Catherine Bedford > Harbottle & Lewis LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Harbottle & Lewis LLP Offices

7 Savoy Court
LONDON
WC2R 0EX
England
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Catherine Bedford

Work Department
Family
Position
Catherine is well-known in the field of family law, leading the Family Group at Harbottle & Lewis which has gained significant respect within the industry.
Under Catherine’s leadership, the Family team has gone from strength to strength and she has gained a formidable reputation within the industry where it is said she is now ‘at the top of the table of London divorce solicitors‘.
Since early 2020, Catherine has been running an unprecedented, high-value case over numerous hearings in the High Court and Court of Appeal. The case draws on multiple areas of law extending well beyond family and raising important legal questions.
Catherine’s client base includes individuals from UHNW families, often with a public profile to protect. Her clients range from royalty to entrepreneurs, business and finance leaders and those in the creative industries. Catherine works closely with the firm’s top-tier defamation/reputation group to protect privacy in the event of invasive media attention.
Catherine’s practice encompasses all areas of private family law in the wake of relationship breakdown as well as advising on pre-emptive nuptial agreements.
Catherine has particular expertise in handling complex finances and representing international clients with interests under corporate and trust structures across jurisdictions, often working with family offices and trusted advisors.
Catherine’s approach to each client is tailor-made – whether low-key negotiation outside of the court process or skilled litigation within it, always thinking expansively and finding inventive ways to cut through a dispute.
Career
Catherine joined Lee & Thompson as a partner in 2007 and founded the firm’s Family group. She joined Harbottle & Lewis in April 2017, bringing the Lee & Thompson Family group with her.
Education
Catherine completed a degree in English Literature at McGill University in Montreal, Canada before moving to the UK to read Law at Oxford University.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Family
(Hall of Fame)Harbottle & Lewis LLP ‘is the perfect example of what a boutique specialist London family law firm can offer’, often dealing with high-profile individuals and offering expertise across complex financial arrangements and vulnerable children cases. Department head Catherine Bedford is recommended for her approach to high-value, reputationally sensitive matters, working regularly with the firm’s reputation protection and media team. Multijurisdictional matters are an area of expertise for Nicholas Westley, while Mark Irving ‘fiercely‘ represents his clients in both children and financial cases. Lidia Cantele is noted for her ‘sophisticated and subtle insight‘ on large, long-running matters, while Polly Broad has particular experience with vulnerable clients, including those experiencing coercive and controlling behaviour.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Media finance
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Theatre, publishing and other media
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Video games
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Private client > Family
- Employment > Immigration: personal
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Advertising & marketing
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Music
- Employment > Senior executives
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Employment > Immigration: human rights
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Residential property
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Industry focus > TMT
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Artificial intelligence
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Fintech: corporate and commercial
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Employment > Employers