Frances Hughes > Hughes Fowler Carruthers > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Hughes Fowler Carruthers Offices
ACADEMY COURT
94 CHANCERY LANE
LONDON
WC2A 1DT
England
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Frances Hughes
Work Department
Matrimonial and family.
Position
Chair of board of family law niche practice and leading figure in family law for many years specialising in complex financial cases, including those with substantial business assets and partnerships; trusts and tax problem cases involving foreign jurisdictions; cohabitation cases; prenuptial agreements and also private children’s residence and other children’s matters including child abduction.
Career
Trained Theodore Goddard 1979-81; qualified 1981; assistant in matrimonial department 1981-83; set up matrimonial department Bates, Wells & Braithwaite 1983; founded Hughes Fowler Carruthers 2001; fellow and governor at large of International Academy of Family Lawyers, vice-president of the European chapter 2000-04 and 2006 to date; accredited FMA and Resolution (formerly SFLA) mediator 2006; regularly speaks at conferences and broadcasts on television and radio and lectures on family law matters nationally and internationally; member of the ‘Times’ Law Panel.
Memberships
Law Society; Resolution (formerly SFLA); FMA; IAFL; FRSA; ‘Times’ Law Panel.
Education
Ursuline School, Wimbledon; St Anne’s College, Oxford (MA).
Leisure
Opera; chamber music (viola player); sits on the board of the Poetry Society; Deputy chair of board of trustees of Theatre de Complicite; trustee of Arts Patron Trust.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Family
(Hall of Fame)Family law boutique Hughes Fowler Carruthers is well-versed in the full gamut of high-value matters, with expertise representing high-net-worth individuals in complex divorce, cohabitation, and child wellbeing related cases. Frances Hughes
– ‘the go-to solicitor for complex financial disputes’ – leads the team, specialising in divorce and complex children’s cases, often with an international element, whilst simultaneously sitting as a senior mediator. Along with Hughes, the other two founding partners of the firm Pauline Fowler and ‘tenacious negotiator’ Alex Carruthers are key to the practice, with expertise in international adoption and surrogacy, and trusts-related work respectively. The ‘exceptional’ Renato Labi‘s practice extends to intricate financial disputes within divorce proceedings and post-cohabitation disputes, along with highly complex private law children cases. Caroline Park and Kate Brett are both integral to the practice, with experience in drafting and negotiating pre- and post- nuptial agreements, and complex cases including cross-jurisdictional children matters. Also of note is Mark Harper, who is widely lauded for his divorce and trust litigation expertise.