Deirdre Fottrell KC

Spear’s Review

Formerly at 1GC and now a leading silk at 4PB, Deirdre Fottrell KC is widely regarded as a top family lawyer, with highly sought-after expertise in matters relating to child relocation, surrogacy, international abduction and complex adoption. 

Her clientele includes a multitude of high-profile figures; she acted in the well-publicised case between Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya, representing their children. She is well equipped to handle challenging and complex cases, including those under media attention, and she has argued cases in the UK Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights. 

Considered an expert in the field, Fottrell has lectured at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the University of London, and Columbia University. She tells Spear’s that her priority is always to ‘achieve a good outcome’ for her client and ‘help people through the quagmire of family law’.

Notable Cases

Re N (Adoption – Surrogacy) [2024] EWFC 41

Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum v Princess Haya [2022] EWFC 16

In the matter of B (A child) [2016] UKSC 4