Suzanne Todd
Partner
Suzanne leads the divorce and family team in London.
Suzanne leads the firm’s market leading Family & Trust, Estate and Inheritance Dispute teams in London.
She is one of the most highly respected international family lawyers of her generation in London with more than two decades of experience of conflict resolution which is illustrated by the long history of awards and accolades she has achieved. All legal and industry directories rate her highly. Her practice includes dealing with complex international financial cases, often involving family businesses, inherited wealth or sophisticated trust and pension issues. She is adept at handling private law children disputes including surrogacy and has a stellar practice in negotiating multi-jurisdictional pre and post nuptial agreements. Suzanne has a substantial Italian theme running through her career and is the go-to lawyer in London for Italian family related matters. Chambers says ‘She has so many strengths. She’s very organised, systematic and a solution focussed mastermind.’ ‘She demonstrates specific strength in handling Anglo-Italian issues’. She even delivers family law presentations in Italian!
Her key strengths are her compassion, efficiency, persuasiveness and collaboration. She is undoubtedly results focussed and is known in the industry as a tenacious litigator. What is always clear is that her advice is given discreetly, strategically and with a commercial eye to the end game.
Suzanne fields additional strength in ADR as a practicing Mediator and Collaborative lawyer. Legal 500 describes her as ‘very talented’ ensuring discussions are realistic and all options are explored.
Suzanne has extensive experience in ‘private dispute resolution’, alongside Court-led litigation, offering clients a range of alternative means to resolve their situation.
Clients say…..
‘She is incredibly calm and never rattled, she has superb empathy and determination, she shows extreme dedication to her client cases, she has the right balance of sympathy combined with a razor-sharp legal brain but a calm and non-confrontational approach to divorce negotiations combined with an obvious will to win. Suzanne is efficient, available and responsive as well as being a strategic thinker and very tactical. She always gives 100% for her client and provides very sound advice.’
‘She really invests in her clients’ cases and is phenomenally hard-working and a very good communicator’.
‘She juggles management of a full caseload and a top team pretty effortlessly’.
Her clients include internationally mobile professionals from all walks of life (often the female breadwinner), successful individuals from the entertainment industry, the motorsport industry and their partners. She works with Founders, senior City professionals, their partners, international families directly, with their General Counsel or through the Family Office.
Suzanne contributes to the national press (FT, The Times, The Evening Standard), legal press including The Lawyer and The Law Society Gazette, Family Law as well as Managing Partner, Spears and Vanity Fair Italy.
Track record
Admissions
Memberships
Talks
Acting for the Applicant mother in S v P [2008] which created a shortcut court procedure for individuals who reach agreement through the collaborative process to have their agreement approved by the Court. This procedure has recently been followed by the President in relation to Awards made in an Arbitration context.
Acting for the wife in the Court of Appeal case of Mahon v Mahon [2008] involving serious non-disclosure by a husband.
Advising the Trustees in the Jersey case of In the Matter of the Truro Trust and the PF Life Interest Trust [2007].
Northern Ireland, 2012
England and Wales, 1999
International Academy of Family Lawyers, Fellow, Member of the Board of the IAFL & Secretary
Member of the International Women’s Forum (UK) and Member of the Board & Company Secretary
British Italian Law Association, Member of the Management Committee
Co-chairing the IAFL Young Lawyers’ Virtual Conference in March 2021 (virtual)
Lamwyk seminar – ‘your career journey in 10 minutes’ – March 2021 (virtual)
ICALI Brexit & Family Law Talk on Facebook Live – January 2021 (virtual)
En resumen sobre mí
I am hard-working, conscientious and fiercely devoted to my clients
Educación
Idiomas
- English
- Italian