Stewarts has once again achieved new record success in the latest edition of the Chambers High Net Worth Guide. Our Divorce and Family team is ranked in Band 1 once again, and is joined this year by our Trust and Probate Litigation team, which has now also been acknowledged in the top tier.

Chambers has also listed 20 individuals from our private client teams in the 2023 edition, another new record for the firm. The guide says: “The firms and individuals ranked in our market leading annual guide understand the complex needs of HNW individuals and provide specialist advice and legal services.”

Trust and Probate Litigation

Our Trusts team is now top-ranked by Chambers in the Private Wealth Disputes section. “Stewarts continues to impress the private client market,” the guide notes. “The firm’s purely litigation model ensures that partners are well placed to handle significant private wealth disputes, including those with offshore elements.” Sources describe Stewarts as “a very strong litigation firm with ability to handle complex and multi-jurisdictional matters. The work they do is first-rate and top-tier.”

Head of Trust and Probate Litigation James Price retains his Band 1 individual ranking. “James is a great strategist and he has lots of very helpful experience,” a client told Chambers. “He sees things from a different perspective and is a very safe pair of hands. He is the sort of person clients want to hear from.”

Partner Geoff Kertesz is included in Band 2. “Geoff is technically very capable and very sensible. He is extremely impressive,” sources say. He is “very good at wearing his extensive legal knowledge lightly, so that it is comprehensible to the lay client.”

Listed in Band 4, Emma Holland “is extremely thorough and spots the issue very quickly. She has that nice balance between understanding commerciality and understanding the law, without being too far one way.”

Lavinia Randall is ranked as an Associate to Watch for the first time, joining the previously ranked Luca Del Panta in the new edition. Others describe Luca as a “delight to work with. He’s very academic, writes incredibly well, is liked by clients and is well organised.”

Divorce and Family

Retaining their Band 1 spot in the Family/Matrimonial: Ultra High Net Worth rankings, our Divorce and Family team also has 13 individuals listed, more than any other firm.

Chambers says: “Stewarts is highly sought after by ultra-high net worth individuals to advise on complex matrimonial finance matters. The team is particularly widely praised for its bench strength.” According to a client, Stewarts is “without question the pre-eminent firm. Their associates are excellent, their partners are the best and there is no question that if you want the very best representation, you go to Stewarts.” The team also recently won Family Law Team of the Year at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards for the second consecutive year.

Head of Department Stephen Foster is top-ranked by Chambers, alongside fellow partners Debbie Chism and Richard Hogwood. Sources say Stephen “leads by example, providing excellent pragmatic and directional advice overlaid with strong technical input. He is definitely the person you want when you are dealing with high-value, multi-jurisdictional matters as he brings calm, extremely strategic guidance.”

Chambers says Debbie Chism “enjoys a fantastic reputation for her expertise in complex family matters.” Client feedback describes her as “a star performer, who is probably unparalleled in London now. She combines all the best attributes with a lovely sense of humour.”

Richard Hogwood “is very understated but very capable, clear in his advice and pragmatic in the way he works. He’s very result-orientated and wants to ensure people get what they want, it’s a real strength of his.” One source anoints him the “king of pre-nuptials”.

Listed as a Star Individual, Emma Hatley “is widely admired as a leading practitioner for complex domestic and international family matters.” Interviewees say she “has the perfect blend of willingness to fight and eagerness to find a consensual solution. She is highly intelligent, knows the law and is great in a team.”

Helen Ward is again acknowledged as a Senior Statesperson and described as “a formidable practitioner.”

Matthew Humphries maintains his Band 2 ranking this year. “Matthew is a magnet for very high-value cases and is exceptionally sound” according to client feedback. “He is always playing the chess game several moves forward to pre-empt what will happen.”

Partners Toby Atkinson and Sam Longworth are in Band 3. Toby is described as a “first-rate, experienced family law partner” and acknowledged by Chambers as “adept at handling all aspects of family law.”

Sam Longworth “has a very good ability to give well-reasoned and sensible advice.” A client says he “really took the time initially to fully understand all background issues and history – his due diligence was impressive.”

Carly Kinch is included in Band 4: “Carly is an unsung hero, she is brilliant. Her knowledge of the law is the best, she has judgement anyone would love to have. She is extremely numerate and her understanding of corporate structures and trusts is phenomenal.”

Ranked by Chambers as an Up and Coming partner, Lucy Stewart-Gould is described as “hugely focused, responsive and hard-working.” She is joined in the Up and Coming rankings by Sophie Chapman, who is “building a solid reputation for being both an excellent technical family lawyer and a tenacious advocate for her clients.”

For the second year in a row, Senior Associates Jenny Duggan and Sarah Havers have been listed as Associates to Watch. “Jenny is an excellent family lawyer. She gets every subtle nuance of a case. My experience is that she always knows how to pitch a case and get it right,” sources say. Sarah Havers “is going places. She is quite formidable and no nonsense.”

Tax Litigation and Resolution

Head of Tax Litigation and Resolution David Pickstone is included in Band 2. The latest edition of Chambers High Net Worth says he “has considerable experience advising high net worth clients on complex tax disputes with the HMRC”.

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