THE SPEAR’S 500 Legal John West SKO Family Law


FOCUS Family law and reputational matters


Caroline Watson Shoosmiths


FOCUS Family disputes


Raymond Tooth Sears Tooth


FOCUS Complex, high-value litigations


+44 (0)20 7499 5599 searstooth.com


‘Divorce goes on in the good times and the bad times – human nature doesn’t change.’ So says Raymond Tooth, who has enjoyed a storied 50-plus years in the field. He still believes in the sanctity of marriage and relationships, but offers a word of hard-won wisdom: ‘The best advice is to live together, apart. You have your home, she has her home.’ Tooth’s name has long been synonymous with the UK’s toughest divorce wins. A noteworthy case was S & V, a leave-to-remove battle dealing with international kidnapping. ‘The mother had unlawfully retained the children in Ukraine since August 2018,’ he explains. Thanks to Tooth, the court allowed publicity around the case in order to persuade the mother to return the children to the UK.


Adviser profile Tooth, nicknamed ‘Jaws’ within the industry, is, in fact, good-humoured, jovial and surprisingly gentle. An even more surprising revelation is that his uncle was the screen legend Rex Harrison. ‘I wanted to be an actor,’ he says of his uncle’s influence on him, ‘but my father was a lawyer, and so I joined the family firm instead.’ Tooth, who founded Sears Tooth back in 1982, could not have fallen into a more dramatic career. In his early litigations, the lawyer ‘defended the underdogs’ against the South African government during the apartheid era, and even took on the mafia in Las Vegas. Now, he works largely on financial and children matters, and has pearls of wisdom for both: ‘One should never countenance delay if acting for a person who is seeking a financial settlement,’ he says. ‘In children cases, however, it is always the aim to do the best for the children concerned.’ The solicitor, who is a pioneer of divorce boutiques, received


congratulations from the Law Society for practising for over 50 years. ‘The essential ethos is to analyse the situation as quickly as possible and advise the client of a realistic objective and therefore manage aspiration,’ says Tooth. ‘But, in the words of the Victorian poet Robert Browning: “A person’s reach should always exceed their grasp”, and thus to achieve the best settlement result reasonably obtainable in financial matters.’ It is equally important to emphasise, says the seasoned lawyer, that


negotiation, if achievable, is better than litigation. That having been said, ‘one must always be prepared to seek the assistance of the Court if there is no other expedient way of resolution.’ Finally, he stresses that he’s open to welcoming clients from all walks of life. ‘I feel honoured to assist anybody who wishes to seek my help,’ he says.


caroline.watson@shoosmiths.co.uk +44 (0)37 0086 8314 shoosmiths.co.uk


Caroline Watson is a former Slater & Gordon lawyer who completed her training and made partner at Gorvins Solicitor. She now runs Shoosmith’s growing family department, a role which she has performed since 2017. Watson’s Milton Keynes-based team is highly experienced at solving complex financial cases, especially those involving overseas assets and business trusts, and adept at handling children cases especially those with a cross-border element. Clients have included HNW business owners, directors, senior managers and sport/ media personalities. ‘Without a doubt she impressed me,’ says one satisfied client. ‘She has meticulous case preparation, and gives realistic and robust advice at appropriate times.’


Adviser profile


Caroline is head of Shoosmiths’ national family law practice. Her cases often involve advising on complex family finances with issues such as overseas assets, family businesses and third-party interests. She works with lawyers in other jurisdictions where there is an overseas divorce or relocation of a child. Caroline guides and supports her clients through settlement negotiations whilst also being a robust and confident advocate in the event of court proceedings. She understands that every family is unique. Caroline gets to know her clients and agrees a course of action to best meet their needs. Her advice is clear, practical and strategic while also appreciating the sensitive and emotional issues that can arise.


‘I have the dubious honour of being described as the “doyenne of family law in the north west”,’ laughs Beth Wilkins, a specialist in the family law landscape for over 30 years. And the moniker is well-deserved. During her career she built ‘the biggest and best team in the north west’ at Pannone’s family arm, and grew JMW’s family team from Tier 4 to Tier 1. Impressed by the practice set up


by James Brown and Sam Hall, she joined Hall Brown in 2016. ‘I knew that it was the best place for me and my practice,’ she says. ‘Their focus on client service and no-nonsense, good value advice is how I have always practised,’ adds Wilkins, who describes her approach as ‘an iron fist in a velvet glove’ – combining empathy with relentless drive.


An associate at SKO, John West was recently ranked as a ‘star associate’ in one of the leading legal directories, which describes the lawyer as possessing an ‘empathetic approach and level-headedness’. ‘He has a particular gift for demystifying and dealing pragmatically with complex legal issues,’ his own firm says. His practice covers a range of issues across the family law spectrum, including divorce, high-value cases, non-disclosure agreements and pre-and post-nuptial agreements. He works as a lead solicitor with individuals and in ‘multi-disciplinary’ teams on larger and more complex cases. He also advises on the privacy and reputation management issues that often stem from high-profile relationship breakdowns.


Beth Wilkins Hall Brown Family Law FOCUS Complex HNW families


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