Sears Tooth

This central London firm is a leading family law practice known for specialising in high-net-worth and complex financial disputes.

The firm: Established in 1982, Sears Tooth is recognised as a centre of excellence and undertakes a significant proportion of the most complex financial cases held in the High Court. It is also highly regarded for its breadth of experience in complex children matters and international family law. The firm takes on cases involving difficult or novel points of law and has an enviable track record of winning ground-breaking cases and obtaining leading family law judgments. It is known for having a tenacious no-nonsense approach and is not averse to taking court proceedings to achieve that result.

Raymond Tooth, the senior partner, was awarded the Spears Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to private client services and he and his partner Susan Apthorp are listed among the UK’s leading family lawyers. Clients appreciate the fact that both partners take a ‘hands on approach’ whether the case requires robust negotiation or hard-hitting litigation.

Types of work undertaken: Its expertise is wide-ranging including divorce, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, separation, and provision for unmarried parents, paternity disputes, contact, residence and international relocation cases. In addition it is renowned for protecting its clients using a wide range of emergency procedures in multiple jurisdictions including freezing and disclosure orders relating to both personal assets and assets held in offshore trusts. The firm’s client base is wide-ranging including celebrities, professionals, entrepreneurs and ultra net-worth individuals.