.svg){kind=small}
Katharine is a partner and Head of the London divorce and family team.
Dynamic and creative, Katharine brings huge energy and commitment to achieving positive progress for her clients in some of the most complex and hard-fought cases.
Katharine combines warmth, empathy, and insight with intellectual agility and pragmatism. Whilst she has a string of reported cases to her name, Katharine is a talented negotiator, working to diffuse and resolve conflict. She is adept at navigating her clients to settlements out of court, away from media glare, and collaborating to bring about an agreed outcome.
Katharine has a track record of handling the most financially and emotionally complex cases, particularly those with an international dimension, involving privately held businesses, multi-generational wealth, private equity interests and other sophisticated asset structures.
She advises on high value finance matters and nuptial agreements acting for the financially stronger as well as the financially weaker party. In her children practice, she deals with international relocations and abductions, and child arrangements involving serious allegations of harm including domestic abuse, sexual abuse, substance and alcohol misuse, alienating behaviours, coercive control, physical violence, and personality disorders.
Her reported cases over a career spanning more than two decades include Charman v Charman, Vaughan v Vaughan, Christoforou v Christoforou, X v X and Rosemin-Culligan v Culligan. She is top ranked in all of the legal directories.
Katharine is a qualified Children Arbitrator with the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Recent recognition
.jpg?lang=en-GB&ext=.jpg)
Me in a minute
I am a strong believer in the power of good communication
I am a strong believer in the power of good communication. A good lawyer needs to be able to deliver a message effectively. Communication is key to my relationships with my clients and other professionals. It enables me to deliver advice that makes sense and to achieve solutions that meet my clients' objectives.
Communication being such a passion of mine, I was delighted last year to be appointed to the board of trustees of the charity "One Plus One". One Plus One aims to strengthen relationships by creating resources to help families and front line workers tackle relationship issues early on. Based on the latest research evidence, their work promotes early action in relationship support. They equip people with the skills and knowledge to work on relationship issues before they become entrenched. They also provide support for couples who are separating. Being involved with a charity concerned wholly with supporting relationships has given me a brand new perspective. Looking at relationships from the other end of the telescope not only helps me to think about how I do my job but enables me to use some of my experience to help One Plus One do theirs.
Track record
Multi-billionaire businessman ordered to return 53 olive trees during divorce proceedings
Following substantial financial proceedings after their divorce, our client's husband removed a significant number of mature olive trees from a plot of land to be transferred to our client. The court found that the husband (who had previously told 'outright lies' to the court) was responsible for the uprooting of the trees, and was motivated by 'pure spite'. He was ordered to return them and to pay our client's costs.
Marital or non-marital assets
Katharine represented the wife in Christoforou v Christoforou [2016], a case involving complicated issues surrounding onshore and offshore property owning companies, including the beneficial ownership of the shares in those companies, the categorization of assets as marital or non-marital, and the assessment and treatment of potential tax liabilities. The wife was awarded an equal division of the assets and a proportion of her costs to be paid by her husband.
Contribution, share valuation and non-matrimonial assets
Acting for the wife in X v X [2016], Katharine was successful in arguing that the husband's interest in a trust should be considered a resource of his. The case also involved complex issues in respect of contribution, share valuation and non-matrimonial assets.
Divorce trusts
Katharine acted for the husband in the case of Charman v Charman, the leading case on trusts in the context of divorce and which case involved litigation in England and offshore. The court also recognised Mr Charman's special contribution resulting in a 63/37% division in Mr Charman's favour.
Order for maintenance
Katharine represented the husband in the Court of Appeal case Vaughan v Vaughan where the husband sought to terminate an order for maintenance payable to his former wife in retirement.
Overseas divorce
Katharine acted for the husband in D v D (a case involving the nature of the recognition of an overseas divorce and the financial relief available in England).
Insight
.jpg?width=342&height=191&ext=.jpg)
-3.jpg?ext=jpg)
External publications
'Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnerships the New Law', Family Law, co-author
'Civil Partnership the New Law', Family Law, co-author
Tolley's Administration of Trusts, contributor
'A Practical Guide to International Family Law', Jordans, contributor
Admissions
England and Wales, 2004
Education
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, M.A. Jurisprudence
Languages
- English
Memberships
Resolution
International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
Key dates
- Year joined: 2002
- Year became partner: 2013