Goodman Ray

Goodman Ray LLP, is a highly acclaimed boutique family law practice renowned for its exceptional strength and market-leading expertise across the full spectrum of children and family law. The firm maintains an unparalleled national and international reputation, particularly for its work in complex children matters, spanning public law, private law, and intricate cross-border disputes.

Based in London with an expanding presence in Brighton, Goodman Ray successfully balances high-level representation for high-net-worth (HNW) and international clients with an unwavering commitment to publicly funded work, ensuring cutting-edge advice reaches all.

Cited by peers for its profound commitment to a child-centred ethos, the firm is noted for its ability to combine tenacious litigation with pragmatic non-court dispute resolution (ADR) strategies.

Strengths

1. Children Law: Public and Private: Goodman Ray is consistently ranked Band 1 for its depth and volume of children law work. The team is universally lauded as a powerhouse in public law, acting for parents, children through their Guardians, and local authorities in the most serious and medically complex care cases, including non-accidental injuries, allegations of sexual abuse, and deprivation of liberty (DoLs) proceedings. In private law, the firm is the go-to specialist for challenging parental disputes and internal/external relocation applications.

2. International and Cross-Border Expertise: The firm is a recognized leader in international children law. Its dedicated specialists handle complex matters under The Hague Convention on Child Abduction, as well as cases involving international adoption, surrogacy, wardship, and jurisdictional disputes. The team has a stellar track record intervening in key Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases that shape the landscape of family and human rights law.

3. Divorce and Complex Financial Remedy: Goodman Ray offers sophisticated representation in high-value financial remedy and divorce proceedings. The team is particularly skilled in managing complex asset structures involving trusts, inherited wealth, pensions, and cases with multi-jurisdictional and international tax implications. A key strength is the team’s constructive and resolution-focused approach, with partners trained as mediators and collaborative lawyers to guide HNW clients through non-court solutions where possible.

4. Modern Family Structures: Goodman Ray is at the forefront of legal practice concerning modern families. It houses dedicated expertise in all facets of fertility law, domestic and international surrogacy arrangements, and complex adoption proceedings, including those with inter-country elements.

Work Highlights

• • Representing parents and children in several recent seminal care proceedings involving complex medical evidence and allegations of fabricated illness.
  • Acting in numerous highly contentious internal and external relocation disputes, successfully arguing complex welfare and jurisdictional issues.
  • Advising an ultra-high-net-worth individual on the division of complex trust assets and cross-border financial claims following divorce.
  • Successfully representing clients in complex child abduction cases under the Hague Convention, often involving novel jurisdictional arguments and cultural considerations.