Having worked as a farm labourer and a silver service waiter before flirting with a career in PR and politics (which involved preparing briefs for ministers on BBC’s Question Time, and a weekly bundle of press summaries for the Prime Minister in the early 1990s), I met Withers at a law fair in London and from there embarked on a legal career on which I have never looked back.

Specialising in the demanding and evolving world of family law requires a broad spectrum of skill sets (from in depth legal knowledge, litigation and negotiation to clarity of advice, strategy, and empathy) and that combined with the diverse and idiosyncratic factual nature of each and every case makes the role such an intellectually stimulating one.

Throughout my decades at Withers I have been fortunate to have worked alongside inspirational and highly talented expert lawyers both within the family law team and across the firm’s wide range of specialist areas. As issues on divorce straddle other practice areas I am often in liaison with colleagues in the property, commercial, trusts, tax, and reputation management teams whether here in London or in the firm’s offices in Europe, the US and Asia.

Outside of the law, successive knee injuries put paid to my captaincy of football teams some years back, although I still run a wandering cricket side set up at university. Besides an interest in art, I also enjoy tennis, skiing, golf and road cycling (which included a 300 mile charity bike ride over three days from Cornwall to London in 2014).