England - South East • Private client
Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP
With a ‘strong local and international reputation’ and offering a multi-disciplinary practice to clients which include high-net-worth individuals and parents, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is well versed in international work relating to the Children Act 1989 and surrogacy law. The ’incredibly talented’ Guildford-based team offers a ‘unique and exceptional service’ and is led by the ’experienced, conscientious and pragmatic’ Veronica Gilmour, who leads the firm’s alternative dispute resolution offering as a mediator and represents clients in complex divorce and separation matters and private law children’s disputes. Rachel Donald is an ‘excellent lawyer’ and prominent in matters relating to nuptial and cohabitation agreements. Laura Naser offers experience in handling nuptial agreement advice, Children Act cases, domestic abuse issues, financial claims and property ownership disputes between cohabitees. Previously at Mishcon de Reya LLP, Emma Willing is a ’superb new addition to the team’ who has extensive international experience assisting entrepreneurs, family business owners, professionals and celebrities with financial issues relating to divorce, private children law matters, cohabitation disputes and modern family building including surrogacy and adoption. Surrogacy law expert Bethan Carr is another key lawyer. Joanna Blakelock joined the department from Edwards Family Law in May 2024.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Veronica Gilmour is fantastic. She makes complex matters simply with a combination of brilliant legal knowledge and tactical acumen. Her bedside manner is second to none. She is always accessible and makes clients feel supported and at ease. Arjun Sreedaran is an associate of note within the team. He is friendly, approachable and compassionate. His cases are well-prepared and well-pitched. Beth Bell is extremely bright and very capable. She gives clear and firm advice and has superb judgment.’
- ‘Veronica Gilmour is a stellar lawyer and has brilliant leadership skills. Her team have the utmost respect for her and their brilliant working relationship shines through. Rachel Donald is very competent and delightful to work with, which makes settling cases easier for all parties.’
- ‘One of the leading teams in Surrey. Plenty of depth & strength in all areas of family law. Personable lawyers to deal with, with constructive solutions to cases. The team has grown and gone from strength to strength under Veronica Gilmour's leadership.’
- ‘Rachel Donald is an excellent lawyer, pragmatic, issue focused and very good client care and interaction. She is very approachable with a very good associate Bethan Carr. Veronica Gilmour is calm, reassuring but has a firm eye on the detail. Sarah Duckworth has the ability to manage an increasingly anxious client whilst remaining sharply focused on the key issues in the case, being able to manage expectations and encourage clients to see the wood from the trees.’
- ‘Laura Hughes is an exceptional lawyer with a great attention to detail. Her calm and friendly manner is reassuring and puts clients at ease as they feel that they are in safe hands.’
- ‘Emma Willing is a superb addition to the team. She is a class act. Excellent commercial awareness. An oracle when it comes to anything related to surrogacy. Bethan Carr is one of the country's leading modern family lawyers. Her knowledge of all international adoption and surrogacy is second to none. She is always able to find creative solutions. She operates at partner level.’
- ‘Veronica Gilmour is excellent, clever, experienced, conscientious and pragmatic, the perfect combination! Clients rightly trust her implicitly and it is reassuring that they will always have been given the right advice before the case reaches counsel. It is a pleasure to work with Veronica and I regularly recommend her.’
- ‘As a current client of Penningtons, I am incredibly impressed by the unique and exceptional service they provide. This practice stands out from other firms in their extensive expertise in family law, their incredibly talented team, and their unwavering commitment to their client's needs. Potential clients can comfortably rely on their understanding of the complexities of family law and their ability to handle even the most challenging cases with professionalism and empathy.’
Lawyers
Rising stars
Leading individuals
Partner in the family law team with a broad range of experience which includes advising on private children disputes, pensions on divorce and pre and post marital agreements. She has particular expertise in high-value, complex financial cases in both the UK and internationally. Accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer, she has been at the forefront of the development of non-adversarial alternatives in family law matters for a number of years. She is a qualified collaborative lawyer with a thriving mediation practice and is a longstanding member of the Surrey Resolution Committee.
Next Generation Partners
Rachel specialises in divorce and related financial matters and children cases. She also has particular expertise dealing with high value financial cases involving company assets, trust assets and farming businesses. Rachel regularly assists clients with wealth planning by advising couples entering into pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements. She has advised international clients regarding the terms of a pre-nuptial agreement where assets were held in multiple jurisdictions, and where there are complex trust structures that require protection. Rachel has represented domestic and international professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners and their spouses. Alongside helping clients resolve complex financial issues arising from divorce, Rachel also helps parents to resolve arrangements for children and with other related issues including applications for permission to move out of the country with their children. She has considerable expertise in dealing with complex children cases involving allegations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse and also parental alienation, often when the children in the case require their own representation by way of a guardian.
Emma is a partner in the family team with over 15 years of experience. She offers a depth and breadth of expertise in all aspects of family law and has developed particular capabilities in the resolution of complex and high value financial issues on divorce, private children law matters, cohabitation disputes and the drafting of marital and cohabitation agreements. Her extensive international experience sees her draw regularly on her network of international contacts across her caseload. She works for clients from a wide range of backgrounds including entrepreneurs, family business owners, city professionals, celebrities and the independently wealthy. Emma also has extensive expertise in advising in respect to modern family building whether through surrogacy, assisted reproduction, donor conception, co-parenting and adoption (both domestic and international). She has worked on numerous complex surrogacy cases involving overseas jurisdictions and for clients with international connections. As a qualified mediator, she can also assist clients in seeking to resolve issues outside the context of court proceedings. Emma frequently contributes to the legal press and is a member of Resolution.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Veronica Gilmour