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UK

Ruth Abrams

Partner

England & Wales

020 3319 3700

ruth.abrams@keystonelaw.co.uk

“Ruth is an absolutely superb lawyer. She handled what was at times a very tricky situation with great poise and skill, fantastic legal insight and exceptional negotiating expertise. She knew the right times to stand firm and when to adopt a degree of greater flexibility in order to optimise the outcome. She has a natural confidence and authority that is great to have on your side. Ruth skilfully navigated past numerous challenges and achieved a superb outcome for me.”

- London professional in a finance and children matter

Ruth is a family lawyer with over 25 years’ experience as a specialist adviser to individuals going through a divorce, helping to resolve any disputes involving finances or children. In addition to assisting married couples, she also works with unmarried couples going through similar issues.

Ruth deals with a range of family law cases, including complex matters, many of which have an international element. Her work often involves coordinating with specialists in the UK and abroad including counsel, tax advisers, forensic accountants, property valuers, and pension sharing experts to ensure optimal outcomes for her clients.

Ruth’s clients have included doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, and other business professionals, army officers, entrepreneurs, athletes, and celebrities in the public eye or their partners. Many of Ruth’s clients are foreign nationals living in the UK.

As well as steering her clients through court litigation when the case requires it, Ruth is a strong proponent of non-court dispute resolution and works closely with clients to find an amicable route ahead wherever possible.

Expertise

Ruths acts for clients in a range of divorce and financial remedy matters including complex cases with an international element, helping to resolve any disputes involving divorce proceedings and financial settlements.

Experience

  • Advised and represented clients in divorce forum disputes where there were multiple jurisdictions for divorce.
  • Advised and represented clients in connection with the preservation of assets in financial remedy proceedings, to include applications for worldwide freezing orders and the setting aside of transactions made to defeat a client’s financial remedy claims.
  • Successfully obtained financial transparency on behalf of clients where their spouses sought to withhold disclosure or obscure assets by obtaining disclosure orders.
  • Advised clients in relation to asset valuation disputes in financial remedy cases and measures available to secure independent advice from specialists including forensic accountants, tax advisors, property valuers, and pension sharing experts.
  • Advised and represented clients in cases involving inherited wealth and family trusts and in the ringfencing of inherited assets in financial settlements.
  • Successfully obtained court orders for interim financial support of clients and legal services payment orders during financial remedy proceedings and costs orders in relation to interim applications.
  • Successful personal representation of clients to achieve consensual settlements at roundtable meetings.
  • Achieved positive client outcomes at private financial dispute resolution hearings and arbitration hearings.
  • Advised and represented clients in connection with both the enforcement of and variation of spousal maintenance orders.

Ruth advises a wide range of clients on child arrangements and specific issue disputes involving children.

Experience

  • Obtained favourable child arrangements orders from the court in contested private children disputes, including equal shared care orders.
  • Successfully acted for clients in preventing the removal of children to foreign jurisdictions including South Africa, the USA, Israel, and Pakistan.
  • Enforced contact on behalf of a parent where a child arrangements order was not being complied with.
  • Represented a client where safeguarding issues were raised against them and obtained a successful outcome at a fact-finding hearing.
  • Worked with clients to agree child arrangements and to submit a child arrangements order to the court by consent.
  • Advised clients in relation to parenting plans.
  • Represented clients in connection with parental responsibility issues including the specific issue of the educational arrangements for a child.
  • Represented clients in disputes regarding overseas travel arrangements and holiday plans.

Ruth works with unmarried couples to resolve property disputes. She also frequently represents clients who are a parent of children from an unmarried relationship in making a claim against a co-parent for financial provision for a child.

Experience

  • Successfully obtained court orders under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, providing for the payment of capital, child maintenance, and school fees for a child, in cases where there was mutual consent of the parties following voluntary negotiations and also in highly contested cases following court proceedings.
  • Acted for a client in the aftermath of a relationship breakdown, in an ownership dispute relating to multiple properties to determine ownership shares in each property and the transfer/sale of those properties as part of a settled outcome.
  • Advised and represented a client in relation to a claim under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 in order to secure favourable court declarations as to ownership and sale of properties.

Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.

Recognition

Recommended Lawyer in The Spear’s 500 Family Law Index 2024–2025

Recognised by The Legal 500 as a Next Generation Lawyer for Family 2020–2024

Recommended Lawyer in The Spear’s 500 Family Law 2021–2022

“Ruth Abrams is simply superb. She is poised and skilled and handles the most difficult of cases with realism and an astute understanding of the law and how the courts work.”

The Legal 500 2024

Ruth qualified as a solicitor in 1999. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2020, she worked at the following firms:

  • SA Law
  • Mishcon de Reya
  • Royds Withy King

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