Charlotte Symes

As a director, Charlotte is part of the leadership team at FLiP. She enjoys the variety that being both a family solicitor and mediator brings to her practice and strongly believes these skillsets complement each other. As a family solicitor she advises clients in contested court proceedings as well as through amicable negotiations (see below for examples). As a family mediator she works with couples to reach agreements with mediation sessions taking place either alongside or outside of the court process. Charlotte’s qualifications as a family solicitor, accredited family mediator and collaborative practitioner enable her to genuinely offer the process that is most appropriate for each individual. Please click here for more information about Charlotte’s family mediation practice.

Charlotte advises on all family law matters including:

• jurisdiction disputes where individuals may be able to start proceedings in more than one country
• financial issues arising from divorce, often involving foreign lawyers, dealing with valuations of businesses, properties, pensions and investments, tax issues, and the treatment of trusts
• property issues arising from the separation of a cohabiting couple
• financial issues between separating unmarried parents
• freezing injunctions to protect assets worldwide
• variation of spousal maintenance orders
• pre- and post-nuptial agreements
• cohabitation agreements
• separation agreements
• parenting issues involving child arrangements
• relocation of children within England & Wales or abroad
• abduction of children to/from England & Wales.

Many of Charlotte’s clients are international. She has an appreciation of the legal and practical requirements in different jurisdictions, and a strong network of contacts worldwide to bring into matters, as required. Charlotte speaks French and has lived and worked in law firms in Paris. She is therefore regularly instructed by clients with links to France. She is familiar with the matrimonial property regimes in France and other European countries and is instructed to advise on pre- and post-nuptial agreements for clients needing to meet the legal requirements of both England and another country with a system of matrimonial property regimes.

Charlotte is often instructed by owners (or their partners) of businesses and property portfolios with assets in the UK and abroad, within complex corporate or trust structures. Having previously worked as a corporate lawyer, Charlotte draws on her knowledge of company and property structures when reviewing disclosure documents within the divorce context. She also supports separating parents in relation to child arrangements and requests for permission to relocate with children, both within England & Wales and abroad.

Charlotte is ranked as a Next Generation Partner in the highly regarded legal directory, Legal 500.  Feedback includes: “I chose Charlotte from personal recommendations and was not disappointed” and “Charlotte gives great technical advice. Despite it being a very technically challenging matter, Charlotte always remained available to talk to the client and provided clear and pragmatic advice throughout with a reassuring manner for the client in what could otherwise have been an extremely stressful situation”.

Charlotte is also ranked as a Recommended Family Lawyer in the Spears’ Guide for HNW and UHNW clients. The directory notes her “diverse and international” practice and describes Charlotte as a solicitor who goes “out of her way to make what can be a painful process as stress free as possible”.

A graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge, Charlotte has an MA in French and German. This was the foundation of her interest in different cultures, leading to her international legal practice. She is a member of the Franco-British Lawyers Society, Resolution and the Family Mediation Council.

Charlotte’s recent matters and reported cases include:

• Representing the witness in enforcement proceedings brought by the former wife against her former husband, following their divorce in the case of Barclay v Barclay [2023] EWFC 164.
• Contesting the jurisdiction of the English courts in respect of competing jurisdictions of France, Australia, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
• Advising a French client on an English pre-nuptial agreement liaising with a French lawyer, to ensure enforceability in both jurisdictions.
• Advising the beneficiary of a family trust in relation to a pre-nuptial agreement, building in the principle of separate property.
• Advising the owner of a tech start-up company through divorce with issues surrounding the valuation of the business.
• Obtaining a freezing injunction to protect an asset against the risk of dissipation by the other party, (which would have frustrated the client’s financial claims on divorce).
• Advising the father in the case of J v J (Return to Non-Hague Convention Country)  [2021] EWHC 2412 (Fam) concerning the return of a child to India following the abduction of the child by the mother.
• Enforcing an order of the court of Massachusetts, USA, to secure the net sale proceeds of a property in England for a client.
• Negotiating a settlement for a client in contested court proceedings regarding the beneficial ownership of the property of a non-married couple, including settlement of occupation rent and equitable accounting.
• Acting for clients with investments in schemes under investigation by HMRC, requiring complex financial orders to deal with potential tax liabilities and penalties.
• Representing clients through arbitration to achieve a legally binding decision within months (shorter timeframe than the court process).
• Advising an English client in relation to the request of the other parent to move with their children to France.
• Advising the wife in the case of AB v FC [2016] EWHC 3285 concerning financial provision following a short marriage in circumstances where there was little capital but substantial earning capacity on the part of the husband (a professional footballer).