Michael Chapman

Practice Areas

Michael is a specialist family lawyer with an excellent reputation for dealing with high-net-worth financial remedy claims, with particular expertise in Schedule 1 Children Act claims. Michael’s cases regularly involve overseas assets, complex business structures and trusts.

Michael frequently acts for business owners, those well known in the commercial world, footballers (playing and retired) and their ex-partners. Michael has significant experience and understanding of the additional layers of complexity being in the public eye creates for clients, and is an expert in managing those issues.

Michael also has considerable experience in dealing with high-net-worth nuptial agreements both in respect of negotiating terms and interpretation upon separation.

Career

Qualified in 2005. Partner at Turner Parkinson (2011) and Ward Hadaway (2014). Joined JMW as Head of Family in 2016, becoming a board member in 2021.

Work Highlights

• Acting for the Husband in the Court of Appeal Case, Helliwell v Entwistle [2024] EWFC 740 Fam, which concerned the validity of a pre-nuptial agreement, the impact of the quality of disclosure and assessment of needs.

• Acting for a Wife in the High Court in a financial remedies case involving assets of c£100m including labyrinthine corporate structures.

• Acting for a Husband who was a partner in a Private Equity firm, the assets involved were c£20m plus business interests.

• Acting for the Husband in ON v ON [2024] EWFC 379, a complex case that involved a Wife’s application to set aside an arbitration award. Wife was only partially successful, and Husband secured a £250,000 costs order against Wife.