Christine Plews

Christine is a vastly experienced family lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in this area. She is highly ranked and recommended in legal directories. Christine was a partner at Blake Morgan LLP until 2019 when she became a Consultant specialising in mediation. She is an Accredited Mediator, certified Child Inclusive Mediator, trained collaborative lawyer and holds counselling qualifications from Oxford University.

Main areas of practice

Delivered via the mediation process, Christine handles all levels of complexities in financial matters following a divorce or separation including where there are significant Trust or business assets. She also mediates in children cases, including where there is high conflict and emotion or little. Blake Morgan LLP participate in the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, and as an accredited mediator this is up to £500.

She has been an Family Mediation Council (FMC) Accredited mediator for five years, a highly sought after qualification, which requires in-depth study and demonstration of experience as a mediator. In addition she is a Law Society Accredited Mediator which qualifies her to hold mediation information and assessment meetings (MIAMs) and sign court forms where appropriate. She is qualified to see children in mediation which enables the children to have a separate voice, which is shown to be beneficial to their well-being. Christine holds a post graduate certificate in psychodynamic counselling from Oxford University, which enables her to help clients develop insight into their mode of relating to their partner. She is a qualified Solicitor and holds a practising certificate.

Clients

Christine mediates for a wide range of clients including business owners and high profile individuals. Whilst many of her mediations involve substantial assets, including Trust assets or have an international element, they equally do not, but Christine finds clients appreciate the experience she brings to bear on all her mediations. Her mediation clients might be seeking a divorce, or a separation or a Pre or Post Nuptial Agreement. She might be their first port of call or their last before a contested court hearing. Regardless of the stage you are at, mediation is flexible and bespoke and can be tailored to suit the situation. It does not have to be for amicable relationships, as is sometimes presumed.

Family mediation appointments

Appointments are designed to fit the lifestyle and preference of the clients. Clients can be seen face to face at one of our professional and discreet offices in convenient locations across the south of England and Wales – in London, Southampton, Oxford and Reading. Equally clients like to have their mediation appointments on a virtual basis and this can be accommodated via MS Teams. This enables mediations to take place for clients based all around the UK and abroad. Shuttle mediations where clients do not want to see each other can be accommodated on either basis. Often a combination of face to face meetings and virtual meetings is preferred. Clear information about process and costs is provided at the outset. Click here to contact me.

Expertise

• Family Mediation
• Arrangements for Children, Parents and Grandparents
• Divorce and Separation
• Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements

Career

Christine joined the firm in 1990. She has held numerous management positions within the firm and led the award winning family team for 25 years. It is ranked as one of the top 50 family teams in England and Wales and is ranked highly in the legal directories. She is noted as a Senior Statesperson in the Family Law field. In the last 10 years she has built a mediation practice within the family team and achieved the highly sought after accreditation in 2016 with the Family Mediation Council. She has added the Law Society’s Mediation Panel to her portfolio of accreditations and become a Child Inclusive Mediator. She is trained in psychodynamic counselling. She is a diversity champion and is on the ED&I panel for the Family Mediators Association.