Divorce, dissolution and separation

One of the leading family departments in the country.

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Our talented and experienced lawyers have an international reputation for excellence, with particular expertise in advising on complex divorce, dissolution and separation cases. We will provide you with specialist and sensitive legal advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

We recognise that marriages and civil partnerships come to an end for a multitude of reasons and our aim is to guide you smoothly and supportively through the process. With a wealth of experience, our outstanding lawyers offer insight and discretion. While most cases require and can be given “a light touch”, others require a firmer stance, which we are not afraid to adopt where necessary.

Our specialists demonstrate a pragmatic, thorough approach aimed at reaching the best possible outcome for you and your family. We endeavour to take our clients beyond the immediate dispute, focusing them instead on their long-term and wider aims. We are able to resolve the vast majority of divorces on a straightforward uncontested basis, without the need for our clients to attend court.

The Penningtons Manches Cooper team in London, Oxford, Reading and Guildford has unrivalled expertise in international divorce law. We regularly work with leading law firms, with whom we have close connections, in other jurisdictions. This enables us to offer clients of all nationalities and religions who reside or have assets in more than one jurisdiction the very best legal advice geared to their specific requirements.

We offer an online system that can help our clients to understand their legal position, prepare for their first meeting, and provide us with the information required to maximise the value we can deliver. We invite you to get started online.

We offer expert advice on:

Recent work highlights

Religious divorce

Deferring an order successfully, pending the husband giving a “Get” (a Jewish divorce). This leading case (AI v MT) was important to the Jewish community where the plight of the “Agunah” is a serious issue.


Secret Islamic marriage

Acting in the highly publicized case, El Gamal v Al-Maktoum, involving the status of a secret Islamic marriage in England, where the court accepted that a ceremony did take place.


Nullity – annulment of marriage

Acting in proceedings where a husband successfully mounted a nullity petition for the first known occasion in English legal history where the fact of being gay was sufficient to show inability to consummate the marriage.

Related expertise

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC311575 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 419867.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP