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Finalist in three categories at the Spear’s Awards 2026

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

We have been named as a finalist in three categories at this year’s Spear’s Awards:

  • Law Firm of the Year
  • Woman of the Year: Catherine Bedford
  • Lawyer of the Year – Family: Mark Irving

The Law Firm of the Year category, newly introduced this year, recognises law firms that have demonstrated outstanding legal expertise and service to UHNWs and family offices by handling a range of complex, high-value and high-profile matters, showing innovation in the way they serve their clients, and exhibiting a genuinely distinctive offering from their competitors.

This recognition reflects the firm’s unique position at the intersection of private wealth and the creative economy; its practice spanning from traditional private client work including estate planning, tax structuring, succession and trust advice, to advising talent, artists, influencers and entrepreneurs whose wealth is tied to IP, digital assets and creative rights on the commercial exploitation of their assets.

The Woman of the Year category, for which senior partner Catherine Bedford is shortlisted, focuses on female leaders in UK private wealth who have been instrumental in shaping the direction of their firm and/or the wider industry.

Lawyer of the Year – Family, for which Mark Irving is a finalist, recognises the leading family lawyers providing an excellent service to their clients on the most complex, sensitive and precedent-setting cases.

The Spear’s Awards bring together all sections of the private wealth ecosystem to celebrate excellence and the most significant achievements over the previous year. These awards recognise the individuals and firms who lead the way through the service they provide to family offices and UHNW individuals.

The awards ceremony will take place on 3 November 2026 at Raffles London at The OWO. See the full shortlist here.

Finalist for Family Law Firm at 2026 eprivateclient Excellence Awards

Posted on by Sophie Goodall

We have been named as a finalist in the category of Family Law Firm (Full Service) at the 2026 eprivateclient Excellence Awards.

These awards celebrate outstanding achievements of leading firms across the private client professions over the past 12 months. Being named a finalist is a testament to our market-challenging and innovative family law team and the consistent high level of service we provide to our clients.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 1 October at the Royal Lancaster London.

Find out more about the awards and the other finalists here.

Family Law Awards 2026: Finalist in two categories

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

We have been named as a finalist in two categories at the LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2026.

The firm has been announced as a finalist for Family Law Workplace of the Year, recognising our commitment to supporting our people and delivering excellence in family law, while partner Mark Irving is a finalist for Family Law Partner of the Year, celebrating his outstanding leadership and significant contributions to the field.

The Family Law Awards are a prestigious celebration of outstanding achievements, unwavering dedication to justice and innovative contributions within the family law sector. They provide an opportunity to honour excellence, highlight the impact of work and showcase accomplishments to peers and industry leaders.

The awards ceremony will take place at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London on 18 November 2026.

Broadened recognition for private wealth expertise in Chambers High Net Worth 2026 Guide

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Chambers and Partners has today published its High Net Worth 2026 Guide, in which we have received an increased spread of individual and departmental rankings across multiple practice areas.

In total, seven departments and 20 individuals have been recognised, with many achieving rankings in the higher bands.

Our rankings this year build upon our strong performances in recent guides. Notably, we have been ranked in the Private Wealth Disputes category for the first time, reflecting the growth in size and prominence of our contentious practice in recent years. Other highlights include an array of new and improved individual rankings for lawyers across multiple categories.

These results reflect the firm’s leading reputation for advising high net worth and ultra high net worth individuals, families and their businesses on their increasingly complex personal and commercial affairs.

The Chambers High Net Worth Guide identifies the leading law firms and advisers serving high net worth individuals and families. Based on extensive independent research and client feedback, it is regarded globally as a benchmark of excellence in the private wealth sector.

View the full rankings here.

Five partners recognised as leading family lawyers by Spear’s

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Five of our partners have once again been recommended by Spear’s as leading family lawyers for HNW and UHNW individuals in the 2026 Spear’s family law index, published today.

Senior partner Catherine Bedford has been recognised as Top Flight, Nicholas Westley and Mark Irving are Top Recommended, whilst Lidia Cantele and Alex Ward are Recommended. The index recognises the leading family lawyers advising on high value divorces, cohabitation disputes, child custody, nuptial agreements and mediation and is compiled using extensive data from advisers themselves, as well as submission forms, nominations, peer reviews, data from third-party sources, references, recommendations and hundreds of interviews.

You can see the index in full here.

Divorce and financial claims: What foreign Premier League players need to know

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

The Premier League attracts the best footballing talent from across the world, but the family law pitfalls to which footballers are exposed by virtue of living and working in this jurisdiction are often overlooked.

In an article published by LawInSport, associate Matthew Hodgson explains why understanding the legal landscape in England and Wales is essential for players and their advisers upon them making their move. The principles of family law in this jurisdiction give courts wide-ranging powers and can apply to footballers who arrive here in a relatively short amount of time. The article covers:

  • How long does a player have to be here before a claim can arise?
  • What do players and their advisors need to know?
  • The different types of claims
    • Schedule 1 claims
    • The treatment of pre-nuptial agreements
    • Part III claims
  • What can incoming players do to protect themselves?

Those with a subscription can read the full article on the LawInSport website here.

LawInSport is a sports law knowledge hub and global community that provides expert analysis and commentary on the latest legal developments in sport. It collaborates with a community of over 30,000 lawyers, sports executives, sports administrators, athletes, coaches, academics and students, and their organisations, to share knowledge and grow understanding of law in sport.

Featured in eprivateclient’s Top Family Law Firms for 2025

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

We have been featured in eprivateclient’s Top Family Law Firms for 2025 as a tier 1 firm.

These rankings take an in-depth look at the top family practices across the UK, based on a survey of over 100 firms.

Firms are ranked based on various factors, including the number of family partners and fee earners, revenue generated and broader market knowledge.

The full rankings are available here via eprivateclient with a subscription.

Finalists in four categories at the Spear’s Awards 2025

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Four of our people have been named as finalists in various categories at the Spear’s Awards 2025, which recognise the outstanding contributions of wealth managers, lawyers and advisors to HNW and UHNW individuals and families.

Our finalists are:

  • Spear’s Woman of the Year – Catherine Bedford
  • Private Client Accountant of the Year – Gary Ashford
  • Lawyer of the Year: Tax and Trusts – Chris Moorcroft
  • Future Leader in Private Client Services – May Delaney

Now in their 18th year, the Spear’s Awards highlight leading work across the private wealth sector. Having individuals named as finalists across four categories reflects the broad range of expertise at the firm as we support our clients with their eclectic and ever-evolving business and personal needs.

The awards ceremony will take place on 20 November 2025 at Raffles London at The OWO.

Find out more about the Spear’s Awards 2025 here.

Finalist for Family Law Firm of the Year

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

We have been named as a finalist for Family Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2025.

The awards seek to recognise the work of family lawyers and celebrate their successes and achievements. The Family Law Firm of the Year category recognises firms that have delivered outstanding quality of legal service for their clients and displayed high levels of teamwork with external lawyers and/or other third parties.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 19 November at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London.  

To read more about the awards, including the full list of nominees, click here.

Widespread recognition in Chambers High Net Worth 2025 Guide

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Chambers and Partners has today published its High Net Worth 2025 Guide in which we have received a range of individual and departmental rankings across multiple practice areas. In total, six of our departments and 17 individuals have been recognised with many of those in the higher bands.  

All of our rankings have either been maintained or improved compared to last year’s guide. Our ranking for the Real Estate: High Value Residential category moved up a band, and several individuals have also achieved new or improved rankings.

These results reflect the continued growth of the firm and our eminent reputation for advising HNW and UHNW individuals, families and their businesses across their increasingly complex and evolving business and personal needs.

The Chambers High Net Worth Guide recognises the leading law firms and advisors serving HNW individuals and families. The guide is based on independent research and client feedback and is trusted globally as a benchmark of excellence in the private wealth sector.

View the full rankings here.