Spear’s Review

‘It was just me and a paralegal on day one,’ recalls Stephen Foster, the much-admired head of Stewarts’ divorce and family department. Foster set up the practice and has helped it to grow into one of the strongest in London, with the depth to ‘deal with cases ranging from up-and-coming City professionals to some of the largest cases before the English Court’.

After a period in which the family law profession has been dominated by a handful of star individuals – the so-called ‘Queen Bees’ – Foster believes change is both inevitable and necessary. ‘It’s not enough to have one or two star partners. It’s not like flying a Spitfire any more; it’s like flying a Dreamliner. And that’s what we do at Stewarts – we have a constellation of talent.’  

Foster has been described by industry observers as ‘commercially brilliant and tactically astute’ and has ‘led Stewarts’ phalanx of family lawyers to the top of the pack’. 

Read next: The ‘Queen Bees’ family law: long may they reign?

Adviser Profile

Industry commentators have described Stephen Foster as ‘a great lateral thinker,’ ‘an intelligent and superbly talented litigator’ and ‘the go-to for complex financial proceedings’. His clients include City professionals and entrepreneurs, with many cases involving an international dimension across Europe, the US and the Middle East. Stephen is also adept at dealing sensitively with all aspects of children’s matters, including international relocation.

Foster has created ‘undoubtedly the premier family team in the country’ with ‘the best expertise, the best depth of talent and the best service available’ (Legal 500). Chambers describes Stewarts’ divorce team as ‘without question the pre-eminent law firm in London’.