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Jessie Smith supports high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals in divorce, cohabitation, pre-nuptial agreements, children arrangements and fertility related cases.
Jessie is a solicitor in Howard Kennedy's Family team. She specialises in the financial components in the establishment or breakdown of married or unmarried families. She regularly drafts and negotiates complex pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements and has a growing practice in disputes relating to children.
She is often involved in fertility law matters and other cases relating to creating families, including surrogacy parental order applications and co-parenting agreements. Jessie prioritises early settlement wherever possible but runs her litigious matters with confidence.
Jessie tailors her advice to her clients and works with them to understand their individual needs from an early stage so that they feel supported through what is invariably a stressful and often deeply traumatic time in their lives. When appropriate to do so, Jessie works with external experts to provide a holistic approach to her clients' cases.
Additionally, she acts on cases involving addiction and other mental health issues.
Jessie has written articles for a number of publications, appeared as a guest on podcasts and she is a member of Resolution. She is also the Website Officer of the International Bar Association Family Law Committee.
- Acting for the commissioning parents in a reported surrogacy case with various complexities including the fact that the parents were not living in the same property.
- Acting for a client in financial proceedings to which a number of family members were joined as a result of long-standing family trust assets forming part of the matrimonial pot.
- Acting for a client in a case involving significant non-disclosure, addiction and mental health issues.
- Acting for a client in a case involving various moving parts including domestic violence allegations, child arrangements applications and financial remedies requiring expert valuation of unlisted corporate assets.
- Acting for a client in financial proceedings involving significant fraud by the other party, both prior to and during the proceedings.
- Ranked, Family/Matrimonial, Chambers UK 2022
- Listed as Key Lawyer, Private Client: Family, Legal 500 2022
- Ranked as a Rising Star, Spear's 500 Family Law Index 2021
- Won silver in the 'Family Lawyer of the Year - Associate' category at the 2021 Citywealth Future Leaders Awards
Jessie performs with Howard Kennedy's resident rock band, Take It To The Bridge and she is the treasurer of the firm's Charity Committee.