Samantha Woodham

Financial Remedies

Private Children Law

Early Neutral Evaluation

Private FDR

Praised by clients, colleagues and the legal directories alike, Samantha specialises in complex and high-value financial disputes and in contentious private law children cases.  She is a fearless advocate with a keen intellect, yet possesses a warm and approachable manner that puts clients at ease.

Samantha is recognised as leader in her field in Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Spears, Citywealth and the Tatler High Net Worth Guide.

From her extensive experience representing husbands and wives in the Family Court, Samantha was convinced there was a better way to resolve family change than requiring each spouse, from day one, to seek advice from separate legal teams. In 2018 she, and fellow barrister Harry Gates, set up The Divorce Surgery, which was the first regulated law firm to enable separating couples to share a lawyer on divorce. The Divorce Surgery was named as one of the FT50 most innovative law firms in Europe.

Samantha is a leader in the field of Non-Court Dispute Resolution (NCDR), for which she has received numerous awards, and appears regularly in print and broadcast media. Samantha and Harry were commissioned by

Harper Collins to write a book about how couples can divorce well: The Divorce Surgery: The Art of Untying the Knot.

Samantha was appointed to the sub-committee of the Online Procedure Rules Committee in 2024, which is tasked with reform of the pre-court space.