigation Order (GLO). Anna is providing specialist advice and advocacy for the first infected blood clients who are now being invited by IBCA to make their multimillion pound compensation claims.

Previous Legal 500 reviews for Anna include being described as hugely impressive, demonstrating exceptional understanding of the subject matter and possessing excellent judgement.

The 2025 Legal 500 reviews describe Anna as a personal injury lawyer with apparently inexhaustible energy with excellent analytical and critical abilities.

Anna is my main point of contact and is first class but the team as a whole works well and I trust all of them. They are canny, robust and forthright.

Contact Anna on amurduck@collinslaw.co.uk.

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