Following the recent addition of Nikki Aston as Director in the Nottingham office, National leading law firm, Freeths is pleased to announce further expansion of its highly successful Family practice with the appointment of new lawyers to its London offering.

The London Family team has been bolstered by the appointment of Fiona Wilson as Partner, Charlotte Coyle as Director and Emily Waters as Legal Assistant taking the team to a total of 7 in less than 3 years. They join Irpreet Kohli, Judy Bodansky, Lucy Hill and Isabella Coolican in the London Family team.

Fiona and Charlotte bring with them many years of experience in all areas of family law and more notably, the additional specialisms of fertility and surrogacy law, kinship care (in particular acting for grandparents) and resolving disputes over financial arrangements made in Wills or on intestacy.

Fiona originally started her career as a solicitor in Scotland and worked in Edinburgh for some years before heading south. She is therefore well placed to assist clients with cross border issues and issues relating to jurisdictional disputes.

Charlotte was a nominee for the Family Law Associate Solicitor at the Family Law Awards 2021 and  brings with her a specialism in surrogacy law. She advises couples on international and UK surrogacy and applications for parental orders. Charlotte also has specialist expertise in representing clients in Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA) proceedings as well as grandparents in respect of contact arrangements.

Fiona and Charlotte join the team in advising  on all aspects of family law. The team advises clients from the beginning of a relationship where they can assist with prenuptial and cohabitation agreements, to when a relationship breaks down, at which point they provide advice on dispute resolution involving finances, children and the wellbeing of the client.

The team are already renown in the Asian and Jewish communities, where Irpreet and Judy respectively work to raise awareness about the impact of cultural issues within relationship breakdowns and ensure those considerations are dealt with proactively and sensitively within the standard legal framework of a separation.

Irpreet Kohli, Partner and Head of the London Family Team at Freeths, said:

“Having previously worked closely with Fiona for over 13 years, I am delighted to welcome Fiona, Charlotte and Emily to the team and excited at the specialisms that they bring with them and that we can now offer to our clients. Freeths have always attracted and developed the best lawyers and our clients are used to receiving pragmatic, supportive and sensible advise in relation to their matters. Fiona, Charlotte and Emily have already seamlessly fit into the team and we are positive about the future of the team going forward as we continue to grow both in London and nationally.”

Charlotte Coyle, Director in the Family Team at Freeths, added:

“I am delighted to join Freeths a firm that has an incredible presence and reputation within the legal market. I am looking forward to working within the dynamic and flourishing family team in London and bringing my specialism to help develop and contribute towards the firm’s future success.”