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James Stewart
International Family lawyer - Head of Strategy, Family Department - Co-Head of Private Wealth, Penningtons Manches Cooper - Fellow IAFL - General Editor, Family Law: A Global Guide - Visiting Professor, Ulster University
James Stewart is a highly acclaimed family lawyer, recognized as Chambers HNW ‘Family Lawyer of the Year 2018/19’, and inducted into the Legal 500 'Hall of Fame'. With a stellar reputation in UK family law, he has been featured in Spear’s Magazine and Tatler as a prominent figure in the field. As a Fellow of the IAFL and general editor of 'Family Law: A Global Guide', he is a leading expert in comparative international family law.
Highlights
Maggie Rae 1949 -2023
It was so good to be able to say goodbye to Maggie Rae yesterday.
Maggie was a big part of my life in London. Maggie and I founded the Central London Collaborative Forum together - an idea conceived over a lovely supper in Pasta Brown in the Summer of 2010. We went on to launch the CLCF at a (fairly raucous) party in Shoreditch House, where at least one of our guests fell into the pool. The picture below was taken in May 2012 when Maggie and other CLCF members completed the London Legal Walk.
In addion to a great professional relationship (we had many cases together), Maggie and her Husband Alan (Lord Haworth), were, for over 10 years, wonderful neighbours to Dimitris and to me in Covent Garden. Many more laughter-filled suppers followed at our local Italian, Pasta Brown. I have lots of wonderful memories of Maggie during that period, ranging from summer drinks with her Rachael and Anne-Marie on the roof of the Coliseum (which the garden of my flat was connected to) to wonderful evenings at her apartment (Maggie was a superb cook).
Like so many of Maggie’s friends, Dimitris and I were so shocked to hear of her passing whilst on a trip to the Antarctic in November 2023 (it was doubly shocking as Alan had died on a cruise to the Arctic a few months before).
In common with all of her family and friends, Maggie’s passing left a void in our lives which can never be filled. She was brilliant, funny, giving, totally unique. None of us were able to say goodbye to our much-loved friend.
I have dedicated the recently published 6th Edition of the Blue Book to Maggie in recognition of her help with the book and huge contribution to the IAFL: International Academy of Family Lawyers over the years (see photo below).
Yesterday, we were able to say goodbye to Maggie at a memorial in London. We celebrated her life and wonderful achievements and were able to reflect on her contributions to Refuge (a charity which she chaired and which meant so much to her) and to the Asian University for Women, in Banglasesh, which she supported. It was particularly nice to hear from her sister Kate, her friend Andy Hall KC, Hetti Barkworth-Nanton CBE of Refuge, her close friend and former flatmate in Hackney, Cherie Blair CBE (Cherie Booth K.C.) and her wonderful colleague Paul Newton
RIP Maggie
