Melanie Hamer > Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice > Cardiff, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile
Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice Offices
13 WINDSOR PLACE
CARDIFF
CF10 3BY
United Kingdom
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Melanie Hamer
Work Department
Family Law
Position
Director
Career
In 1996, Melanie Hamer co-founded Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice. A leader in the field of family law, Melanie has helped put the firm in the top band in ‘Chambers and Partners’ and ‘The Legal 500’. She has considerable experience in big-money divorce cases, prenuptial agreements and complex disputes involving children and has acted for high profile celebrity clients.
Melanie was one of the first two solicitors in Wales to gain entry to the Solicitors Family Law Association (Resolution) specialist panel.
Melanie features regularly in the press and was identified as a businesswoman who is a leader in her field by The Western Mail.
Melanie trained at Eversheds (commercial property, company and commercial, employment law and private client). When she qualified in 1989, she stayed on in the private client department at Eversheds.
Memberships
- Member of the Aberystwyth University Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee
- Trustee of Cardiff City Football Club Foundation
- Eversheds Sutherland Women in Business Mentoring Programme – as a mentor
- Monumental Welsh Women – to erect a statue of a Welsh woman in Wales
- One of the founding members of South Wales Ladies Business Club
- Former director of Cardiff Business Club
Education
- Aberdare Girls’ Grammar School
- 1983 – 1986 – University of Wales, Aberystwyth (LLB Law)
- 1986 – 1987 – College of Law, Guildford
Leisure
Melanie was born and grew up in Aberdare, she now lives in Cardiff with her husband and two children. Her hobbies include swimming, cycling, running, dog walking, skiing and gardening.
Lawyer Rankings
Wales > Private client > Family
(Hall of Fame)Appreciated for its ‘laser sharp and analytical approach to the issues in hand’, Cardiff-based boutique Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice has built up a very strong following throughout South Wales and provides ‘constructive and sensible advice’ to individuals across the gamut of family law issues. Founding partner Melanie Hamer
has a ‘calm and understanding nature’ which is well-suited to handling complex and often highly charged matrimonial finance matters, including for high-net-worth individuals, who she also often advises on pre-nuptial agreements. Thea Hughes has ‘excellent negotiation skills’, which she imparts to very good effect on often challenging divorces involving myriad assets, including multiple properties and companies. Sarah Wyburn , who has a ‘knack of being empathetic with her clients whilst being fierce in her negotiations on their behalf’, is another popular member of the team, including in relation to handling same sex marriages and civil partnerships. Rebecca Knight is a ‘fearless fighter who works incredibly hard for her clients’, and alongside the ‘very empathetic’ David James excels at handling Schedule 1 Children Act matters. Recently promoted to partner, Sam John goes ‘above and beyond for his clients’, while at associate level, Fay Jones ‘assimilates information quickly and gets to the heart of a case’. Lucy Morris joined the practice in August 2024.