Helen Ward - Biography

Lady Ward, a partner at Manches, is a London lawyer.

Ward was born in Golders Green. Her mother was a painter and her father a successful businessman. Helen Gilbert, as she was, attended the fee-paying King Alfred school before studying law at Birmingham University. She qualified as a solicitor in 1978 but while still an articled clerk at the age of 22, she met her husband-to-be, Alan Ward, then a family law barrister.

Her former clients include Paloma Picasso, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Ian McEwan David Seaman and Countess Spencer In 2007 the Court of Appeal upheld a record award of £48m in favour of her client, Beverley Charman, the highest award of its kind in British legal history. Ward acts for Guy Ritchie, estranged husband of the singer, Madonna. On 22 February 2009 the Daily Telegraph reported that F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone had taken on Ward "who is reputed to have secured Guy Ritchie a £45 million settlement in the film director's divorce from Madonna."

In 1982 she was a founder member of Resolution,which has grown into an organisation of 5000 family lawyers who believe in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to family law

Known for her cool beauty and sense of style, Ward is married to the Court of Appeal judge Sir Alan Ward. A qualified mediator, Ward is known for her effective negotiation skills as well as her absolute discretion. Ward keeps a low profile and is rarely gives interviews. She specialises in the financial consequences of relationship breakdowns, particularly in big money cases and cases with an international element, but also acts in difficult international cases involving children. She is a recorder, a deputy district judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court and a fellow and committee member 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.

Quotations

'The best ammunition against litigation is to tell the client about the damage that they are going to do to their family. Divorce should carry a health warning: it damages children and it damages relationships'

See also

• Anne-Marie Hutchinson
• Fiona Shackleton
• Jane Simpson
• James Stewart
• International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
• Collaborative Family Law

External links

• Manches Bio
• IAML Profile
• Legal 500 Profile
• Chambers and Partners Firm Profile