Natalie Lester > Debenhams Ottaway > St Albans, England > Lawyer Profile
Debenhams Ottaway Offices
IVY HOUSE
107 ST PETERS STREET
ST ALBANS
AL1 3EW
England
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Natalie Lester
Work Department
Family.
Position
Natalie is a partner in our highly successful divorce and family law team, helping clients on all aspects of family law, particularly, divorce, separation, financial settlements and associated issues concerning children arrangements.
Natalie is an accredited Resolution specialist in complex financial remedies and cohabitation which allows her to deal with even the most complicated situations. She is committed to adopting a non-confrontational approach and she aims to resolve issues amicably without going to court. However, if court proceedings are required, Natalie boasts a robust determination to secure the best outcome for her clients so that they can move on with their life.
Natalie has extensive experience in the division of assets when couples separate, whether they are married, in a civil partnership or co-habiting. She represents a wide range of clients including, business owners, high profile and wealthy individuals and she regularly deals with mid-high value cases in divorce and financial matters.
She also assists individuals at the outset of their relationship and is experienced in preparing pre-nuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements.
Natalie specialises in international relocation cases. She supports clients whether they are the parent seeking the court’s permission to permanently relocate the children to another country or the parent opposing relocation. She has a particular interest in representing parents locked into fraught and highly contentious child arrangement disputes.
Career
- Trained and worked in London
- Joined Debenhams Ottaway in December 2016, made senior lawyer in 2021, made partner in 2023.
Memberships
- An accredited Resolution specialist in complex financial remedies and cohabitation
- A member of Jurismus, an international network of lawyers in Europe and Worldwide
- A member of Resolution and the Hertfordshire Law Society
Education
The University of Sheffield, Bachelor of Laws (LLB), 2:1 (2004-2007); The College of Law, Legal Practice Course, Distinction (2008-2009)
Lawyer Rankings
South East > Private client > Family: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
(Rising stars)The ‘gifted‘ team at Debenhams Ottaway handles the full scope of family law issues for parents, grandparents and other individuals. Praised by clients for her ‘excellent forensic eye‘, Helen Young heads up the St Albans-based practice, frequently advising on high-value divorces involving overseas assets, in addition to pre and post-nuptial agreements, and the capitalisation of maintenance. Senior associate Natalie Lester has substantial expertise in financial settlements and children arrangements, taking a ‘thoughtful and unflappable approach‘ when assisting clients with co-habitation agreements and child arrangement disputes, while senior associate Helen Clyne primarily handles children issues arising from the separation of both married and unmarried couples. Stacey St Clair joined the practice from Hawkins Family Law, contributing her knowledge of private children disputes, including welfare and residence matters.
Lawyer Rankings
- Family: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx South East > Private client
- Rising stars South East > Private client > Family: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Family: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
- Real estate > Commercial property: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
- Employment > Employment: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery