FAMILY LAWYERS


229


Fiona Read Russell-Cooke


FOCUS International cases, same-sex couples


An experienced practitioner in all aspects of family law, Russell-Cooke partner Fiona Read is described by peers as ‘fiercely intelligent and extremely able’. She also serves as a district judge in the family and civil courts, where she has been elected to hear private children disputes between parents – giving her valuable insight and perspective.


Read has noted developments in


what may constitute unreasonable behaviour, plus an increase in arbitrations and financial dispute resolutions. ‘This is probably as a result of cases being allocated away from the central family court and the limited time now being allowed for family cases in the courts,’ says Read.


Tanya Roberts Collyer Bristow


FOCUS Complex financial issues


Brigid Turner Turner Nicholson


FOCUS Conventional & collaborative methods, South East


‘She is very thorough and a foremost strategist. Her clients absolutely adore her,’ says a senior family lawyer of Tanya Roberts – the former Mishcon lawyer now making her name in Collyer Bristow’s family team. Roberts has acted for both international and UK clients across all areas of family law, including the financial aspects of relationship breakdown, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and same-sex relationships. She is also very knowledgeable on


legal issues relating to children, having led on cases involving complex religious issues, internal relocation, alleged substance abuse and mental health issues concerning one of the parents. She is also the co-author of Privacy and Disclosure for Family Lawyers.


Suzanne Todd Withers


FOCUS Family law, children law,


pre- and post-nuptial agreements withersworldwide.com


Catherine Thomas Bortoſt Bell


FOCUS Financial remedies, arbitration


‘Somebody in my my case is always awake,’ jokes Catherine Thomas about the time zones her cases cover due to their cross-border nature. Recent negotiations have spanned Australia, New York, Europe and South Africa. Thomas has been increasingly


using ‘shuttle negotiations’, where lawyers meet separately to thrash out an agreement. ‘You can do it in one meeting if


something’s time- sensitive and clients want the good deal done quickly,’ she says. In 2021 Thomas moved to


Bortoft Bell from Dawson Cornwell to join partners Arron Bortoft and Charlie Bell, who both specialise in resolving complex, high-value cases for HNWs.


Simon Thomas Michelmores


FOCUS South West, litigation


One top QC describes Suzanne Todd as ‘absolutely superb in what she does’ and an ‘incredible performer’. Todd leads Withers’ family and trust, estate and inheritance dispute teams in London. Todd may not shout ‘about the good work that she does compared to many others’, but she has no shortage of credentials. Her practice is multi-jurisdictional, and she has a particular connection with Italy. Over 60 per cent of her cases have an Italian nexus, thanks to a high number of referrals from satisfied clients. ‘Even better referral sources are the other side of old clients,’ she says.


‘Highly experienced, very measured, very capable,’ says an industry commentator of the head of Michelmores’ family team, which has niche expertise in complicated surrogacy cases. Simon Thomas’s 25-year practice covers all corners of family law, with specialism in big-money cases involving a range of entrepreneurs holding a variety of international financial vehicles. He is known for resolving issues concerning financial provision for children, trust funds, cohabitation disputes, property portfolios and pension provision. A classics graduate and a trained mediator, Thomas started his career in litigation practice at Gray’s Inn and joined Michelmores in 1992, where he was made partner in 1998.


Adviser profile Head of the firm’s premier Family & Trust, Estate and Inheritance teams, with over two decades’ experience in successful conflict resolution, Suzanne Todd focuses on high-value finance, private children law (including surrogacy) and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Suzanne is the ‘go to’ lawyer in London for all divorces with an Italian theme. Her clients include everyone from figures within the entertainment and motorsport worlds, founders, senior City CEOs and their partners. Her strengths are her persuasiveness, efficiency and collaborative approach. Clients and peers have described her as ‘a very organised, systematic and solution-focused mastermind’, praising her as ‘strong, professional and brilliant, with the appropriate amount of compassion and humour’. Suzanne is a practising Mediator and Collaborative lawyer.


It’s rare to find divorce pleasant in any way, but for one of Brigid Turner’s clients, it turned out to be more than just bearable. ‘It was almost a pleasure getting divorced with Brigid alongside,’ the client says, calling Turner ‘the only lawyer I’ve met with their dignity and conscience intact’. This is just one of many such accolades in Turner’s practice: industry commentators call her ‘a great all-rounder’. She covers the entire spectrum of family law, with particular expertise in nuptial agreements, jurisdictional complications, and all manner of relationship breakdowns. Many of her cases involve complex trust structures, private companies and inherited wealth.


Joe Vaitilingam Vaitilingam Kay


FOCUS Big-money cases


‘Cool, calm and collected, with a constructive approach to solving relationship issues’ is how a rival firm describes Joe Vaitilingam. Vaitilingam Kay provides clients with ‘Magic Circle’ service ‘without the ginormous price tag’. The firm uses cloud-based systems, which enables them to operate more cheaply and efficiently, even where big-money cases are concerned.


Such innovation is necessary,


Vaitilingam has previously told Spear’s, not only to differentiate oneself in a competitive landscape, but also to reduce the complexity of cases. He resented the fact that there’s a ‘ludicrous’ volume of lawyers scrambling after cases with the biggest sum at stake.


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