Anisha Ramanathan

Partner | Hong Kong


Secretary Elaine Ho

Anisha is a partner in the divorce and family team.

Anisha is experienced in a wide range of family law matters, both contentious and non-contentious, often with an international element. She advises on all areas of matrimonial law, including relationship breakdown, divorce and separation, financial applications and arrangements for children. Anisha advises on disputes involving the custody, care and control of children, access and child maintenance and attends Children Dispute Resolution hearings. She also advises on financial disputes, some of which involve complex asset holding structures and assists clients with ancillary relief applications relating to interim maintenance, litigation funding and spousal maintenance. She has also handled matters relating to the variation of spousal and child maintenance orders, division of matrimonial assets and financial settlements between the parties which involves family trusts and third parties.

Anisha uses her civil litigation experience to provide a unique perspective to family law cases and is a 'go to' family litigator when dealing with enforcement applications. Anisha has been involved in a number of complex matrimonial cases involving high net worth individuals and advises husbands, wives and unmarried partners.  

She handles drafting of pre and post nuptial agreements, which is an evolving area of law in Hong Kong. She has acted in and advised on a number of international relocation cases where one parent wishes to move abroad permanently with the children and includes cases involving the Hague Convention (Abduction). Two recent relocation cases successfully culminated in settlements and did not proceed to trial. Both cases were settled after intensive mediation and roundtable discussions amongst the parties and their respective legal teams.

Anisha is an accredited and trained general commercial and family mediator with HKMAAL. She is also a trained collaborative practitioner. Despite being a well-respected and experienced litigator, Anisha is also a strong advocate or and proponent of mediation and regularly attends mediation and settlement meetings with clients in order to assist to resolve outstanding ancillary relief and children's issues without having to go to Trial. She also has substantial experience in assisting clients to participate in co-parenting sessions and liaising with parenting coordinators to resolve matters relating to children in an amicable manner. Anisha was also involved in and organised the first successful Private Financial Adjudication case in Hong Kong, which resulted in the prompt handing down of an Ancillary Relief Order and saved the couple time and expense of going through a Financial Trial in the Family Court. She provides technically sound and client-focused solutions in the best interest of her clients. 

Aside from matrimonial cases, she has experience in drafting of wills, probate and general civil litigation matters.
 
Anisha is recognised as an 'up and coming' Lawyer for Family/Matrimonial in Chambers HNW 2025 and in Chambers and Partners' Greater China Region 2026. She was recognized as the Platinum Winner in the Mental Health category at the Women of Wellness Awards by Liv Media. She has been selected as one of the candidates for The Zubin Foundation's Diversity List 2024. In addition, Anisha was named a Winner of the Global Women of Influence Awards 2024 and recognized as a Rising Star in Doyle's Family Guide 2023.

Anisha has significant experience in divorce and family matters including: cohabitation; paternity and parental orders; adoption; pre- and post-nuptial agreements; separation agreements; divorce; financial property and maintenance arrangements; child custodial and access arrangements; child relocation from Hong Kong; child abduction / Hague Proceedings; wardship proceedings; enforcement applications; criminal and domestic abuse matters; immigration issues; mediation; and other forms of dispute resolution. 

Anisha is the APAC regional lead of Withers Giving Back Committee and she also spearheads Withers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee in Hong Kong.

Track record

Forum dispute case

Acting for the wife in a forum dispute case to determine whether divorce proceedings should be brought in Hong Kong or California. The Hong Kong Court agreed that Hong Kong was the appropriate forum to bring the divorce proceedings. It was held in the reported case of RKL v WL and BKT [2014] [2015] HKEC 2650 (FCMC14906/2014); [2016] HKEC 1010 (Court of Appeal) that both parties have substantial connection to Hong Kong. The husband appealed this decision to the Court of Appeal and now to the Court of Final Appeal.

High net worth divorce

Acting for a high net worth individual in divorce proceedings where we are seeking an order in terms of the pre-nuptial agreement signed by the parties. This case has just been transferred to the High Court and will be the first case where the High Court will be offering guidance on the procedure to be followed post SPH v SA [2014] HKFLR 263.

First case post SPH v SA

Involved in the team in respect of the first case post SPH v SA to consider the impact of prenuptial agreements in Hong Kong B,L v K,WS (MPS; prenuptial agreements) [2015] HKCU 1832.

Insight

Admissions

  • Hong Kong SAR, 2014


Education

  • City University of Hong Kong, PCLL

  • University of Durham, LLB (Hons)

  • University of London, LLM (Specialisation in Family Law)


Languages

  • English

Memberships

  • Committee Member, Hong Kong Collaborative Practice Group
  • Committee Member, Hong Kong Family Law Association
  • Trained and accredited Family Mediator, HKMAAL
  • Trained and accredited Commercial Mediator, HKMAAL
  • Trained and accredited Collaborative Practitioner, IACP

Key dates

  • Year joined: 2014