Christine Plews
Consultant
Contact details
Practice group head Christine Plews acts on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, as well as financial disputes arising from separation. Clients say: "Plews is a great adviser. She is calm, considered and practical. When emotions can be under strain, a level-headed and rational approach underpins a wealth of experience and gives her clients a feeling of complete security."
Christine is a highly experienced family lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in this area. She is ranked number 1 in both legal directories and is recommended as a leading individual. She was a partner at Blake Morgan LLP until 2019 when she became a Consultant specialising in mediation. She is an Accredited Mediator and trained collaborative lawyer. She holds counselling qualifications from Oxford University.
Main areas of practice
Dealing with highly complex financial matters following a divorce or separation and where there are significant Trust or business assets is her main area of expertise; with issues being resolved through the court process or alternatively mediated as appropriate.
She is an FMC Accredited mediator and Law Society Accredited Mediator. Christine regularly helps clients to implement wealth protection strategies and has experience in negotiating multi-jurisdictional pre and post nuptial agreements protecting assets worth over £20 million.
Clients
Christine advises a wide range of clients including business owners and high profile individuals. Many of her cases involve substantial assets, including Trust assets or have an international element. She sees mediation clients ranging from those at the start of their journey, and who do not have lawyers, to those who have been involved in lengthy court proceedings and wish to avoid a final hearing.
Expertise
Career
Christine joined the firm in 1990. She has held numerous management positions within the firm and has led the award winning family team in Oxford since 2004. It is ranked number 1 in both legal directories and is ranked as one of the top 50 family teams in England and Wales by eprivateclient. She trained as Collaborative Lawyer and then a Mediator with Resolution and has been accredited by the Family Mediation Council and Law Society. She is on both panels. She has been a Trustee for various local charities and is engaged in many charitable, community based activities. She is an Oxford Brookes University Mentor.
Contact details
Memberships
- International Academy of Collaborative Lawyers
- Lawyers Against Poverty
Significant Experience
- Mediation: As an accredited Resolution mediator, Christine has one of the largest lawyer mediator practices in the area. She works closely with IFAs and family consultants. She holds a post graduate counselling qualification. A trained collaborative lawyer since 2005, she helped launch collaborative law in the Oxford area and remains involved in the development of this area of dispute resolution.
- Nuptial Agreements: In this developing area, Christine has advised many couples on nuptial agreements, before or after their marriage or Civil Partnership. Many have an international element and involve significant assets.
- Owner managed businesses: She also specialises in the division of business assets following divorce or separation of a family member and dealing with money and property issues arising out of relationship breakdown, whether the couple have been married or not.
- International: Christine has a developing reputation for dealing with family disputes where there is an international element, particularly with regard to Ireland, France, Germany and Belgium where she has links with other lawyers. Her expertise lies in English law but she is also well informed about issues relating to children or assets in other jurisdictions.
Additional Expertise
Cases involving couples who are unmarried but have business or property assets together. She has a particular expertise in Prenuptial Agreements.
Quotes
Insights by Christine
articles
While most people don’t start court proceedings lightly, there can be an element of hoping that it will be cathartic or therapeutic in some way and that 'justice' will be...
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There are not many occasions in a mediation where I hesitate to say that mediations are conducted in the "shadow of the court". I normally emphasise that mediation is not...
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Many years ago the court used to get involved in every case where there were children and their parents were divorcing. However, with the Children Act, which came into being...
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