Spear’s writes that Fiona Shackleton “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.”
Nick Manners, head of the Family department, Ben Parry-Smith, Harriet Errington, Victoria Hingston, Philip McGuirk and Simon Beccle are ranked as “Top Recommended” family lawyers, together with Sarah Williams, Matthew Booth and Charlottes Skea-Strachan who are listed as “Recommended” family lawyers, and Camellia Buckmaster as a “Rising Star”.
Linked below with kind permission, this year’s Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2024 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 pre- and post-nuptial agreements
Philip McGuirk – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on high-value financial remedy cases
Simon Beccle – ‘Top Recommended’ with a focus on milestone legal cases
Matthew Booth – ‘Recommended’ with a focus on matrimonial and Schedule 1 cases
Sarah Williams – ‘Recommended’ with a focus on surrogacy and adoption
Charlotte Skea-Strachan – ‘Recommended with a focus on children matters
Camellia Buckmaster – ‘Rising Star’ with a focus on financial remedy
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 2024 showcases the top providers of legal services to HNW and UHNW individuals and it covers advisers 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 12 June 2024 in The Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2024.