There have been fantastic rankings for Family Law in Partnership and our specialist family lawyers in the recently published Chambers UK 2018 and the Chambers HNW 2017 guides.

Chambers UK 2018 ranks a total of 8 lawyers at Family Law in Partnership as leading family lawyers. All of our directors together with consultants Pamela Collis and Ann Northover are named in the list of leading individuals in family law. Few, if any, other family practices can boast this strength in depth of leading family law expertise. The Chambers HNW 2017 directory ranks 5 of our lawyers as leading family lawyers for HNW clients – directors David Allison, Gillian Bishop and James Pirrie achieve this ranking along with consultants Pamela Collis and Ann Northover. Lawyers are not ranked in Chambers UK nor Chambers HNW unless they have strong recommendations from the market. The sheer numbers of Family Law in Partnership lawyers ranked is testament to our outstanding skill and expertise in family law.

This is an extract of what Chambers UK 2018 had to say about Family Law in Partnership and our team of specialist family lawyers:

“What the team is known for: Full-service family outfit renowned for its dedication to discreet and amicable settlement through ADR. Maintains a robust financial remedy and child law offering. Houses leading professionals in mediation, arbitration and collaborative law proceedings. Frequently instructed in complex cross-border mandates, including challenging litigation involving high net worth individuals.

Strengths: One source reports: “The thing which strikes me most about them is their absolute devotion to doing the best for their clients.”

Notable practitioners:  

Gillian Bishop is “brilliant when it comes to complex, international financial situations,” according to sources. She…..regularly acts on challenging international cases and matters involving complex tax and trust elements. 

James Pirrie “He is one of the brightest lawyers I know and has no hesitation in going the extra mile on behalf of his clients,” reports one interviewee.

David Allison specialises in complex financial issues, both domestic and international. He has significant expertise in cases involving alternative family structures and cohabitees. He is….well versed in high-asset cases.

Pamela Collis has earned a strong reputation for her work in financial and private law children matters. She is regularly involved in cases with complex jurisdictional issues including cross-border tax and business aspects.

Ann Northover focuses on the financial issues associated with relationship dissolution as well as matters involving children. Her expertise includes dealing with trust and tax issues on behalf of trustees, settlors and beneficiaries.

Daniel Coombes He has experience in acting for high-profile clients, same-sex couples and vulnerable parents. He is well versed in international relocation matters.

Nicole Hackett has extensive experience in complex prenuptial agreements as part of a broad private law matrimonial practice.

Bradley Williams is “a very impressive lawyer,” according to market commentators, who also laud his experience in private matrimonial issues.

Here is an extract of what Chambers HNW 2017 has to say about Family Law in Partnership and our team of specialist family lawyers:

“It has a standout reputation for pursuing alternative dispute resolution and keeping cases out of the courts. “All of us use them for mediation,” volunteers a peer. “If you want something different, they’re the firm to go to. They do it really well,” says a silk. “Overall the firm is unique, they just offer a slightly different slant to a client who doesn’t necessarily want a full-out fight in court, wants a firm to look at the options.” Another source agrees: “They’re in a league of their own when it comes to non-litigation dispute resolution.”

“It’s very close-knit at FLIP, very familiar,” remarks a client, “and that’s comforting, especially when you’re going through such traumatic events. I can’t reinforce enough that point about end-to-end coverage of the case. They kept holding my hand through every aspect of this.” Another agrees: “The people are incredibly kind, and I think when you’re at your most vulnerable you want somewhere with the experience but also a softer element to it.”

Notable practitioners 

David Allison’s clients particularly single out his suitability for collaborative approaches. “Putting aside his legal expertise, it’s the compassion he has that stuck out straight away,” says one, adding: “He really wants to get a fair outcome for both sides.” “He was very sympathetic. Guidance was clear and concise,” recalls another client; “you felt he was on your side as opposed to just playing the game.”

Founding member Gillian Bishop is described by one source as “the top collaborative lawyer.” “She does all the things I value,” says another; “she’s constructive in her approach, applies the law properly, but is practical first and foremost.” “What shines out about Gillian is she never fails to see the bigger picture,” remarks one silk, “particularly in children cases, where it’s important not to get sucked into the adversarial process too much. She, too, is incredibly emotionally intelligent, and always calm however tense the situation gets. She’s very good at pouring oil on troubled waters.”

Consultant Ann Northover is described as being “very, very bright…..very strategic around cases.” Interviewees describe her as “a sensible operator” and “a good person to deal with,” while others praise her technical nous. “She is particularly good at dealing with complex offshore structures and so forth,” observes a barrister. “She wouldn’t consider herself a tax lawyer but she knows more than most family lawyers.”

James Pirrie has a particular expertise in the financial aspect of children cases, with one peer describing him as “the doyen of child maintenance” and praising his dedicated interest in the field: “The thing with James is he loves what he does.” According to one interviewee, “he is incredibly knowledgeable in a legal and academic sense, particularly as regards child support and children’s maintenance.” Other peers praise his combination of creativity with technical acumen. “I absolutely adore James,” says another source; “he’s always about ten paces ahead of you, almost on a different plane. He’s just so creative, innovative, obviously very, very adept at the collaborative work. His particular expertise is encyclopaedic knowledge of child maintenance regulations.”

With over 35 years of experience in family law, Pamela Collis has “a combination of good technical expertise and judgement, and great client care skills.” Collis focuses on domestic and international work, including money cases and children law matters. “I think she’s quite brilliant,” says a client. “I think she’s very experienced and knowledgeable, anything to do with finances she’s very well informed, and also she’s incredibly kind.””

To find out more about the outstanding team of family lawyers at Family Law in Partnership, please contact us: E: hello@flip.co.uk or T: 020 7420 5000.