Deborah Jeff

Spear’s Review

Simkins partner Deborah Jeff’s career has been characterised by major family law cases, including working ‘with two trust funds in the Isle of Man worth £13 million, and on a well-known singer/songwriter’s prenup’.

Noted for the law-changing case of SS v NS [2014], which shone a light on the needs-based assessment of maintenance payments to spouses, most of Jeff’s work involves complex financial disputes between divorcing and cohabiting couples, often with offshore elements and intricate taxation issues. She recently advised a wealthy Austrian property developer regarding a post-nuptial agreement to protect £350 million in wealth and is advising on a pre-nuptial agreement where there are expected to be inherited assets of approximately £1 billion.

She also has considerable experience with issues relating to children, such as contact, residence, child abduction and paternity testing.

Jeff has particular expertise in how divorce can affect the mental health of clients. ‘It happened by chance when I realised many clients have psychotherapists to get through the process,’ she explains.

Adviser Profile

‘My work over recent years has increasingly been for public figures and those in the music and entertainment industry, particularly for clients fighting to protect their wealth at the outset of a relationship,’ says Deborah Jeff. 

Jeff’s high- and ultra-high-net-worth practice has grown exponentially, most recently with client interests between the UK, US, Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg. That growth saw Jeff protecting a client’s assets of £340 million by way of a post-nuptial agreement. 

Respected by accountants and mental health professionals who entrust her with their most delicate and complex client needs, clients warm to her down-to-earth manner whilst respecting her attention to detail and ability to strategise a case from the outset.