Natalie Sutherland

Clients

Natalie’s reported cases include:

Re X (Catastrophic Injury: Collection and Storage of Sperm) [2022] EWCOP 48 (16 November 2022)

SA v FA [2022] EWFC 115 (9 September 2022)

P v Q [2022] EWFC B9 (10 February 2022)

G v G [2012] EWHC 167 (Fam) (24 February 2012)

Practice Areas

Natalie practices in all areas of family law but specialises in modern family law where she advises in respect of international and domestic surrogacy arrangements, child arrangements where a surrogacy arrangement has broken down, assisted reproductive technology law, embryo disposition, posthumous conception, donor conception, platonic co-parenting, transgender parenting issues and adoption.

Her private children law practice includes international and domestic leave to remove disputes, cases involving allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour and narcissistic personality disorder, cases involving allegations of alienating behaviours and vaccination disputes relating to children, including the Covid vaccination.

Natalie’s divorce and financial remedy practice includes cases involving domicile and jurisdiction disputes, cohabitation claims for unmarried couples, Schedule 1 applications for children, pre and post nuptial agreements, variation of maintenance applications and freezing injunctions.

Career

Natalie started out her career at boutique family law firm, Levison Meltzer Pigott, where she spent 9 years working directly with one of the founders dealing with high and ultra high net worth clients and matters with complex legal issues.

Prior to joining Burgess Mee, Natalie was Head of the Family Department at a firm in the City which is well known for their work in surrogacy and fertility law as well as LGBTQ+ issues.

Professional Memberships

Natalie is a member of Resolution and sits on the Children Committee. Natalie is also a member of the British Fertility Society.

Natalie is a member of the Board of Trustees of Progress Educational Trust, a charity which advances public understanding of science, law and ethics in the field of human genetics, assisted reproduction, embryology and stem cell research.

Natalie is a also member of the Advisory Board of CIFI, Centre for Individual and Family Identity, a recently established clinical psychology led, systemically informed specialist provider of therapeutic services offering consultation by experienced clinicians to donor conceived families, donors, surrogates, and their families. Additionally, CIFI provides training for a variety of professionals to increase awareness, understanding and sensitivity towards all those involved in building families in this way, whether in health settings, schools, social care or third sector, in the UK and internationally.

Publications

Natalie regularly writes for legal publications such as Solicitors Journal, Today’s Family Lawyer, LexisNexis, International Adviser, Family Law Journal, The Divorce Magazine and Law.com International.

Natalie has also written for The Times and has featured in Mail on Sunday, CityAM, The Telegraph, The Financial Times, The New Statesman, The Law Society Gazette, New Law Journal, Elle, Women’s Health, and Grazia.

Personal

Natalie is married with a daughter and is very proud of her Welsh roots.

Natalie is passionate about opening up the conversation around fertility issues in the workplace. This passion led her to co-founding In/Fertility in the City, a movement born of the need for radical change: a complete culture shift in all workplaces to better support men and women who are struggling with infertility whilst navigating professional careers.

Natalie co-organised and co-chaired two in-person panel events in December 2020 and July 2021, with a third event taking place on 30 October 2023 with Clifford Chance. Natalie also now co-hosts a podcast of the same name, dedicated to exploring the complex relationship between in/fertility and work and how to manage this effectively.

Natalie is also passionate about law reform and is assisting Nickie Aiken MP with her private members bill, Fertility Treatment (Employment Rights) Bill, and her Fertility Workplace Pledge.

Outside of work Natalie enjoys Peloton, Politics and Podcasts.

Work Highlights

Successfully representing a British husband resident in Abu Dhabi where the court found in his favour that the Abu Dhabi Non-Muslim Family Court was the more convenient forum to hear the divorce and not the courts of England and Wales, in the reported case of SA v FA [2022] EWFC 115 (9 September 2022).

Industry Sector Expertise

Family law and modern family law.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

England and Wales.

Languages Spoken

English.

Education

Awards