The formidable head of Schillings’ family division has had a fruitful year dealing with a number of high-profile cases, notably Wyatt v Vince, where she was able to appeal against a former wife’s retrospective claim, and Abuchian v Khojah, where her client received the highest ever High Court financial award following an overseas divorce (originally served in Saudi Arabia). Both cases have set precedents in the reach of English law into assets and domiciles.
James Stewart
The head of Penningtons Manches’ family team has built a reputation for cross-jurisdictional cases, and a commercial edge, having begun his career at corporate law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. He acted for the successful wife in the case of AB v JJB [2015], one of the first reported cases to focus on the English court’s jurisdiction under Article 3 of the European Maintenance Regulation. He also worked on the headline-grabbing AI v MT case, where the judge agreed to recognise a religious ruling — specifically a Jewish Beth Din decision — the first case where a High Court judge delegated authority to a Jewish religious tribunal.
Stephen Foster
‘He really understands people and combines this with an incisive ability to drive through a strategy to obtain the best deal possible,’ a leading QC says of Foster. Strategy is something that underpins the head of Stewarts Law’s divorce long-term thinking, having unapologetically assembled a legal dream team. ‘I’m trying to be like the All Blacks,’ says the Welsh rugby fan. ‘I’m trying to develop a team that wins by selecting the best people at every level, not just relying on a few stars.’ It seems to be paying off. He is now charged with cases typically worth between £250 million and £500 million, as well as several that ‘run into the billions’. Other top lawyers also frequently refer some of their most complex work to the judo black belt, whom they describe as ‘cool under fire’ and ‘incredibly civilised’. Foster’s most memorable recent case involved a ‘very complicated’ rags-to-riches […]
Dickon Ceadel
‘One might expect big-money divorces to always come down to arguments about how the millions are divided, but actually quite often it is the seemingly more minor details that are equally important,’ says Ceadel. Emotive issues such as ‘who gets to stay in the former matrimonial home, and who keeps the family pet or the inherited coffee cups’ are often the most difficult to resolve, he says. Cue a good family lawyer to smooth the way.