What made you decide to become a lawyer and why practise family law?
I’m naturally a problem solver, and I’ve always wanted to make a difference. Family law makes a real difference to people’s lives. We can help make a bad situation better, create calm in an emotional storm, and save children from the turmoil by early intervention. I’m motivated by providing solutions that are creative, rather than those that are formulaic.
What have been your career highlights?
My first case involved an Iranian client and a property in France. I had to use my French and litigate in France. It was a complicated case, with many millions of pounds being held in complex structures. It was a baptism of fire and I’m not entirely sure how I got through it!
Much more recently, I had a client whose child had been alienated from him. After 22 hearings (which was a personal record), we managed to have the child’s living arrangements transferred temporarily to the father, combined with therapeutic input. Ultimately, the child was able to enjoy positive relationships with both parents and now spends time equally with each of them. It was an incredibly difficult and lengthy process, but very much worth it.
What has been your biggest professional challenge and what did you learn from it?
I once had a two-week trial at the Old Bailey with Helena Kennedy QC on a kidnapping case. The jury was discharged and there was a retrial. I was a newcomer to criminal law, which meant I was always on my toes, but it was an amazing learning curve.
What has been your proudest professional moment?
I recently had a client from the Middle East who had been duped by her husband into leaving her country of residence and taking the children to the UK. Once here, her husband blocked her from returning to her home country, stopped her from accessing funds and accused her of alcoholism and neglect. Over a period of two years, we succeeded in helping her return to her home country with the children and further obtained a financial award for her that was sufficiently sizeable to permit her to live in the manner she had become accustomed to for the rest of her life.
What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in your market since you started practising and has it made it better or worse?
A watershed moment for most family lawyers in 2000 was the decision of the House of Lords (as was) in White v White. Before then, the financially weaker party to the divorce (almost always the wife) was awarded her ‘reasonable requirements’, with the husband keeping the rest. The House of Lords considered that approach discriminated against the non-financial contributions that wives make to a marriage – often through raising children and looking after the home. They introduced the ‘yardstick of equality’, which developed in time to the more modern concept of sharing assets. It was a huge overnight change in the way financial applications on divorce were dealt with and while it was a positive change in terms of recognising the huge work that many spouses carry out in respect of caring for the family, it also led to London becoming the divorce capital of the world, as wives flocked to this country to take advantage of a more generous financial provision than they might otherwise get.
Would you recommend a life in family law to your younger self, and why?
I’ve had the most incredible career. It’s been fascinating, rewarding, and challenging. I’ve had the opportunity and privilege of meeting clients from all walks of life and learning about their businesses, professions, and aspirations. I have been fortunate enough to have operated at the cutting edge of family law, with cases I have acted on creating precedent and I have represented the most high-profile clients in the media, with the most complex problems. I have worked alongside and opposite many of the greatest legal talents in the country and developed lifelong friendships. I couldn’t have wished for a better career.
What advice would you give to those who want to get to where you have?
I would say be creative and proactive, not reactive. Listen to your client – listen to what they are actually saying, rather than what you might expect them to say. Learn how to read non-verbal signs. Always think about what the other party might be doing in the circumstances. Be firm but fair. And enjoy the challenges – however difficult they may seem at the time – they often end up being the best education.
What is the most important change that needs to happen to family law in the UK?
There needs to be a real change as to how disputes are resolved. Far too many cases end up litigating in court, where they might have been resolved by out-of-court dispute resolution, had the parties engaged in that process earlier on. Too often mediation is an afterthought, and considered too late, after the parties’ positions have already become entrenched. The voice of the child also needs to be brought to the heart of a family dispute, rather than being weaponised or, all too often, ignored.
What is the biggest challenge facing your clients right now?
There are huge problems being caused by the length of time that cases take to be resolved through the court process – sometimes several years, but frequently over a year. The economic landscape can change significantly over the course of a year (as we have seen this past year) and in financial cases, this can mean that assets need to be revalued and reconsidered, leading to additional cost and often yet more delay. An offer that might have seemed unpalatable at the outset of proceedings can be attractive by the end, and vice versa, due to macroeconomic events completely out of the parties’ control.
In cases involving children, if the relationship between a child and one parent at the outset of proceedings is precarious, by the time there is a final resolution, that relationship can be completely ruptured. While there are several initiatives to try and reduce delays and steer parties to out-of-court resolution, many families continue to suffer due to significant delays.
And finally – what was your favourite childhood book, and why?
I’d say the Narnia series by CS Lewis – a departure from reality!
Sandra Davis is a partner in Mishcon de Reya’s family department.