Richard is a director of Carlsons and has over 15 years’ experience advising clients in complex family and dispute resolution matters. He represents individuals, families and businesses across a broad range of issues, including divorce and financial arrangements, children matters, domestic abuse, relocation applications, cross-border disputes and private Children Act proceedings.
Sitting as a Family Court Judge gives Richard unique insight into judicial decision-making and court procedure. This perspective informs case strategy, preparation and negotiation, helping clients understand how matters are likely to be viewed by the court. He combines this judicial insight with a deep understanding of the practical and emotional impact family disputes can have on children, parents and wider family members.
Richard is regularly instructed by high-net-worth individuals and people in the public eye in sensitive, high-profile cases. His experience includes cases involving allegations of parental alienation, neurodiversity, substance misuse, serious safeguarding concerns, domestic abuse, urgent injunctive applications and innovative child-arrangement solutions.
Known for being “informative, knowledgeable and reassuring”, Richard takes a constructive, resolution-focused approach. His priority is to reduce conflict, rebuild trust and secure outcomes that protect children’s welfare wherever possible. Where litigation is necessary, he is robust, strategic and meticulous, ensuring that each case is thoroughly prepared with clear objectives and a focused strategy.
Richard is also an accomplished commercial litigator and dispute resolution specialist. He has extensive experience advising beneficiaries, executors and trustees in contested probate and inheritance disputes, as well as acting in high-value claims against banks and other commercial organisations, including the reported case of Winnetka Trading Corporation v Julius Baer International Limited and another [2011] EWHC 2030 (Ch). He is equally skilled at resolving substantial disputes through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, avoiding the need for costly contested proceedings wherever possible.
Before entering legal practice, Richard ran companies supporting severely disabled children and providing accommodation for people leaving prison. This broader commercial and charitable experience gives him a practical understanding of the challenges faced by many of the individuals, families and businesses he advises. Away from work, Richard enjoys cars and motorcycles, fitness, strength training and swimming, international music and dance, and spending time with his family.
