Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

Family

Partner

William’s primary role is to help his clients resolve complex relationship breakdowns. His key expertise is in divorce and financial remedies on divorce – most particularly the resolution of complex and high value matters. He is also experienced in proceedings in relation to children, usually  involving issues of considerable complexity, such as questions around parental alienation or where allegations have been made between or against parents. William has significant experience in advising in matters where there is a pattern indicative of personality disorders and / or illnesses including addiction.

William advises a wide range of professionals, business owners and their partners from London, Surrey, Hampshire, Sussex and from further afield, including (for example) ex-pats from EMEA. His practice covers all areas of family law, including cohabitation and prenuptial agreements, separation and postnuptial agreements, divorce and the dissolution of civil partnership, the financial remedies upon relationship breakdown, variation of maintenance and private law children matters such as residence and international relocation. He is particularly interested in complex financial issues and arrangements in respect of pensions.

William is a member of Resolution and a collaboratively trained lawyer. He is a committed advocate of the benefits of the Collaborative Process and other forms of dispute resolution. William welcomes enquiries from clients who are open to mediation, therapeutic mediation, hybrid mediation, the collaborative process, PFDRs and Arbitration.  William recognises that not all cases can be resolved through dispute resolution processes. In dealing with those cases where a client needs to have recourse to the court, William is an experienced and robust litigator, adept at pulling together the right team to ensure that court process generates the best outcome for his client.

William is consistently recognized in the leading directories of rated lawyers such as Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Recent reviews praise him as:

a “first-rate lawyer who can navigate the most complex legal situations” “an expert in complex and high value cases” “always on top of the detail, very thoughtful and really cares about his clients” “efficient, caring and sensible” “goes the extra mile and is very pragmatic” “very collaborative and easy to deal with”

William speaks good French and some German and welcomes enquiries upon any aspect of family law.

William is admitted to practise in England and Wales.

Experience Advised a wife in securing a fair settlement from the complex multi-million assets despite obstructive and evasive financial disclosure; this included devising a settlement strategy and drawing together a team comprising counsel and shadow experts to achieve the client’s aims of a fair, early settlement without lengthy proceedings. The outcome multi-millions more advantageous than the respondent's early proposals. Advised in a variation of maintenance case securing the capitalization of a spousal maintenance to a former wife, notwithstanding the wealthy former husband’s aggressive litigation approach and the presence of factors which might otherwise have nullified the claimant’s case. Regularly advises serving and former military personnel and those with final salary pensions in relation to pension sharing; including in achieving positive outcomes with the assistance of specialist pension reports to facilitate early settlement in matters where the pension may be the family's main asset and cost-effective resolution of the matter is critical. Advised a father in complex and long-running children act proceedings involving issues of parental alienation and significant psychological disturbance in the respondent parent. A rare order transferring residence was granted in favor of William’s client. Advised and represented a parent over a two-week period in urgent private children law proceedings to secure an temporary transfer of residence to protect children from the consequences of the other parent’s addiction problems and then to secure a subsequent order allowing the client the opportunity to stabilize the situation, and maintain the children’s welfare whilst encouraging and supporting the resolution of the other parent’s addiction issues.