Click here to read the full article: https://spearswms.com/law/spears-family-law-survey-2025-leading-lawyers-experts-trends-divorce/
Luke’s comments have been published below with kind permission.
The high-profile divorce of Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin culminated in a 2024 UK Supreme Court ruling that denied his ex-wife Natalia Potanina the right to bring a $6 billion financial claim into London. The court ruled that the matter had already been sufficiently litigated in Russia and therefore further proceedings in the UK would be unnecessary. The decision has been taken by some leading lawyers as a signal that London’s courts are increasingly wary of becoming a fallback option, especially in instances where another jurisdiction has already exercised its own rule of law.
Luke states:
‘Choosing a jurisdiction is like choosing the rules of the game,’ says Luke Scarratt of Payne Hicks Beach, the firm that represented Mr Potanin. ‘A divorce conducted in London will be completely different to an identical divorce conducted in Paris, New York or Dubai.’
The takeaway is evident: jurisdiction continues to be pivotal, but English judges are increasingly wary of indulging behaviour that might be described as ‘forum shopping’.
For further information, please contact Luke Scarratt, in the Payne Hicks Beach Family Department or, alternatively, telephone on 020 7465 4300.
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