| James Stewart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 May 1965 Liskey, Strabane, Northern Ireland |
| Residence | Covent Garden, London and Liskey House, Liskey, Strabane, Co Tyrone. |
| Nationality | British and Irish |
| Education | Coleraine Academical Institution University of Essex |
| Occupation | Family Lawyer |
| Known for | International Family Law and pioneering the use of ADR in family cases |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
| Parents | John Desmond Moody Stewart, Elizabeth Frances Wilson |
| Website | |
| www.manches.com | |
James Stewart (born 1965 in Strabane, Northern Ireland), is a London based solicitor and collaborative lawyer, who acts for celebrities and others in often high-profile and international divorce and family law cases. A partner at Manches, he is top ranked in the Legal 500,[1] Spears WMS Legal Index[2] and in Chambers UK 2011.[3] In October 2010 he was the only matrimonial lawyer to be shortlisted for the "Solicitor of the Year – Private Practice 2010" category of the Law Society Excellence Awards[4]
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The son of a County Tyrone farmer, Stewart was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution in County Londonderry, the University of Essex and the College of Law, Chester.
Stewart qualified as a solicitor in 1990, was accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer in 1999.[5] A year later he was appointed partner and head of the family department at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. In 2003 he was the only lawyer to be profiled in the "On the Verge" series of the Observer magazine .[6] He became a partner at Manches LLP in 2006, shortly after being elected as a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (IAML), a worldwide association of family lawyers who are recognised by their peers as the most experienced and expert family law specialists in their respective countries.[7]
He has acted on a number high-profile divorce cases involving members of Pink Floyd and INXS, has represented clients including Priscilla Waters (in her divorce against Roger Waters) and Julie Le Brocquy, producer of BAFTA award winning Osama. Stewart also successfully represented Glory Annen Clibbery in the landmark family/Human Rights Act 1998 case of Clibbery v Allan (2002), where he won at first instance[8] and on appeal.[9] He also acted for the successful claimant, Kerry Cox, in the widely publicised cohabitation case of Cox v Jones in 2004.[10] His firm, Manches, represented Guy Ritchie in his divorce with his wife Madonna[11]
Stewart is a recognised expert in cases involving claims for financial support for children of unmarried parents – the Children Act 1989, schedule 1 ( a provision most often used where the parent with whom the child does not live is relatively wealthy). He acted for the successful mother in the case of Re: C (A Child: Financial Provision) [2006], where his client achieved a capital fund of £2million, the highest award of its kind in England.[12]
Stewart was in the first group of solicitors in England to train in Collaborative Family Law,[13] a non-confrontational approach towards alternate dispute resolution in family law.[14] In 2007 he co-founded the group, Collaborative Family Law,[15] ( formerly the Central London Collaborative Forum), which aims to bring this form of dispute resolution to "big money" and celebrity divorces.[16][17] In October 2009 he hosted over 200 of the UK's leading family lawyers at his club, Shoreditch House, to hear a keynote address by the newly appointed Supreme Court Justice, Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore. This was the first occasion in which a member of the Supreme Court publicly endorsed Collaborative Law.[18][19]
In January 2009 Stewart was appointed Governor of the IAML[20] and invited to become a member of the Times Law Panel, an advisory body of 100 of the country's most prominent barristers and solicitors.[21][22] Citywealth has included Stewart in its list of Leading Lawyers for 2010/11 (Family & Matrimonial – Honours List)[23]
In January 2011 Stewart was the only family lawyer to be included in The Lawyer's prestigious ‘Hot 100’. Published annually, the Hot 100 highlights "100 lawyers who were at the top of their game during the last year and who are set to shape the legal landscape in the 12 months ahead".
His inclusion in the 2011 listing was based on a number of factors, in particular Stewarts’s passion for family law and his tireless work in promoting the use of collaborative law in the UK. He is praised by clients for his “dedicated and unswerving approach”, and he is recognised in the listing as “steadily building a reputation as one of the country’s family lawyer elite”.[24]
Stewart writes extensively on International family law[25] and is a recognised authority on domestic and international pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements[26][27] and on complex financial cases,[28] his articles on Anglo-Russian divorce have appeared in The Times,[29] The Lawyer[30] and the Russian Investment Review[31][32][33]
Stewart is General Editor and co-author of "Family Law Jurisdictional Comparisons"[34] (Sweet & Maxwell 2011), he has also co-authored the Russia and Ukraine chapters of "International Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements"[35] (Family Law 2011)
Stewart lives in Covent Garden, London.[36] He is a supporter of the peace building charity, Co-operation Ireland.[37] and has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of this and other charities[38]