Partner - Family Lawyer and Head of Private Client
Fiona brings many years of experience as a family lawyer to her role as Head of the Private Wealth team. She works across all of the firm's offices, dealing with national and international clients. Her opinion is highly respected as she is one of our leading experts in complex divorce and financial settlements, and her clients value her calm, assured and empathetic approach.
Fiona's success with clients is built on a careful, considered focus on resolving each clients issues. She has many years experience in both contested and negotiated settlements, including being a collaborative practitioner.
Fiona has a proven track record of resolving disputes relating to properties, pensions, business assets, agricultural assets, trusts and overseas assets, particularly in relation to high-net-worth individuals. She specialises in pre- and post-nuptial and cohabitation settlements, and she has years of experience in helping clients resolve disputes over contact with and residence of children.
Chambers quotes Fiona as being very grounded and practical with an uncanny habit of always knowing what the outcome of a case will be at the start.
Private Client
Fiona heads up our Private Client department, using use her in-depth knowledge and experience to ensure that every client has the right team in place for their individual needs. Her work in family law means she understands how the needs of clients are changing, and that these needs evolve over time as circumstances change and new opportunities arise. Through building strong relationships with clients, Fiona ensures they are always fully equipped for the next step of their journey.
acting for a client whose finances were controlled by her husband through his business and property portfolio. This included dealing with complex and difficult evidence, and ultimately securing a favourable outcome for the client
representing a client in a difficult situation involving a dispute over children and significant and implacable hostility from the other party, and ensuring a rapid and sensible outcome
providing a second opinion to a client who was entering a final hearing, dealing with misconduct issues on the part of the other party and securing a successful outcome
acting for a client on a collaborative basis to negotiate a fair resolution of share scheme, property valuation and family trust issues
acting on a collaborative basis for a client who had a significantly higher income than the other party, and obtaining a creative result which reflected the parties' obligations to their teenage children
acting for a client in a complex property issue that involved liaising with US advisers to achieve a successful division of assets
acting for a client who was part of a complex farming partnership in divorce and financial negotiations and successfully preserving his business interests
acting for a client with a substantial property portfolio who wished, prior to marriage, to prepare a pre-nuptial settlement in order to protect their assets for their family, in particular a child, in the event of the breakdown of the marriage in the future
Fiona represented me in what was a particularly acrimonious divorce. Throughout she was incredibly supportive and immediately contactable at all times. Her calm, considered and measured approach helped me immensely in managing my own stress levels and gave me total confidence that I was in safe hands. Fiona's knowledge and wealth of experience was pervasive and coupled with a quiet but steely determination.-
