Marie Kilgallen and Sarah Balfour lead the family practice at Irwin Mitchell, advising clients including landed gentry, CEOs and later-life individuals. Kilgallen regularly handles matters involving contested pre-nuptial agreements, Children Act proceedings and financial remedy disputes. Balfour brings considerable expertise in advising high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, including on the drafting of pre-nuptial agreements. Zahra Pabani adds significant depth to the team, particularly in relation to pre- and post-nuptial agreements, trust matters and cases involving overseas assets.
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Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- The Birmingham IM office is standout excellent, with an incredibly impressive team.
- Sarah Balfour - great lawyer, experienced, knowledgeable, conscientious, client-focused. Marie Kilgallen - a brilliant, energetic, and intuitive family lawyer. Saffron Burgess - exceptionally able.
- The team was highly professional, well-rounded (more than technically proficient lawyers), and highly client-focused.
- Sabrina Powell, Joanna Uzoka, and Amy Brown are standout members of the team who go the extra mile for clients. They blend excellent communication and client relationships with expert knowledge and skill in co-ownership and relationship breakdown disputes.
- One of the largest family teams in the Midlands - takes a sensible, pragmatic approach with a range of personalities to suit different clients. I find them very easy to work with, technically excellent, and client-friendly.
- Sarah Balfour - Sarah is one of my long-term contacts at IM, who is technically excellent while being both sensible and empathetic with clients. Zahra Pabani - Zahra is a force of nature and a great advocate for the firm and the family team.
- Irwin Mitchell is an exceptionally strong team with a stellar bench of solicitors at all levels.
- Sarah Balfour - Sarah is quite possibly the Queen of Family Law in Birmingham. There is no matter too complex or difficult for Sarah to manage, and I would not hesitate to recommend her. Mark Hands - Mark is highly capable and stands out among the Irwin Mitchell stable for his pragmatism and personality. A formidable solicitor. Tara Smith - Tara is a go-to for modern family law issues and is utterly charming.
- Emma Rhodes, my solicitor, was exceptional, outstanding, professional, and knowledgeable - she listened, understood, and was supportive. Whenever I liaised with the team, I didn’t need to repeat anything as they already had all my details. Every member of Emma's team was professional and highly knowledgeable.
- Sarah Balfour brings a wealth of experience to complex and high net worth cases. Her bedside manner is superb, reassuring high-demand clients in complex situations.
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Practice head
Marie Kilgallen; Sarah Balfour
Other key lawyers
Zahra Pabani; Sabrina Powell; Lucy Todd