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Caroline East, Senior Associate at Penningtons Manches
Areas of expertise: Family law, Private wealth

Profile

Caroline is a senior associate in the family law team in London. With over 15 years’ post-qualified experience, she undertakes all aspects of divorce and private family law, including complex financial matters, arrangements for children (including internal and international relocation), the drafting of pre-nuptial agreements, and resolving disputes arising from the breakdown of relationships between unmarried people. As a member of AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers) and the International Bar Association, the cases Caroline works on often have an international dimension. 

Sitting on Resolution's London Region Committee, Caroline is committed to resolving family law issues out of court in a constructive, family-centred way. Her committee work includes consulting with members about practice related issues, such as campaigning for legislative change and improving engagement with the courts. She is a trained collaborative lawyer and mental health first aider, who is recognised in The Legal 500 for her sensitivity towards clients. She has also written for the New Law Journal.  

Caroline studied law at BPP Holborn, gaining a distinction in the LPC while working full time at a foreign exchange trading software solutions provider. She has spent time living and working in Geneva and Paris and prior to studying law, obtained a BSc (Hons) in international management and French. She co-founded the firm's neurodiversity committee and was shortlisted as outstanding for her diversity, equity and inclusion work at Law.com International’s Women, Influence & Power in Law UK Awards 2024. She also won the award for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Champion of the Year in a Legal Role at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards 2024.

Recent work highlights

  • Acting for a husband against a wife who was resident in a non-EU Member State Lugano Convention country where the matrimonial assets were situated in a number of different jurisdictions and held under corporate and trust structures.
  • Advising a high net worth individual in a forum dispute where there were competing proceedings in England and Cyprus.
  • Acting for an American wife based in England in respect of her financial remedy application, including maintenance pending suit to include provision for legal costs, which involved family trust and inheritance issues.
  • Assisting in advising an unmarried English mother of two children who were the subject of financial proceedings under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, against a high net worth Canadian father who was resident in Canada.
  • Advising a husband-to-be in relation to an international pre-nuptial agreement seeking to exclude corporate assets and future inheritance from the marital property available for distribution in the event of divorce.

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