Toby Atkinson

Practice Areas

Toby advises on all aspects of family law, with a particular emphasis on helping his clients resolve arrangements for their children and finances where they are separating, divorcing or dissolving a civil partnership. Chambers & Partners describe him as “incredibly calm and knowledgeable” with “a brilliant approach to complex cases”.

Toby specialises in all areas of family law, including financial settlement on divorce and arrangements for children after parents separate.

Toby’s financial cases frequently have an international dimension, often involving trusts, inherited wealth and family businesses. His clients include entrepreneurs, business owners, City professionals, and their spouses/partners.

Toby is equally adept at dealing with highly contested children cases as he is with resolving complex financial disputes. He is an experienced practitioner in the field of international child abduction and is frequently instructed by “left-behind” parents in both Hague and non-Hague Convention cases, international relocation cases and jurisdiction disputes.

On the non-contentious side, Toby regularly advises in relation to pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and wealth protection.

Career

Toby graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Edinburgh University in 2001, before converting to law. He joined Stewarts as a partner from Charles Russell Speechlys in 2015.

Professional Memberships

Toby is a member of Resolution and was on the London Young Resolution Committee for several years following qualification. He is also a member of the Association of Lawyers for Children.

Publications

Toby is a regular contributor of articles to legal publications and the wider media, and has provided expert media commentary on family law issues to the Times, the Financial Times, Spear’s Wealth, Citywealth magazine and New Law Journal.

Recent articles include:

Court of Appeal decision affirms trend towards greater transparency in family proceedings

Child abduction case with proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic examines habitual residence

Personal

When not otherwise at his desk or practising his negotiation skills with his young family, Toby enjoys cycling, dog walking and the occasional spot of acting, his credits including a cameo appearance as a divorce lawyer in the BBC legal drama series, The Split.

Work Highlights

Toby’s recent reported cases include:

Cathcart v Owens [2021] – Acted for the successful respondent wife in respect of an application brought by her former husband in the High Court to set aside a financial order made on divorce.

JC v PC [2021] – Acted for the successful applicant father in High Court proceedings brought to determine the habitual residence of his two children following their wrongful retention abroad by the respondent mother’.