Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Jane headed the family department from 2006 until 31 March 2022, when she stepped down as a partner and became a senior consultant in the firm. She is a recognised expert in high value divorce finances with many years’ experience of cases involving trusts, inherited wealth, complicated remuneration structures and assets overseas. Her expertise includes the preparation of pre nuptial and post nuptial agreements. Jane is also a recognised expert in cases involving unmarried couples and has contributed to a number of significant practice guides to the law in this area. Many of Jane’s cases have an international dimension and she is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL), a worldwide association of practising lawyers who are recognised by their peers as the most experienced and expert family law specialists in their respective countries. Jane has been ranked in The Legal 500 Hall of Fame since 2020, having previously been ranked as a Leading Individual for many years. She is recognised by Best Lawyers UK 2022 as a leading expert in family law and is a Recommended Lawyer in Spears 500 2022. She is  ranked as a Leading Individual in Chambers UK High Net Worth and Chambers UK. Jane has played a leading role in the development and practice of family law for 40 years.  She is a former chair of Resolution, the leading organisation of family justice professionals in England and Wales. She was the first private law solicitor member of the Family Justice Council, which advises the government on family policy issues, and chaired its private law Children in Families Committee for six years. She is an active member of Resolution’s Cohabitation Committee, which campaigns for reform of the law to provide protection for vulnerable cohabitants. Jane has represented clients involved in some of the country’s leading reported cases, including T v T, a case relating to jurisdiction in European family disputes and Grey, one of the leading Court of Appeal decisions on the impact of cohabitation on maintenance claims for wives and former wives.

Described as a ‘guru of international family law’, James Stewart is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and general editor of the definitive publication on comparative international family law, Family Law: A Global Guide (the ‘Blue Book’). James shines in difficult, often international, cases that need strategic vision, diligent execution and a motivated, able team. With a focus on complex family disputes, marital agreements and cases with an international dimension, including claims for financial relief following overseas divorces (Part III), James has become the family lawyer of choice for family offices, trustees and others who find themselves embroiled in complex English divorce and family proceedings. A leading QC describes James as ‘undoubtedly one of the leaders in family law globally’. In September 2020, James was appointed Visiting Professor of Law at Ulster University and also serves on the Consultation Board for Practical Law – Family. James continues to chair the annual Legal Dinner in aid of the leading peacebuilding charity, Co-operation Ireland. Dual-qualified in England & Wales and Northern Ireland, James is also a family arbitrator and a collaborative family lawyer.

Amanda is a partner in the family team and a member of Penningtons Manches Cooper’s private wealth group. She offers a depth of resource for clients and brings more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of family law, but especially complex children matters and high finance including offshore trusts, complicated property aspects and corporate structures. She also regularly negotiates complex pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Amanda is a trained mediator who strongly believes in resolution without recourse to court proceedings wherever possible. She approaches all her cases with the same pragmatic and empathetic approach, seeking to find sensible and fair solutions at the earliest opportunity be it in relation to children or the financial aspects of relationship breakdown.

Rebecca is a partner in the family department, advising on all issues arising from divorce and relationship breakdown, both financial and children related. She is experienced in drafting pre- and post-nuptial agreements, both domestic and international, and in resolving issues between unmarried couples. A member of Resolution, the leading association of family lawyers in England and Wales, she is also a trained collaborative lawyer. Highly regarded by clients and her peers, she is one of the few family lawyers to have been recognised by The Lawyer as a prestigious ‘Hot 100’ alumni. She is also listed in the Citywealth Leaders List. Her recent work includes acting in the reported case of AI and MT, where the High Court agreed to refer the children, divorce and financial issues between a couple to religious arbitration; advising the successful defendant in F v Y (Abduction: Acquiescence) involving an alleged wrongful removal of a child to Russia; and acting in Re: B (Children), one of the first reported Court of Appeal cases to focus on the English court’s jurisdiction under Article 3 of the European Maintenance Regulation.

Anna is the head of the family law department, and specialises in matrimonial, financial and children cases. She has extensive experience in cases of a complex nature (including those with international aspects) and a particular interest in international relocation cases. She represented the father in Re C [2003] 1 FLR 1066, the mother in Re D [2006] Fam Law 1006 and the father in Re C (International Relocation) [2015] EWCA 1305. Anna was included in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2016. She is a trained collaborative lawyer.

Partner in the family law team. Undertakes financial orders on divorce/relationship breakdown/civil partnership dissolution; nuptial agreements; Children Act cases, with an emphasis on same-sex disputes; and pre-conception agreements. Regularly contributes to legal journals and writes articles for the gay press.

Tammy is a partner in the London office, specialising in all areas of family law, particularly those with an international element. She regularly advises on child abduction and international relocation of children, financial issues arising from separation, Family Law Act applications, disputes about child arrangements and prenuptial agreements. She is also experienced in representing vulnerable clients, including teenage children.

Partner with experience in all aspects of family law, and particularly in cases with an international dimension. She often advises clients on complex financial disputes where there are assets in multiple jurisdictions, including offshore trusts. She also represents parents in disputes concerning children, involving issues such as how much time the children should spend with their parents, their health and education, as well as where they should live. She has extensive experience in cases involving the international relocation of children.She works closely with colleagues in the private wealth sector to advise high net worth individuals on all aspects of wealth protection, including cohabitation and nuptial agreements, and financial provision for children.