Luke Scarratt says he would not be where he is without the guidance he has received throughout his professional life. ‘Mentorship has been enormously important in my career,’ the family lawyer tells Spear’s. ‘The reason that I got into family law was Baroness Shackleton. When I did my training contract, I assisted Fiona on a number of cases. I’m just delighted to now be working very closely with her, as I have done for the past eight years.’
However, the senior associate at Payne Hicks Beach should credit himself too. Scarratt’s dedicated work ethic and focus on forming strong relationships with clients are reasons for much of his success. ‘Honestly, you are only as good as your last case, so I have a total hyper-focus on making sure we get good results for our clients,’ he says.
Working across all aspects of family law, from divorces to prenuptial agreements and cases involving child custody, Scarratt says his approach is always focused ‘on client relationships and making sure that problems are identified’. He adds that once a menu of options is offered to the client, he will guide them to the one which will bring the best outcome.
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As well as working on his clients’ cases, Scarratt also strives to ensure their mental health is looked after amid the often arduous UK legal processes. He helped spearhead Payne Hicks Beach’s set of mental health guidelines, which are publicly available and provide resources to help vulnerable clients. ‘Maintaining mental health should be a shared goal, particularly when there are children involved,’ he says.
Lawyers’ mental health is also something Scarratt focuses on, as he points out that legal professionals often deal with situations when they are at their most emotionally intense stages. He says that as a lawyer, ‘you receive a lot of feedback from people probably going through the worst moment in their life’. He adds: ‘Junior lawyers are often the first port of call for clients. We want to make sure the effects of family breakdown are not visited on the advisers, or when they are, they are properly managed.’
For both now and in the future, Scarratt sees privacy as the priority for HNWs engaging with family law. He notes that wealthy families are increasingly opting to take their cases out of the public system and settle matters privately. ‘It is only there that you can guarantee that your case is not going to be picked over by the press, particularly if they’re high-profile.’ he says.
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When asked about his own professional future, he takes a pragmatic stance: ‘I have a number of upcoming trials that we are working extremely hard for, and those occupy my thinking almost all of the time.’
[This feature first appeared in Spear’s Magazine issue 98. Click here to subscribe]
