Toby Atkinson > Stewarts Law LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Stewarts Law LLP
5 NEW STREET SQUARE
LONDON
EC4A 3BF
England

Work Department

Divorce and Family

Position

Partner

Toby advises on all aspects of family law, with a particular emphasis on helping his clients resolve arrangements for their children and finances where they are separating, divorcing or dissolving a civil partnership.

Toby specialises in all areas of family law, including financial settlement on divorce and arrangements for children after parents separate.

Toby’s financial cases frequently have an international dimension, often involving trusts, inherited wealth and family businesses. His clients include entrepreneurs, business owners, City professionals, and their spouses/partners.

Toby is equally adept at dealing with highly contested children cases as he is with resolving complex financial disputes. He is an experienced practitioner in the field of international child abduction and is frequently instructed by “left-behind” parents in both Hague and non-Hague Convention cases, international relocation cases and jurisdiction disputes.

On the non-contentious side, Toby regularly advises in relation to pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and wealth protection.

Toby’s recent reported cases include:

  • Cathcart v Owens [2021] – Acted for the successful respondent wife in respect of an application brought by her former husband in the High Court to set aside a financial order made on divorce.
  • JC v PC [2021] – Acted for the successful applicant father in High Court proceedings brought to determine the habitual residence of his two children following their wrongful retention abroad by the respondent mother’.

Career

Toby graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Edinburgh University in 2001, before converting to law. He joined Stewarts as a partner from Charles Russell Speechlys in 2015.

Memberships

Toby is a member of Resolution and was on the London Young Resolution Committee for several years following qualification. He is also a member of the Association of Lawyers for Children.

Education

Toby graduated from Edinburgh University in 2001.

Personal

When not otherwise at his desk or practising his negotiation skills with his young family,  Toby enjoys cycling, dog walking and the occasional spot of acting, his credits including a cameo appearance as a divorce lawyer in the BBC legal drama series, The Split.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Private client > Family

(Leading partners)

Toby Atkinson Stewarts Law LLP

Praised as ‘the strongest matrimonial team in London – and indeed the UK’, Stewarts Law LLP‘s family team boasts ‘several big hitting partners and strength in depth at all levels‘. Department head and ‘master strategistStephen Foster is recommended as a go-to for ‘high value, multi jurisdictional and complicated matters‘. ‘Excellent negotiator’ Debbie Chism is highlighted for her collaborative practice, while Matthew Humphries‘ litigation experience stands out. For international matters, in particular those in the US, Emma Hatley is a go-to; Toby Atkinson also sought after for these issues. Richard Hogwood is ‘the mastermind of pre and post nups’, valued for his ‘thoughtful and empathetic approach‘. Carly Kinch often handles matters involving trusts, family businesses and inherited wealth, while Lucy Stewart-Gould spearheads the team’s links with Hong Kong and the Middle East. Lewis Powers is also recommended, and Helen Ward remains a key figure in the team.