Legal Week's 'An audience with…' panel discuss family and private client law, with divorce, pre-nups and post-nups on the agenda. John Malpas reports on the evening

Family and private client law are usually treated as separate disciplines. At a recent Legal Week panel debate, however, a strong case was made for bringing family and private client teams together when it comes to advising wealthy clients.

It may not always be easy, but private client specialists are well placed to raise the delicate issue of divorce at a time when it couldn't be further from their clients' minds.

The debate, which took place at the London Stock Exchange on 4 June, was chaired by the leading family barrister Nicholas Francis QC. He urged the audience of private client lawyers to take divorce law into account when giving legal advice.

Panellist Simon Bruce, of Farrer & Co, briefed the audience on developments in the law relating to post-marital agreements. So-called 'post-nups' are similar to pre-nups, but are signed shortly after the marriage has taken place. They are regarded as giving wealthy individuals seeking to ring-fence assets in the event of a messy divorce greater protection than pre-nups.

When it comes to protracted and expensive divorce cases, London has recently gained some notoriety as reflected by its status as the divorce capital of the world.

While pre-nups and post-nups are becoming more popular, one sure way to avoid having your divorce case splashed all over the UK's national newspapers is to live somewhere else.

Panel member Catriona Syed, of Charles Russell, said the UK remained an attractive place for wealthy people to base themselves, despite some nervousness caused by the recent changes to the non-domicile tax regime.

But she added that it was vital for private client lawyers to take into account English divorce law when advising their clients on a possible relocation to the UK.

This is because of the way family law has been developing in this country, to the point where judges assume that divorcing couples should share their assets equally unless there are grounds to take a different approach. To make matters worse – at least from the point of view of many private client lawyers and their clients – the Family Division's judges are notorious for their willingness to target assets squirreled away in offshore trusts.

"Our divorce tax is regarded by some as the most extravagant in the world," said Francis. "It is our job to be proactive and tell people about it."

He went on to cite a recent battle between a divorcing couple over the location of their divorce case. The papers were filed in Paris and London on the same day. If the case was held in London, the extra cost to the husband promised to run into several million pounds.

And yet when Francis asked the audience whether they advised clients on the divorce law implications of relocating to new jurisdictions, few were willing to accept that this fell within their remit.

"I don't see it as my role," said one delegate bluntly. Cue much discussion during drinks after the session about the convergence of private client and family law.

An audience with… panellists

  • Simon Bruce, Farrer & Co
  • Geoff Cook, Jersey Finance 
  • James Stewart, Manches
  • Catriona Syed, Charles Russell
  • Nicholas Francis QC, 29 Bedford Row