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Generation ex Much is changing in the world of high-value marital battles – not least the faces bringing the cases. Legal Business names the top tier of divorce law’s new generation CAMILLA SUTTON
IN THE HEAT OF A DEBATE OVER THE financial consequences of relocating to an offshore tax haven, a client turns to his City solicitor and says, ‘If it’s necessary, and costeffective, I can divorce my wife.’ An urban myth perhaps, but there’s no doubt that the wealthy are more commercially aware than ever before, even when it comes to matters matrimonial. In the last five years, Parliament and the judiciary have made changes to the principles that govern the division of assets upon divorce, aware of the increasing complexity of clients’ financial circumstances. Good divorce lawyers have had to keep up. In such a niche area, reputation and experience mean everything. Names such as Helen Ward and Jane Simpson from Manches, Fiona Shackleton of Payne Hicks Beach, Ray Tooth of Sears Tooth and Diana Parker of Withers are the most well known. Mention of their names will elicit a wry smile or a
reactive flinch from businessmen and women, and their financial advisers, around the world. Basically, you don’t want to be up against them – ever. Today, though, a new generation of divorce lawyer is making its way into the limelight. The next superstar generation may not yet be as flamboyant as their predecessors, but their technical ability and no-nonsense approach is already making their competition, and the Bar, sit up and take notice. If your marriage crumbles and you want to keep your money – or your other half has the money and you want it – these are the names you should be calling. Legal Business spoke to experts
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> from across the legal community – QCs, partners, assistants, tenants, clerks – to find out exactly whom the new generation of City millionaires, partners, celebs and those born into it need to know about, if their marriage should hit the rocks.
Slice of the action Picking one exceptional talent from the best family law firms isn’t easy: LB has uncovered nine of the fastest-rising stars in the profession. Top of the list are William Massey from Manches, William Longrigg from Charles Russell and David Lister from Sears Tooth: three partners whose depth of experience is already renowned. Also, watch out for Liz Vernon from Clintons, James Copson from Withers, and James Stewart from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, all of whom are doing exceptionally well in extrahigh-pressure celebrity work. The other Legal Business superstars are Elizabeth Hicks from Kingsley Napley, Alison Hayes from Levison Meltzer Pigott, and Harriet Burge from Harcus Sinclair. This new nine-strong elite share several characteristics, including pragmatism and a flair for numbers. ‘It’s encouraging,’ Manches’ Jane Simpson, a doyenne of divorce, enthuses. ‘The new generation have taken on board the more conciliatory approach championed by the Solicitors Family Law Association. They are aware of the wider aspects of practising family law; of understanding family dynamics beyond just the application of the law.’ Almost invariably, the assistants and junior partners who are considered to be the future big-money divorce specialists were, in their formative years, taken under the wing of one of today’s top names. The indomitable Fiona Shackleton at Payne Hicks Beach took assistant Fiona Brown with her when she left Farrer & Co. Alex Carruthers, who, in representing the husband in the ongoing, high-profile Mubarak case, took on, amongst many others, Sears Tooth, learnt his trade from (now) fellow name partner Frances Hughes at Hughes Fowler Carruthers. Emma Hatley at Withers was Gill Doran’s protégé, and in her earlier years, before she joined the partnership at Manches, Debbie Chism was considered to be Helen Ward’s right-hand woman. ‘Debbie was the Robin to Helen’s Batman,’ says Lucy Stone QC from Queen Elizabeth Building. ‘But now she has
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The New Generation: Head of the Pack (l-r) William Massey, Manches
After leaving Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Massey was trained by Helen Ward at Penningtons. When she moved to Manches, she took Massey with her. ‘I used to tease him that Manches only employed him because he was so good-looking,’ she says, ‘but the reality is that he has charm, charisma and great integrity.’ Massey prides himself on the fact that hardly any of his cases have gone through to final judgment before settling. Of particular note, though, he was involved earlier in the year in P v P, the leading case involving the Proceeds of Crime Act and its repercussions on the legal profession. William Longrigg, Charles Russell
Longrigg qualified at Charles Russell in 1987. His reputation, though, extends beyond his years. ‘William is right there at the top,’ says Jane Simpson of Manches. ‘He has both the breadth of ability and the right personality.’ Recent cases include a pre-nuptial agreement with more than $1bn of assets. He was the former chair of the SFLA London Region and is the secretary/treasurer of the European Chapter of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. David Lister, Sears Tooth
Lister is Ray Tooth’s right-hand man. And, as one member of the Bar said: ‘If I were getting divorced, I’d instruct Tooth just so that my wife couldn’t have him.’ Of Lister, one opponent says: ‘He has an extensive knowledge of the law, he is extremely sensible and practical and, in my experience, when we have been on opposing sides of what could have been very difficult cases, his good humour and pragmatism have saved the clients a considerable amount of money.’ He acted in G v G in 2002, which established an authority for interim maintenance to include an element for legal fees.
matured in the most gracious way, from being an assistant to partnership status.’ Things have moved on in the divorce courts, and while these new stars have a lot to live up to, they have been at the forefront of their niche through changing times. Chris
Pocock, a leading junior from One King’s Bench Walk, explains: ‘Now it’s far more about entitlement than need. There is even more importance on investigative work and
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‘Some of our clients are bonkers. Part of our job is not to give in to their every whim.’ Liz Vernon, partner, Clintons analysis. If you’re for the non-paying party, you have to find out what the assets are and where they’re hidden, what they’re worth and how you can get at that worth.’ And good solicitors need a lot more of the accountant in them these days. ‘They have to analyse financial structures and the nature of assets,’ Pocock continues. ‘Often it’s far from straightforward. It’s the same for the Bar nowadays: the first thing you do is take the pink tape off the brief, the second is open up a spreadsheet.’
Money matters ‘Big-money cases, the type of cases that we see, are obviously the tip of the iceberg,’ says Jeremy Posnansky QC, a silk at 1 Hare Court, one of the top three matrimonial sets in London. But the type of client that requires the services of sets such as his has evolved. These days, wealth is more often created than inherited. Clients are more commercial, international, entrepreneurial even. ‘People earn more money and their assets are more sophisticated,’ explains Nigel Dyer, a leading junior at 1 Hare Court. Legal practice has had to reflect that evolution. In 1999 the ancillary relief pilot scheme was introduced in London and the courts took greater control of proceedings, providing a structure of up to three timetabled hearings and demanding full and frank financial disclosure from both parties. Parliament, meanwhile, introduced the option of pension sharing. Lawyers in the last five years have had to think of more and more innovative ways of dividing assets, creating two (preferably independent) pools of wealth from one. ‘The parameters of cases have changed now,’ says Stone QC. ‘For example, a husband’s company used to be sacrosanct – wives getting shares in a company as part of a divorce settlement would have been unheard of five years ago.’
The New Generation: Highest Profiles (l-r) James Copson, Withers
Copson trained at Withers and was guided by Diana Parker before making partner in 1998. Described by one of his adversaries as ‘a tenacious, sometimes difficult, but effective opponent’, Copson represents ever more sports clients and has seen three of his cases in recent years go to the Court of Appeal. He represented the successful appellant in Wicks, the case that confirmed the law on interim capital arrangements on divorce, and Re A, which dealt with a specific issue order in relation to a parental dispute. More recently, Copson was successful in Pearce, the case that set out the law on capitalisation of spousal maintenance when requested years after the divorce. Liz Vernon, Clintons
Vernon was a partner at Mishcon de Reya before she moved to celebrity specialists Clintons. Over the summer she represented Karen Parlour, former wife of Arsenal and England footballer Ray Parlour, in the Court of Appeal. ‘Liz Vernon is definitely going places,’ says Gill Doran from Withers. ‘The way she handled both the case and the press interest that followed in Parlour was impressive.’ ‘Liz is an imaginative and highly committed lawyer who has a wicked sense of humour,’ says another admirer. James Stewart, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain
Stewart heads the family department at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. ‘James has a great following. He has a huge referral base,’ says Debbie Chism from Manches. Like Vernon, Stewart attracts the celebrities. In the last 18 months he has been instructed in cases involving members of Pink Floyd and INXS. He represented Clibbery in the landmark family/human rights case of Clibbery v Allen in 2002 in the first instance and on appeal. More recently he acted for Kerry Cox in the ‘battling barristers’ case that hit the headlines earlier this year.
These days everything must be disclosed, so it is all fair game. Even liquidity isn’t necessarily a barrier. It’s not just what can be shared that has changed, but also how. In 2000 the question of the division of assets upon Mr and
Mrs White’s divorce went before the House of Lords. Before White, assets in big-money cases were allocated according to (usually the wife’s) reasonable needs. A wealthy husband could even rely on the ‘millionaire’s defence’, thereby declining to provide disclosure of his financial circumstances in the knowledge
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The New Generation: Reputations to Reckon With (l-r) Harriet Burge, Harcus Sinclair
Another of Diana Parker’s protégés, Burge left Withers with James Harcus in 2002 to become a partner in Harcus Sinclair. ‘If I were to get divorced in ten years’ time and couldn’t instruct anyone from my own firm,’ says Massey, ‘I’d want to go to someone like Harriet Burge, someone who is well established, who knows what they’re doing and gives sound, realistic advice, without massaging the client’s ego.’ At present one of her cases involves 29 properties in four different jurisdictions, with total assets of over £10m, whilst another, an asset-tracing matter, has uncovered to date 50-70 companies and assets worth at least £20m. Elizabeth Hicks, Kingsley Napley
Hicks was against Stewart in Clibbery v Allen. She is described as ‘a first-class lawyer who is very popular with her clients and other family lawyers’. Another solicitor says she is ‘very approachable and sensible’. She trained at Edmonds Bowen in London and joined Kingsley Napley in 1997. She was made partner in 2001. Recently she has drafted a pre-nuptial agreement for a multi-millionaire that involved the instruction of lawyers in six different jurisdictions. Alison Hayes, Levison Meltzer Pigott
According to one lawyer who has been on the other side, Hayes is ‘feisty, no-nonsense and effective’. Initially at Mishcon de Reya, Hayes moved to Levison Meltzer Pigott in 2002. Her recent reported cases include F v F, which dealt with the balance of fairness in a clean break situation, and J v V, which dealt with the disclosure of offshore corporations. Hayes also acted on behalf of Angela Ermokova in the high-profile paternity proceedings that were brought against Boris Becker.
> that he could afford to pay his former wife any award that the court deemed appropriate. ‘White shifted the goalposts,’ Stone says.
Young guns With so much change, the lawyers have had to adapt, and the youngsters are on the ball. ‘It has struck me over the last few years just how up-to-date the younger solicitors
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are,’ Dyer says. ‘The way they keep abreast of current developments and changes on the horizon is very impressive.’ Just like the corporate and banking legal machines in the City, the best matrimonial law firms encourage in-house training. Technical skills are
honed as assistants move up the ranks to become partners. ‘It’s a given that a family lawyer has to be computer-literate, and numerate,’ explains Emma Hatley, a junior partner at Withers. ‘We have to understand company accounts, trust structures, pensions and taxation, as well as complex financial products such as employee share option schemes and incentive plans. As our clients’ lives have become more complicated, our understanding of different financial vehicles needs to be more comprehensive.’ The level of knowledge and understanding demanded by Withers has not gone unnoticed. Junior partner Julian Lipson is summed up by one silk as ‘technically excellent. He was everything you’d want a solicitor to be under pressure.’ Meanwhile, more senior partner James Copson is described as ‘very well thought of and mentally agile’ by William Massey, a partner at rival firm Manches, and ‘a bright young star; thorough and conscientious’ by James Harcus, name partner of Harcus Sinclair. Massey himself had a head start. Before turning his hand to family law, he was a corporate lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. ‘He is outstanding,’ says one of the divorce doyennes. ‘He has tremendous gravitas for his generation; an air of authority without being pompous.’ Technical expertise is important, but nothing beats experience. ‘The solicitors don’t work solo,’ Posnansky notes, ‘so assistants are seamlessly learning on the job.’ By its very nature, family law is flexible and volatile – every circumstance is different and the best lawyers adapt their negotiating positions accordingly. In short, matrimonial lawyers need to be constructive. Longrigg says of Kingsley Napley’s Elizabeth Hicks: ‘She is an intelligent opponent who puts a great deal of thought into her cases and is thoroughly reasonable to deal with.’ James Stewart, head of the family department at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, is praised for his ‘no-nonsense pragmatic approach’. Similarly, Harriet Burge, a partner at Harcus Sinclair, is ‘by reputation a very level-headed, sensible person’. Gill Doran, from her previous firm Withers, describes her as, ‘a very good lawyer. She is conscientious, a great negotiator, someone who will look for and achieve imaginative and fair solutions.’
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Volatile relations As can be expected, these partners have quite a task on their hands: divorce is often likened to bereavement and the clients aren’t always easy. Dealing with people during one of the most difficult times of their lives takes a certain type of lawyer. Liz Vernon, the partner at Clintons who recently represented Mrs Ray Parlour in the ‘footballers’ wives’ case that hit the national headlines, says: ‘What makes the job satisfying is that the client comes in in a state and you give them the financial tools to get their lives together again.’ Taking control of the situation is vital. ‘Yes, some of our clients are bonkers,’ Vernon concurs. ‘They’re in a state of great distress and not behaving as rationally as they would under normal circumstances. Part of our job is not to give in to their every whim.’ ‘If absolutely necessary, we can litigate to hell and back for them, but that can sometimes do untold damage to their family,’ she continues. ‘You have to remember that we’re only there for a little while. The client has to live with the consequences for the rest of their life.’ The nononsense approach is usually appreciated. By way of example, Alison Hayes of Levison
THE CURRENT GENERATION Current doyenne Douglas Alexiou Ray Tooth Gill Doran Fiona Shackleton James Harcus Claire Meltzer Jane Simpson Richard Parry Diana Parker Helen Ward
Place of practice Alexiou Fisher Philipps Sears Tooth Withers
What they say Noted for executing the touchy-feely side of the job with panache. Great name, great fighter. But don’t forget the charm. One of the most blue-blooded lawyers around. Aristocrats love her – so do hard-nosed businessmen. Payne Hicks Beach Yet more glamour – and a former Legal Business cover star – she hit the headlines with her work for Prince Charles. Harcus Sinclair One of the best to argue a difficult case. Notably – although not exclusively by any means – for difficult husbands. Meltzer Levison Pigott Now and for many years a grande dame of family law. Manches Superstar – and refuses to let a case escalate unnecessarily. Farrer & Co A technical perfectionist; intimidatingly brilliant. And the most mentioned of all: Withers Hard as nails, and active in New York circles too. Manches The choice of the City’s most influential heavyhitters.
Reputation means everything and work rarely comes from out of the blue. Do the job well and previous clients – or occasionally their former spouses – will refer work. To be a market leader and a renowned divorce lawyer, you have to be a technician and have the people skills to keep attracting the clients. We’ve named tomorrow’s elite. Today’s brides and grooms, take note. LB camilla.sutton@legalease.co.uk
Meltzer Pigott is, according to Alex Carruthers of Hughes Fowler Carruthers, ‘by reputation, a tough cookie’. The legal world of highprofile, high-worth divorce is small and tight-knit. A handful of firms dominate the market and, in turn, are dominated by individual personalities.
‘WE ARE FAMILY’: MOVEMENT WITHIN FAMILY CIRCLES
David Davidson
Penningtons
Collyer-Bristow James Harcus Jeremy Levison Claire Meltzer Simon Pigott
Sue Philipps Jeremy Fisher
Gordon Dadds
Levison Meltzer Pigott
Gill Doran James Harcus
Nicole Hackett
Manches Charlotte Bradley
Kingsley Napley
Withers
Anna Nice
Harcus Sinclair
Alexiou Fisher Philipps
David Lister
Alex Carruthers Pauline Fowler Frances Hughes
Sears Tooth
Siobhan Readhead Miles Preston Julia Stanczyk
Harriet White
Miles Preston & Co
Bates, Wells & Braithwaite Douglas Alexiou Jeremy Fisher Sue Philipps
Family Law in Partnership
Radcliffes Le Brasseur
Miranda Baker
John Nicholson
Harriet Burge James Harcus
Charles Russell
Helen Ward William Massey
Hughes Fowler Carruthers Ann Ison Ray Tooth
Payne Hicks Beach
Fiona Brown Fiona Shackleton
Farrer & Co
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