Spear’s Review

Payne Hicks Beach partner Harriet Errington specialises in international divorce for (U)HNW families, with cases regularly spanning jurisdictions from Switzerland to the Gulf.

Acting for the wife in a High Court battle involving complex offshore trusts, she secured a worldwide freezing injunction enforced across multiple jurisdictions – proof, she tells Spear’s, of ‘the enormous, wide-ranging powers of the English Family Court, which a lot of people massively underestimate’.

Her caseload increasingly involves issues around carried interest and wealth generated from private equity investments – among the thorniest problems in modern financial remedy work. It is territory she knows well, having acted in one of the earliest reported private equity cases (B v B [2013]).

Errington’s approach is decisive. Where others might rack up costs in ‘lengthy correspondence that will inevitably get the client nowhere’, Errington moves to proceedings. She explains that it’s better to act ‘quickly, efficiently and effectively rather than faffing around and dragging things out’.

Adviser Profile

Harriet is a highly regarded family lawyer, recognised as both a formidable litigator and a skilled negotiator. Known for her wonderfully empathetic yet firm approach, she advises clients through complex and emotionally charged matters with clarity, sensitivity and resolve.

Harriet specialises in high-value and international family law disputes, including divorce, pre- and postnuptial agreements, children matters and Part III claims, often involving multi-jurisdictional assets and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.

Ranked in The Legal 500 UK and Chambers HNW and UK Guides, she is widely praised for her strategic insight, jurisdictional expertise and ability to identify when to fight and when to settle.