Alex is a founding partner at Hughes Fowler Carruthers. He specialises in complex divorce and financial work and children’s work, in particular in international cases. His clients are high net worth individuals with complex legal issues including trusts and jurisdictional disputes.
Alex helped set up the Young Solicitors Family Law Association in 1998. He is a member of Resolution, the International Bar Association and a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. Alex is a qualified mediator and collaborative lawyer and is featured in Spear’s Family Law Index’s ‘Top Recommended Family Lawyers’ list. Alex is also listed in Tatler Address Book’s Advisory as one of the leading family lawyers in their trusted network of influential and elite private client experts with “gilt-edged” expertise.
He is a trustee of the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau and a regular commentator and speaker on family law.
Alex continues to be highly commended in the leading legal directories for his expertise. Chambers UK 2024 and Chambers HNW 2024 reconfirm Alex’s Band 1 ranking, and is recognised for being “someone you go to with a really knotty problem.” A source praises him for being “an outstanding strategist: empathetic, practical and a pleasure to deal with.” He is further highlighted for being “as good as it gets in terms of financial remedy solicitors” and “a seasoned litigator who knows when to take risks and very often gets excellent results.”
In Chambers UK 2023, a source comments that Alex has “really good judgement on cases and he’s also very intelligent.” He is further described as “sharp, incisive and astute… tactically brilliant and extremely patient.” Another Chambers commentator enthuses “he is totally dedicated to his clients and will fight for them like no other lawyer I know. He is also a very strategic thinker.”
The Legal 500 UK 2024 reconfirms Alex’s ranking in their Hall of Fame and describes him as “a tenacious negotiator who has unrivalled experience of dealing with difficult offshore cases.” The Legal 500 UK 2022 comments that Alex is “a stand-out litigator of immense experience and superior instincts”. The Guide highlights he is a “feared litigator, with an astute and brave approach to any problem. He never takes a step backwards and leaves no angle unexplored or unexploited” and adds he is “a top choice for difficult finance cases”.
Alex’s interests include bridge. He studied science at Cambridge before qualifying as a solicitor in 1994. He practised at Bates, Wells & Braithwaite, first as a solicitor and then (from 1999) as a partner until the inception of Hughes Fowler Carruthers in 2001.