Jonathan is a family law solicitor and a leading court litigation specialist who represents a wide range of clients, including high-profile individuals across the UK, on divorce. He is regularly instructed in cases involving a significant income disparity between spouses, acting for both financially stronger and financially weaker parties. He also has experience in matters involving allegations of controlling behaviour or financial abuse.
Jonathan’s work frequently overlaps with other legal jurisdictions, including the criminal courts, where he is experienced in representing divorce clients who are in prison or have previously been convicted of a crime.
Outside of his legal practice, Jonathan leads walking groups across the country for individuals affected by relationship breakdown and abuse. These groups, some of which he founded and continues to run, provide informal peer support and are recognised by the mental health charity Mind.
Expertise
- Divorce
- Financial separation
- Children issues and arrangement orders
- Business owners and entrepreneurs
- Assets owned by third parties on divorce
- Controlling behaviour
- Financially abusive relationships
- Safeguarding and preventing the circulation of confidential information
- Ensuring financial equality during divorce proceedings.
- Civil partnerships
- Family law
- Families with ADHD, ASC and bipolar disorder.
Experience
General Family Law
- Represented hundreds of clients in divorce proceedings, including the settlement of financial claims and arrangements for time with children.
- Represented clients in negotiating private settlements to achieve confidential outcomes without attending court.
Litigation and Court Settlements
- Represented clients in court to obtain orders that level the financial playing field at the start of divorce proceedings, ensuring both spouses have access to funds for living costs and legal fees.
- Represented parents wrongly accused of abusive behaviour, taking robust steps to defend their rights to see their children and to challenge false allegations.
- Represented clients in both proving and defending claims regarding ownership of family assets on divorce, including pursuing accountability for false representations.
- Represented clients in ringfencing business value increases accrued after separation and excluding them from divorce settlements.
- Recovered more than 80% of a client’s legal fees from her husband due to his misconduct and repeated non-disclosure during the divorce process.
- Discovered and recovered undisclosed assets during divorce proceedings; the husband was found in contempt of court and faced imprisonment before a negotiated settlement was reached.
- Obtained a worldwide freezing injunction to prevent a husband based in the Middle East from disposing of assets during divorce proceedings.
High-profile Cases
- Represented the wife of a Russian oligarch in high-profile proceedings at the Royal Courts of Justice and the Court of Appeal. The case involved assets located in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK. The husband denied ownership of the assets, claiming he could not transfer them; the wife disputed this, asserting they were family assets under his control.
- Represented the owner of 127 buy-to-let properties in Central London in contentious court litigation. The outcome was structured with accountants to achieve a tax-efficient ownership structure.
- Represented and secured financial provision for a mother who had a child with a leading Hollywood actor (confidential, private settlement agreed).
- Represented and secured financial provision for a mother who had a child with a world-champion boxer (confidential, private settlement agreed).
Reported Cases
- Ravendark Holdings Limited v Rotenberg & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1661
- Grandison v Joseph [2019] EWHC 977 (Fam)
- FF v KF [2017] 1093
- B v B [2017] EWHC 1029 (Fam)
- DB v PB [2016] EWHC 3431 (Fam)
- Nightingale v Nightingale [2014] EWHC 77 (Fam)
- Sekhri v Ray [2014] EWCA Civ 119
- Sekhri v Ray [2013] EWHC 2290 (Fam)
- Young v Young [2013] EWHC 3637
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 for Family law 2024
“Jonathan Day is excellent. He has a wonderfully calm manner with clients. He also has a comprehensive legal knowledge and good judgment.” The Legal 500 2024
“personable, intelligent and hardworking” The Legal 500 2023
“responsible for the heavy lifting” The Legal 500 2022
Career
Jonathan qualified as a solicitor in 2015. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2024, he worked at the following firms:
- JMW solicitors
- Stowe Law
- Sears Tooth