Grace Lawrence

Grace advises on international and high-value family law cases, often involving complex business and trust interests and issues of pre and post-marital wealth. Grace combines an empathetic and diligent approach, with a strong technical ability. Grace seeks to resolve matters outside of court where possible – employing solicitor-led negotiation or alternative processes such as mediation or arbitration. Where court proceedings become necessary, Grace is a confident and strategic litigator and hugely protective of her clients’ interests.

Grace has been ranked consistently (since 2022) as a Rising Star and now Leading Associate for family law by the leading directory, The Legal 500 UK. The 2025 edition notes: “Grace Lawrence is a fabulous associate – arguably the best family law associate of her generation” and “is wise beyond her years and has a stellar career ahead of her”. Earlier editions note: “Grace Lawrence is fiercely intelligent, forthright, conscientious.” Grace is: “extremely competent, knowledgeable and empathetic. [She has] given excellent service to our mutual client” and she is “a delight to deal with and on the way up”. Grace has also been featured in Tatler as one of “London’s top family lawyers” speaking about the role of pre-nuptial agreements in protecting family wealth. In 2024, Grace was nominated in the Spears Awards as a “Future Leader of Private Client Services”.

Grace was included in the Doyles Guide to Family and Divorce Law for London 2025 as a Family Law Rising Star. This inclusion identifies individuals who have been noted as future leading lawyers within the area of family law.

During her training, Grace spent a year working in one of London’s most highly regarded private client teams. She developed a particular interest and expertise in trusts, property and estate planning which she draws on to inform her advice to her family law clients. She has become a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (one of very few family lawyers to do so) and she achieved a Distinction in STEP’s Advanced Certificate, International Trusts: Law and Practice. As such, she is comfortable advising trustees and beneficiaries on how best to safeguard trust interests from claims on divorce.

Grace has particular experience working on ‘big money’ litigation in the High Court of Justice. Such cases often garner press interest and Grace has made and responded to applications for reporting restriction orders. Grace’s article “Protecting Reputations” was published on the Tatler Address Book in April 2022, with an article on “Litigation and Divorce” published in May 2024. Grace also wrote for Issue 1 of the 2026 Step Journal where she considered when the English Family Court can make an order authorising a gift of foreign property to a child who is habitually resident in England or Wales.

Grace’s practice involves advising on a broad range of family matters including:

• financial issues arising from divorce or the separation of cohabiting couples, often involving foreign jurisdictions, dealing with valuations of businesses, pensions and investments, tax issues, and the treatment of trusts;
• pre and post nuptial agreements – listen to Grace’s podcast (Whistle-Stop tour of pre-nuptial agreements) here;
• variation of spousal and child maintenance orders;
• financial claims on behalf of children brought by an unmarried parent (so-called ‘Schedule 1 claims’);
• parenting issues and contact arrangements for children; and
• relocation of children both within England & Wales and abroad.

Grace’s recent matters include:

• Acting for the respondent husband on the wife’s application to set aside a final consent order. The case raised issues of duress and legal privilege and required expert evidence in multiple jurisdictions.
• Acting for the applicant wife on a financial claim following her divorce from a high-profile individual from the Middle East (so-called “Part III case”). The case raised a number of issues including “conduct”, “compensation”, the ambit of the Millionaire’s Defence and reporting restrictions. FLiP secured a very substantial financial settlement for the wife.
• Advising the owner of a tech start-up company through his divorce with issues surrounding the valuation of a business and his post-marital endeavour.
• Acting for the applicant mother on her application for a specific issue order regarding schooling and a child arrangements order in the context of an internal relocation.
• Acting for a high-profile applicant mother on her successful application to relocate with her children to the US.
• Advising the beneficiary of a family trust in relation to a pre-nuptial agreement, with a view to ring-fencing trust assets on divorce.
• Secured an applicant mother generous interim maintenance and legal fees provision to bring a financial claim against her children’s high-profile father.
• Secured a freezing injunction in respect of certain properties and cash thereby preventing the other party from frustrating the wife’s claims.

Grace’s reported cases include:

• Sloutsker v Sloutsker [2025] EWFC 369 – Acted for the applicant wife on an application for financial provision from her former husband who was a prominent former Russian senator. The case involved non-disclosure by the husband and serious litigation misconduct meaning that the findings regarding the husband’s wealth were based on disclosure from third parties. The husband was found to be an untruthful witness who had fabricated evidence and made significant efforts to hide his true wealth. A lump sum of £25m was ordered to be paid to the wife. This followed the interim judgement reported as PM v RM and mentioned further below.
• Sloutsker v Sloutsker [2025] EWFC 368 – This judgement dealt with the removal of anonymity from the husband and use of the confidential information provided by third parties to enable the wife to enforce her order.
• PM v RM [2025] EWFC 11 – This was an interim application for maintenance and legal fees for a wife whose husband was found to have misrepresented the family’s financial position. FLiP secured monthly maintenance in excess of £30,000 for their client and a substantial legal fees payment to enable her to be suitably represented in the ongoing divorce and financial proceedings.
• Acted for parents who jointly applied for a Specific Issue Order under the Children Act 1989 so as to enable the applicant father to gift his child a share of a property in Switzerland.
• Acted for the applicant mother in her financial claim under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 against a father who was a member of a Middle Eastern Royal Family. Secured the biggest Schedule 1 award ever reported and the case provided clarity on use of the “Millionaire’s Defence”.
• Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130 – Represented the wife in a long running case concerning financial provision following divorce. During the proceedings, the British/Russian couple found themselves the subject of significant press interest which required careful management. FLiP successfully defended against the Husband’s attempt  to argue for a departure from 50/50 in his favour.
• PS and CS [2023] EWFC 323 (B) – Represented the applicant mother in a case under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1988 concerning financial provision for the couple’s children post separation.
• Re C (A Child) [2021] EWFC 32: Acted for the respondent father on a ‘big money’ Schedule 1 case involving a complex jurisdiction dispute (England /Monaco /France). This case raised novel arguments regarding the Maintenance Regulation and explored the test for “habitual residence”.
• YM v NM [2020] EWFC 13: Successfully defended the wife’s interim applications for maintenance and injunctive relief. The case provides the test for Maintenance Pending Suit applications made before the determination of a set aside application of a clean break consent order. The case also reaffirmed the test for applying for a freezing injunction.
• HRH Tessy Princess of Luxembourg v HRH Louis Xavier Marie Guillaume Prince of Luxembourg v L’Administration Des Biens De S.A.R. Le Grand Duc De Luxembourg (‘ADB’) [2018] EWFC 77: As a trainee solicitor, and prior to the reported proceedings, Grace assisted the team advising the ADB.

Grace’s article on the enforcement of arrears of spousal maintenance – “Stale Arrears – Era of Enlightenment” – was published in Family Law [2018] June, Fam Law 70.

She was also quoted extensively in the Tatler editorial article “How the super-rich protect their wealth: The rise of the prenuptial agreement”, December 2020.

Grace’s article “Protecting Reputations” was published on the Tatler Address Book in April 2022, with an article on “Litigation and Divorce” published in May 2024.

Grace’s article  “HO v TL: Lessons for Trust Cases” was published in TL4 HNW Divorce magazine, Next Gen addition, June 2024.

Grace trained as a solicitor at Withers before moving to Family Law in Partnership in 2018. Grace studied law at the University of Exeter (Bachelor of Laws (LLB), First Class) and achieved a distinction in the Legal Practice Course.

Grace has been ranked consistently as a “Rising Star” by the Legal 500. She is also an affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is working towards completion of the STEP diploma.

Grace has been involved in supporting guests of the Restored Lives project on a pro bono basis. She is also a member of the committee responsible for work experience applications to FLiP.