This accolade continues to highlight the PHB Family Team’s expertise, dedication and outstanding contribution to the field of family law and, in turn, its positon as a leading adviser to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net worth clients.
Baroness Shackleton is ranked as ‘Top Flight’, Nick Manners, head of the Family Department, Ben Parry-Smith, Harriet Errington, Victoria Hingston, Sarah Williams and Simon Beccle are ‘Top Recommended’, Matthew Booth and Charlotte Skea-Strachan are ‘Recommended’ and Camellia Buckmaster, Katie Parkes and Luke Scarratt are listed in the ‘Rising Star’ category.
Spear’s spotlights Nick Manners as ‘a best family lawyer name to know’, recognising his rapid rise through the ranks at the firm, working closely with the legendary Baroness Shackleton throughout his career and his family law focus on complex financial remedy and children law for uhnw and hnw individuals and families. Nick tells Spear’s, “In our world [of family law], you have to be available, empathetic and energetic,” and “You have to make quick decisions and think on your feet.”
Baroness Shackleton is highlighted for her cases that have shaped divorce law representing clients including royalty and A-listers alike as they separate from their spouses, with a specific focus on her recent involvement in the landmark case of Potanin v Potanina [2024], where she represented one of Russia’s richest men, Vladimir Potanin, and successfully blocked a multi-billion-pound case being brought against him by his ex-wife into English courts. Spear’s writes that Fiona “is Britain’s most feared and revered divorce lawyer” and “it’s not just Spear’s saying this, but her peers in the profession as well”, with industry observers describing Fiona as “the greatest family lawyer of all time.”
Linked below with kind permission, this year’s Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2025 includes:
Baroness Shackleton – ‘Top Flight’ with a focus on very high profile cases
Nick Manners – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on child law and financial remedy
Ben Parry-Smith – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on child relocation/abduction and divorce
Harriet Errington – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on out-of-court settlements
Victoria Hingston – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on complex financial and international disputes
Sarah Williams – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on surrogacy and adoption
Simon Beccle – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on milestone legal cases
Matthew Booth – ‘Recommended’ with a focus on matrimonial and Schedule 1 cases
Charlotte Skea-Strachan – ‘Recommended’ with a focus on children matters
Camellia Buckmaster – ‘Rising Star’ with a focus on complex financial disputes
Katie Parkes – ‘Rising Star’ with a focus on financial matters between divorcing couples
Luke Scarratt – ‘Rising Star’ with a focus on children arrangements
Spear’s says that “Given the complexity and scale of their financial and personal affairs, navigating family law matters can be particularly challenging for high-net-worth individuals. 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.”
The Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2025 showcases the top providers of legal services to HNW and UHNW individuals who are in search of legal advice in the UK and beyond. All lawyers are selected on merit with the rankings drawn up on the basis of peer nominations, client feedback, telephone and face-to-face interviews, data supplied by firms, as well as information gathered by the Spear’s editorial and research teams. The Spear’s Family Lawyers Index forms the core of the Spear’s 500, the key reference bible for HNW advisers.
For further details, see the best family lawyers list for high-net-worth individuals as first published online on 25 June 2025 in The Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2025.
