Expertise and experience

Michelle is a highly regarded matrimonial solicitor. She is an expert in divorce law, financial settlements and arrangements for children.

She helps separating couples work out their plans for the future, especially if they have a portfolio of high-net-worth assets or there are international aspects.

As a trained mediator and collaborative lawyer, Michelle provides families with alternative methods of dispute resolution to avoid going to court. However, she is also an experienced litigator and offers steely representation.

The types of cases that Michelle is usually involved in include:

• disentangling a family’s financial assets after relationship breakdown, while taking into account personal needs and legal rights;
• negotiating settlements for high-net-worth couples, including cases with complex international dimensions involving emergency applications and enforcement orders;
• applications for spousal maintenance; upward and downward variations, including arguments for re-opening of historic settlements;
• the enforcement of a child arrangements order where one parent does not comply with the terms to allow contact with the other parent;
• emergency child arrangements orders including the preventing a child’s name change and applications for leave to remove from the local area and outside the UK;
• drafting and advising on prenuptial agreements, post nuptial agreements and pre-civil registration agreements, including using collaborative law to secure the terms of the agreement; and
• Michelle has a particular expertise in advising on family trust assets and third party intervenor applications.

Michelle is recognised in the 2021 Legal 500 as a ‘recommended lawyer’ and a ‘leading individual’ in family law and mediation:

‘Michelle Uppal is very collaborative, solutions focused, knowledgeable and knows what she is doing. She provides very focused, practical, highly skilled and technical advice.’

‘Michelle Uppal is forthright and robust with a no-nonsense approach. However, she is very approachable and resolves matters holistically and thinks outside the box.’

‘Michelle Uppal is both efficient and effective in achieving successful outcomes. Clients appreciate her frank advice. She is very sharp on both strategy and the law.’

‘Partner and accredited mediator Michelle Uppal combines depth of legal thinking with care and compassion, skills suited to providing an holistic mediation service’

‘Michelle Uppal is very committed to mediation and really tries to make a success of the process.’