Stewart Leech KC > Chambers of Catherine Cowton KC and James Ewins KC. > London, England > Barrister Profile

Stewart Leech KC

020 7797 7837 clerks@qeb.co.uk

Position

Stewart specialises in ancillary relief, civil partnership and cohabitee disputes as well as Inheritance Act claims. His cases generally involve significant wealth and complex financial arrangements, often with an international dimension and/or involving jurisdictional disputes. He is bilingual in French and English and has a particular interest in cross-channel cases.  He is regularly instructed by trustees both to advise and to represent them in proceedings.  He also routinely drafts pre- and post-nuptial agreements, again often involving multiple jurisdictions.
He is rated in Chambers & Partners, Legal Experts, and the Legal 500 as one of the leading practitioners at the family bar. He has also been selected by his peers as one of 2012’s Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom and figures as one of the country’s leading barristers in Citywealth Magazine’s Leaders List 2012.
Recent editions of Chambers & Partners quote solicitors as saying he is “very clever, very calm, fantastic with clients and good with judges”. He is also described as “a late starter at the Bar after a successful teaching career with a maturity and confidence that allows him to bring a dash of theatricality into his expertly prepared addresses”, “excellent” and a “fierce advocate”;  he “continues to amass a huge following among solicitors due to his superb judgment.” The latest edition says as follows: ‘he is “an extremely hard-working, elegant and intelligent advocate. Observers agree with his elevation to silk, noting that he has “conducted himself in a ‘silky’ way for years.” His ancillary relief practice regularly involves cases in multiple jurisdictions relating to very high net worth individuals.’
He prides himself on being approachable and user-friendly.
Interesting cases include: E v E (Art 19 and Seisin BIIa) [2015] EWHC 3742 (Fam); WD v HD [2015] EWHC 1547 (Fam); Joy v Joy [2014] EWHC 3769 (Fam); Y v Y (Financial Remedy – Marriage Contract) [2014] 2920 EWHC (Fam); Joy v Joy [2014] EWCA Civ 520; HMRC v Charman [2012] EWHC 1448 (Fam); [2012] 2 FLR; FL v Registrar General [2011] 2 FLR 630;
Lykiardopulo v Lykiardopulo [2011] 1 FLR 1427; H v H (pensions) [2010] 2 FLR 173; M v V (Art 23 Brussels 1) [2010] All ER (D) 216; Judge v Judge [2009] 1 FLR 1287; Mahon v Mahon [2008] EWCA Civ 901; CR v CR [2008] 1 FLR 323; Moore v Moore [2007] 2 FLR 339;
Sulaiman v Juffali [2002] 1 FLR 479; Khreino v Khreino (No 2) [2000] 1 FCR 80.

Career

Qualified 1992; Lincoln’s Inn; Junior Counsel to the Crown (A Panel) 2009; appointed Queen’s Counsel 2011; taught French and German at Shrewsbury School 1986-88 and at Eton College 1988-90. Has written numerous reviews and articles including: ‘Palm Tree Justice: The Distribution of Chattels on the Breakdown of a Marriage’, Christie’s Bulletin for Professional Advisers (1996); ‘With All My Worldly Goods I Thee Endow The Status of Pre-nuptial Agreements in England and Wales’, Family Law Quarterly (American Bar Association, 2000 vol 34); ‘Marriage, Divorce and Ancillary Relief under the Human Rights Act 1998: An Introduction’, European Human Rights Law Review [2001] issue 3.

Languages

French, German.

Memberships

FLBA (he was a committee member for many years); fellow, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; Franco-British Lawyers Society.

Education

Christ Church, Oxford University (French and German, Open Exhibitioner); City University (CPE, with distinction), awarded the Holman, Fenwick prize for being placed second in the order of merit; passed Bar finals 1992, graded ‘outstanding’, coming third in the Bar list; a Megarry Scholar of Lincoln’s Inn and awarded the 1992 Ede & Ravenscroft student of the year award for being the highest placed member of the Inn in Bar finals.