Given the complexity and scale of their financial and personal affairs, navigating family law matters can be particularly challenging for high-net-worth individuals, especially in an ever-changing legal landscape.
Over recent years, family law has arguably been most defined by a major change in the transparency of family courts. From 27 January 2025, journalists and legal bloggers were able to report on what they see and hear in any family court in England and Wales after a successful pilot scheme, supported by former High Court judge Sir Nicholas Mostyn. Once an advocate for privacy, he became a champion of transparency when, in a series of judgments, he unpicked previous family court judgments and ruled that the practice of holding proceedings in secret was unlawful.
The transparency orders have elicited support, criticism and anxiety among legal professionals. Many judges, barristers and solicitors who acknowledge arguments for transparency in the family courts say there is a tension between this and their clients’ need for privacy, particularly when it comes to big-money divorces.
Staying on headline-generating multi-million pound separations, a high-profile divorce case involving a retired UBS banker and his former wife at the UK Supreme Court could significantly affect how courts divide wealth when a marriage ends.
Standish v Standish marked the first major Supreme Court consideration of marital asset allocation in nearly two decades. At the heart of the dispute was whether assets accumulated before a marriage — so-called ‘non-matrimonial property’ — should be subject to what is known as ‘the sharing principle’.
[See also: Spear’s Family Law Survey 2025: Experts identify core trends]
The high-profile divorce case could have a major impact on how pre-marital wealth and intra-spousal transfers are treated in divorce settlements, according to Spear’s network of family lawyers, who await the outcome with bated breath.
The ongoing court backlog continue to shape the industry, with some law firms reporting a dramatic shift towards private Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) hearings. The court delays have also played a key role in a growing holistic approach to family law, with family lawyers increasingly pushing settlement out of court through alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation, collaborative law and arbitration.
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When dealing with a high-value divorce, or issues around cohabitation, child custody, pre- and post-nuptial agreements and mediation, HNWs tend to require specialised and internationally-minded legal experts who can help them to obtain a fair financial settlement or plan their lives following a separation.
The best family lawyers provide close support to their clients at every stage of a separation or divorce and combine legal knowhow with an emotional understanding of a client’s situation. They will also instruct an appropriate barrister if litigation in court is required, and can assist them in organising arbitration procedures.
Whatever road a client chooses to take, the Spear’s index of top family lawyers is an indispensable guide for HNWs and UHNWs in search of legal advice in the UK and beyond.
Explore the 2025 Spear’s Family Law Indices:
- Best family law barristers
- Best divorce consultancy and support service providers
- Best litigation funding providers
The index includes names who have helped A-listers and royalty to separate from their spouses, as well as lawyers whose cases have shaped divorce law as we know it today. The full list can be read below, as well as insights into some of the leading legal players and our research methodology.
For a second year, Spear’s is also recognising the contributions of ‘Senior Statespeople’ in our rankings: figures who have had a profound influence over their industry and, while they may no longer preside over a legal department, have irrevocably shaped their firms and the wider industry.
This year, in our family law guide, Hughes Fowler Carruthers’ Frances Hughes and Withers partner Julian Lipson moved to Senior Statesperson ranking. Other notable promotions include Withers’ Suzanne Todd and Anna Worwood, Penningtons Manches Cooper’s head of family, who both join our Top Flight ranking.
Click the links below to jump to a section of this article:
- Methodology
- Best family lawyers: some names to know
- Best family lawyers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
Best family lawyers: some names to know
Catherine Bedford
- Focus: Middle Eastern royalty, ultra-high-value cases
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Harbottle & Lewis
Catherine Bedford has been called a ‘future Queen Bee’ by one KC, but tells Spear’s she would rather be known for elevating those who work with her.
Bedford is recognised for her deep knowledge of all areas of family law, her ability to avoid the courts when required and tough litigating style when called upon, and her emotional intelligence when it comes to dealing with clients. But that doesn’t mean she’s unafraid to tell hard truths: ‘I’m not a lawyer who tells the client what they want to hear.’
Read Catherine Bedford’s full profile at Spears500.com
Kate Clark
- Focus: High-value financial disputes
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Mishcon de Reya
Kate Clark took on the mantle of head of family at Mishcon de Reya in 2024. She tells Spear’s that she acknowledges the big shoes that need to be filled but is intent on facing the challenge head-on. Clark joined the family team at Mishcon de Reya in 2014 and was made partner in 2021. She has a reputation for her straight-talking, honest and pragmatic approach to delivering advice. One top solicitor describes Clark as ‘a real star’, adding that she is ‘engaging, efficient and excellent’.
Read Kate Clark’s full profile at Spears500.com
Mark Harper
- Focus: Multi-jurisdiction cases, trusts
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Hughes Fowler Carruthers
Harper, a specialist in international cases and those involving trusts, emphasises that he is not deterred by complex, difficult situations or complex legal structures. He’s also keen to distinguish his practice from the firm’s competitors.
‘It’s very important that the client agrees with the suggested strategy and approach. Some of our rivals will say, “Trust us, we will get you the best result,” and then there’s terrible litigation.’
Read Mark Harper’s full profile at Spears500.com
Ayesha Vardag
- Focus: High-asset-value litigation
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Vardags
Firm principal Ayesha Vardag has been involved in several of the most significant cases heard in the courts of England and Wales, including winning the landmark 2010 prenup case Radmacher v Granatino. The firm also has recently handled matters involving assets held in 25 foreign jurisdictions.
Read Ayesha Vardag’s full profile at Spears500.com
Anna Worwood
- Focus: Financial and children cases (child relocation)
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Penningtons Manches Cooper
Worwood began her career at Manches in 2001, rising to partner within five years. When the firm merged to become Penningtons Manches in 2013, she became an integral part of one of London’s fastest-growing family law teams.
Worwood is especially known for her expertise in international child relocation. She co-chairs the relocation committee of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and in 2025 was invited to Washington DC to speak at a global forum marking 15 years since the Washington Declaration – a set of principles aimed at improving the handling of international child relocation disputes.
Read Anna Worwood’s full profile on Spears500.com
Suzanne Todd
- Focus: Complex international financial cases
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Withers
One top KC describes Suzanne Todd as ‘absolutely superb in what she does’ and an ‘incredible performer’. As well as being head of divorce and family, Todd leads Withers’ family and trust, estate and inheritance dispute teams in London — a position that the KC says instills confidence: ‘Usually a good test is to see who is appointed to run the department.’
Todd’s practice is multi-jurisdictional, and more than 60 per cent of her cases have an Italian nexus, thanks to a high degree of referral from satisfied clients.
Read Suzanne Todd’s full profile on Spears500.com
William Massey
- Focus: Financial aspects of relationship breakdown
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Farrer & Co
Recommended by numerous peers, with one describing him as ‘highly active and respected’ and one of the ‘most eminent practitioners in family law’, William Massey is head of the family law team at Farrer & Co.
He has 30 years of experience and specialises in the financial aspects of relationship breakdown in cases that are often complex, involving international dimensions and valuation, trust and tax issues.
Read William Massey’s full profile at Spears500.com
Amy Rowe
Hunters Law partner Amy Rowe specialises in some of the UK’s most complex and sensitive dispute cases involving children. Previously at Bindmans and Dawson Cornwell, Rowe moved to Hunters in 2024 to join Henry Hood’s successful family team. Her practice covers international surrogacy, adoption, relocation and child abduction.
Among her client base, she serves several UHNW families living around the world, so her work often includes an international element, including in jurisdictions without strong relocation frameworks such as Saudi Arabia. ‘I have a lot of clients in the UAE; a lot of them are expats,’ she notes.
Read Amy Rowe’s full profile on Spears500.com
Nick Manners
- Focus: Children law and financial remedy
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Payne Hicks Beach
‘In our world [of family law], you have to be available, empathetic and energetic,’ Nick Manners, head of the family department at Payne Hicks Beach, tells Spear’s. ‘You have to make quick decisions and think on your feet.’ Manners has spent the past decade climbing the ranks at the firm, working closely with the legendary Baroness Shackleton throughout his career.
He has been involved in many of the firm’s most notable family law cases, including the Princess Haya vs Sheikh Maktoum divorce case, Appleton & Gallagher v News Group Newspaper and PA [2015], Ciccone v Ritchie [2016], Barclay v Barclay [2021] and Potanin v Potanina [2023].
Read Nick Manners’ full profile at Spears500.com
Frances Bailey
- Focus: Business and land owners
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Mills & Reeve
A partner at Mills & Reeve, Frances Bailey is a key figure in the firm’s family law team, advising clients across Norwich, Cambridge and London.
Her cases typically involve complex financial matters, and she has a particular focus on clients with family businesses or landed estates, or who come from farming families. Wealth protection is often a priority, and so Bailey works closely with Mills & Reeve’s private client team. She has also been instrumental in the development of ‘precedent prenups’, which act as a standard prenuptial agreement that can be used for all members of the same family.
Read Frances Bailey’s full profile at Spears500.com
James Stewart
- Focus: Complex settlements
- Ranking: Top Flight
- Firm: Penningtons Manches Cooper
James Stewart of Penningtons Manches Cooper has a formidable record of getting results in even the most difficult of family law cases.
He describes his role as bringing ‘real added value’ to complex financial cases, applying a creative and solution-orientated approach. He tells Spear’s he wants clients to ‘feel at ease’ that they will receive the benefit of a service which is ‘second to none’.
Read James Stewart’s full profile at Spears500.com
Stacey Nevin
- Focus: International family law and trusts
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Kingsley Napley
A new addition to this year’s rankings, Stacey Nevin joined Kingsley Napley’s family and divorce team in 2016 and became a partner in 2022. She advises a wide range of HNW clients on all aspects of family law, including complex financial disputes and cross-border private children cases.
Over her 15 years of experience in family law, Nevin has built a strong niche in working with families whose finances involve complex trust structures. Her firm’s collaborative approach to family law means she often works closely with psychologists, financial advisers, tax planners and other specialists who can, as a team, create a holistic and tailored plan for each client.
Read Stacey Nevin’s full profile at Spears500.com
Lucy Stewart-Gould
- Focus: Media interest cases
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Stewarts
Stewart-Gould’s cases typically involve multi-jurisdictional elements. Highlights include one judgment in which she and her team successfully defended a client against claims of a sham trust, and another in which she acted for a ‘very high-profile’ individual in a private children matter across numerous countries.
In 2025, Stewart-Gould, alongside colleague Sam Longworth, is acting in Standish v Standish, the £77 million landmark divorce case that, as of the time of writing, could shape up to be the biggest marital test for two decades.
Read Lucy Stewart-Gould’s full profile on Spears500.com
Best family lawyers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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