Frederick Tatham

Partner

Freddie has extensive experience advising clients in relation to divorce and separation, financial claims, nuptial agreements, cohabitation and issues relating to children. Clients value Freddie’s clear and strategic advice and his ability to handle matters sensitively and discreetly.

Freddie acts for high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals and their spouses and partners. He has a wealth of experience advising bankers, private equity professionals, landed estate owners, individuals with inherited wealth, business owners, as well as homemakers and full-time parents. Freddie has acted for a number of high-profile individuals for whom discretion is a key consideration.

Freddie has particular experience of resolving complex international financial disputes and enforcement of financial orders where one party fails to comply. He has a keen interest in cases with a Hong Kong or Far East element, having previously spent time at a top-ranked family law firm in Hong Kong on secondment.

Freddie also handles high-value or complex pre- and post-nuptial agreements with care and sensitivity. As part of his wealth protection practice, he is regularly instructed by trustees and family offices in relation to nuptial agreements and the protection of assets from financial claims on relationship breakdown.

Freddie also deals with disputes relating to children in a manner that is constructive and child-focused. He advises on a broad range of issues concerning children, including where children will live, how they will divide their time between parents, choice of school and applications to relocate children to live abroad. He has experience of handling high-conflict children cases, including those involving allegations of substance misuse or domestic abuse.

Freddie has extensive experience of litigation at all levels, including in the UK Supreme Court, but is committed to achieving solutions outside court wherever possible. He adopts a commercial and costs-proportionate approach to cases, looking to resolve matters quickly and efficiently.

Freddie’s litigation experience includes being part of the team advising Yasmin Prest in the landmark case of Prest v Petrodel in the UK Supreme Court. A panel of seven judges ruled unanimously in Mrs Prest's favour, with the then President of the Supreme Court highlighting it as one of the five most significant cases heard since the Supreme Court was established in an interview in The Independent. The case was reported widely, including by the BBC, The Telegraph and The Guardian.

Freddie is recognised in the market as a leading family lawyer and is ranked in the Legal 500, Chambers’ High Net Worth Guide and Spear’s 500 Index. Contributors to the legal directories commented that Freddie’s “strategic thinking is magnificent”, “his law craft skills are second to none” and “he has a great bedside manner but is ruthlessly efficient”.

Individuals & Families

Freddie is a trusted advisor to his clients. His clients include homemakers, full-time parents, City professionals, landed estate owners, entrepreneurs and those with family wealth or businesses. He also advises trustees and family offices involved in divorce proceedings, or engaging in wealth protection planning. He combines an empathetic and calm approach with a sharp intellect and incisive thinking. He is a skilled negotiator and aims to achieve out of court settlements for his clients which protect their short-term and long-term interests. Where required he is also a tough litigator, and he has extensive litigation experience at the highest level.

Reported Cases

Kicinski v Pardi [2021] EWHC 499 (Fam)
Acting for the appellant wife in her successful appeal against a final financial order which had left her without adequate protection following a material change in the parties’ circumstances.

Goddard-Watts v Goddard Watts [2019] EWHC 3367 (Fam)
Acting for Mrs Goddard-Watts, in what is believed to be an unprecedented application to set aside a financial order on divorce for the second time within the same proceedings on the basis of fraudulent non-disclosure by the husband. Mr Justice Holman, the judge determining the application in the wife’s favour, described the scenario as “vanishingly rare and probably unique”. The case was reported by The Times.

IX v IY [2018] EWHC 3053
Acting for a former model in her application for financial remedies on divorce, involving high value assets in multiple jurisdictions. The case concerned whether the parties’ long pre-marital relationship amounted to quasi-marital status, thereby enabling the wife to share in the significant assets generated in the husband’s business during the relationship. The court considered the relevance and impact of the parties’ spending the entirety of the husband’s pre-marital wealth during the marriage due to their very high standard of living. A further issue was whether the wife’s daughter from a previous relationship was a “child of the family”.

Goddard-Watts v Goddard-Watts [2016] EWHC 3000 (Fam)
Acting for a former wife in her renewed application for financial provision following the successful set aside of a consent order on the basis of non-disclosure of assets by the husband.

Prest v Prest [2015] EWCA Civ 714
Acting for a wife in successfully dismissing the husband’s appeal against a four-week prison sentence for breach of a financial order.

KG v LG (No 2) [2015] EWFC 64
A former wife's successful application to set aside a financial consent order where her former husband was guilty of non-disclosure at the time of the divorce regarding his interest in two trusts.

Mackay v Mackay [2015] EWHC 2860
Acting for a husband defending an application to set aside a final order on the basis of non-disclosure.

Prest v Petrodel [2013] UKSC 34
Acting for the wife in her successful appeal to the Supreme Court in a case of major importance in family and corporate law, involving the doctrine of piercing corporate veils. The case was reported widely, including by the BBC, The Telegraph and The Guardian and in The Independent.

Memberships & Accolades

Freddie is recognised as a "Top Recommended" family lawyer in the Spear’s 500 Index. He is also ranked as a "Next Generation Partner" in the Legal 500 and in the Chambers and Partners High Net Worth Guide.

Freddie has been named a NextGen Leader by eprivateclient and was nominated for the Rising Star Award at the Chambers and Partners HNW Awards in 2022.

Freddie is a trained Collaborative lawyer and a member of Resolution, an organisation of family lawyers who believe in a constructive approach to family law matters.

Testimonials

"Freddie Tatham is one of my favourite lawyers and all round people. He is a ferociously good lawyer who will go very far. He is a shrewd operator who carefully navigates his client's case to maximise the outcome for them. He achieves really good results and does so with panache. Client's adore him and his manner which is both professional and charming." (Legal 500 2025)

“Frederick has a very polished manner and is very clearly spoken." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"Freddie is lovely. He has the most approachable manner and his competency in terms of his law craft skills are second to none." (Chambers HNW 2023)

"Frederick Tatham … is a highly polished member of the team. His strategic thinking is magnificent" (Legal 500 2023)

"Frederick is a dynamic young lawyer. He is charming, efficient and knowledgeable." (Chambers UK 2023)

"Freddie is wonderful in terms of his legal acumen and ability with clients." (Chambers UK 2023)

"He is very knowledgeable on complex financial issues and is a pleasure to deal with." (Chambers UK 2023)

"[Frederick] is incredibly good; he's smart, client-friendly and incredibly hard-working. He has a great bedside manner but is ruthlessly efficient." (Chambers HNW 2022)