David is a director at Family Law in Partnership. He acts for a wide range of individuals including business owners, entrepreneurs, bankers, other lawyers and their partners. The focus of his practice is financial claims on divorce, particularly those with an international element, but he is also well known for his expertise in the legal issues affecting cohabitants, same sex couples and civil partners. David was named Family Law Partner of the Year at the Family Law Awards 2019.

David settles the vast majority of his cases outside the Court process but where cases have to go to court he is a determined and effective litigator. His goal is to achieve the best outcome for his clients and to do so in a way that produces an efficient, fair and positive result.

The legal directories Chambers UK, Chambers HNW and Legal 500 have all ranked David as a leading family lawyer for many years. He is ranked as a leading individual for both family law and family mediation in The Legal 500 UK 2022, 2021 and 2020. In relation to his work as a mediator, Legal 500 UK comments: “David Allison is superb – he grasps the issues quickly, is no nonsense, genuinely cares about the clients and is excellent value for money” and “David Allison is very experienced in mediation. He is extremely calm and very skillful at diffusing potentially inflamed situations”. In relation to work as a family lawyer, Legal 500 UK 2021 notes “He understands the gravity and complexity of complicated financial arrangements which he is able to unravel without fuss or fanfare” with Legal 500 UK 2022 commenting that he is a is a “stellar individual” and “stands out as one of the best negotiators in the business. He is trusted by his peers and respected. David is the antidote to the toxic world of family breakdown. He is always completely on top of his brief, calm and collected; the most difficult cases appear simple and straight forward in his capable hands.”

Chambers HNW 2021 notes: “He is a consummate professional. He makes the most difficult cases seem simple. He gives straightforward advice and guides his clients seamlessly to the result they want.”  Chambers HNW 2020 notes that David is “everything you would want as a client,”  he is “strategically and tactically a force to be reckoned with …. he delivers excellence in family law. He is all about client service delivery.” Chambers UK 2020 remarks that “David is smart, calm and charming. He exudes a quiet confidence and achieves impressive results without a lot of noise or fanfare”. Chambers UK 2018 and 2017 remark: “He is technically strong and always tries to resolve matters amicably” “He has significant expertise in cases involving alternative family structures and cohabitees.” David has also appeared in the Citywealth Leaders List with comments including: “He sets expectations very squarely in terms of timing, cost and potential outcomes. He is diligent at following through on issues and is aware that his clients are busy and works to accommodate diaries.”

David is committed to a constructive approach to resolving issues. He is a trained mediator and has FMA senior mediator status. He trained as a collaborative lawyer in 2003 with the first group of lawyers to be trained in the UK and is a Resolution collaborative specialist.

David is a member of both the International Academy of Family Lawyers, where he is chair of the LGBT committee, and the UK & Ireland LGBT Family Law Institute. He is a former chair of the International Family Law Committee of the American Bar Association, International Section and is a past chair of Resolution, the family lawyers association.

• David acted collaboratively for the wife of an entrepreneur who had established a household name company. The family wealth was structured through a Jersey trust, which held property in the UK and the USA. David successfully negotiated a deal which gave his client 50% of the assets.
• David acted for a banker on the dissolution of his civil partnership where a significant financial claim was made by a non-working civil partner. David secured a clean break for his client after a two year term without giving an increased share of the capital.

David’s reported cases include:

• Re AA [2021] EWFC 17, a children case issued before the end of the Brexit transition period where a lis pendens situation arose between the UK and a 1996 Hague Convention country that is not a signatory to Brussels II Revised. The Court decided that the 1996 Hague Convention, not Brussels II Revised should apply.
• Dobson v Griffey [2018] EWHC 1117 (Ch) in which David represented the defendant in his successful defence against a claim by his former partner for a share of the proceeds of sale of the property in which they had previously lived together.
• Divall v Divall [2014] EWHC 95 FAM regarding a jurisdiction dispute. 
• Golubovich v Golubovich [2010] 2 FLR 1614 CA, an important case regarding the recognition of foreign divorce decrees by the English Courts.