Caroline has extensive experience across the whole spectrum of family law work, particularly in relation to complex financial disputes arising on divorce and separation, disputes involving children and the drafting and negotiation of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
Caroline joined Hughes Fowler Carruthers in 2008, rising rapidly to become the firm’s first promotion to the partnership in over ten years.
She joined from international law firm, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she was a tax lawyer. During her time at Freshfields, Caroline worked on a wide range of cross-border, commercial transactions, involving both corporate clients and major financial institutions.
Caroline has worked on a number of reported cases and has built up extensive experience across the whole spectrum of family law work, in particular in relation to complex financial disputes arising on divorce and separation, disputes involving children and the drafting and negotiation of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements.
Clients have great confidence in Caroline’s calm and thorough approach and describe her as determined, clever and focussed, combining this with genuine kindness and warmth.
Caroline has been consistently ranked in the leading legal directories for several years and is featured in the Spear’s Family Law Index’s ‘Top Recommended Family Lawyers’ list. Chambers UK 2024 and Chambers HNW 2024 praise Caroline for her “extraordinary perception” and her “ability to see right through cases”, with one source noting “Caroline is incisive, very intelligent and has an excellent balance between providing clients reasonable expectations and fighting for their case.” Another Chambers source enthuses “Caroline is one of the most numerate solicitors I’ve come across, and she brings a commercial element to it too. She has a human side to her that clients love.” A Chambers UK 2023 source noted that she is “just brilliant; calm under pressure, measured in her approach, very bright and excellent in her judgement,” with another stating “she is so polished and her technical understanding is exceptional.”
Chambers HNW 2023 describes Caroline as “a class act,” stating that “she is the perfect combination of being exceptionally bright and technically able, but at the same time pragmatic and conscious of getting the right outcome for the client.”
The Legal 500 UK 2024 reconfirms Caroline’s rating as a ‘Leading Individual’. The Legal 500 UK 2022 praises her for being “one of the best lawyers of her generation”. The Guide highlights that she is “supremely bright, super organised and calm and devout in the furthering of her client’s best case” as well as “highly emotionally intelligent” noting “she can read a client, a judge or the other side to maximum effect”.
Her interests outside work include travel, hiking, food and wine and reading.
Caroline has a first-class degree from Cambridge University and a Master’s degree from the University of Chicago.
Chambers HNW 2022 highlights Caroline as “one of the brightest solicitors around.”
Chambers UK 2022 highlighted Caroline’s experience in “sensitive cross-border financial proceedings involving high-value assets”. The Guide praised her for her “huge amount of commercial knowledge” and as “an exceptional lawyer and a very smart litigator”.
The Legal 500 UK 2021 noted she is “frequently engaged in the most complex, cross-jurisdictional divorce and financial remedy cases, as well as handling pre and post-nuptial agreements and contested children cases”. The Guide praised Caroline as “outstanding – very strong, a tough but fair opponent and very pragmatic”.
Chambers HNW 2021 notes she is “extremely tough in negotiation and achieves results for her clients that others would not even think possible. Underestimate her at your peril, she is a tactician and extremely capable lawyer who is always on top of the facts”. The guide further highlights Caroline as “an outstanding family lawyer. She is sensitive, empathetic and unfailingly prompt.”
Chambers UK 2021 described Caroline as an “exceptionally talented lawyer who really understands the commerciality of the case”. The Guide further commended her as an “outstanding family lawyer with strong intellect” and for being “strategically sound and clinical while being kind-hearted to clients”.
Chambers HNW 2020 reconfirmed her ranking, highlighting her “wide-ranging litigation background in family law”, commending her for being the “voice of reason in a lot of cases”. The Guide praised Caroline for being “an excellent negotiator” and “highly strategic,” adding that “it is like she is playing chess; she is thinking of all angles and is several moves ahead.”
Chambers UK 2020 recognised Caroline as “a star in the making”, and praised her for her “very calm, very sensitive” approach.
Chambers UK 2019 described her as “fantastic – a force to be reckoned with, who is frequently ahead of the game. She has a razor-sharp intellect and nothing gets past her”.
Chambers HNW 2018 raised Caroline’s ranking in a continuation of her upwards trajectory. She is described as being “one to watch” and “easy to deal with but by no means a pushover”.
Chambers UK 2018 described Caroline as a “brilliant” individual, who is “increasingly recognised for her work involving high net worth financial disputes”.
Chambers HNW 2017 described her as “one of the grande dames of the future. Very good with clients and very knowledgeable of the law” and an individual with a “pragmatic air”.
Chambers UK 2017 described Caroline as “excellent” and “terrifyingly bright”.
The Legal 500 UK 2020 reconfirmed Caroline’s rating as a ‘Leading Individual’ and praised her as being “equally skilled at handling the most complex divorce and financial remedy cases as pre and post nuptial agreements and contested children matters”. The Guide also commended Caroline as “very bright, very efficient and a pleasure to deal with”.
The Legal 500 UK 2019 reconfirmed Caroline’s position as a ‘Leading Individual’ and described her as “forensic on detail while never losing sight of priorities”.
The Legal 500 2017 confirmed Caroline’s status as a ‘Leading Individual’, describing her as “steely”, “a thinker who considers all possibilities”, and “tactically brilliant” with “accurate knowledge and spot-on case management”.