Joanna Potbury

Career

Jo is regularly instructed to deal with complex and high net worth divorces as well as private children law disputes and the protection of family wealth through pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements.

Jo has expertise dealing with divorce cases involving trusts, businesses, high value property and assets located outside the UK. She also has extensive experience in relation to child disputes including Schedule 1 and Leave to Remove.

She is recognised as an expert in the family arena. In addition, Jo’s background is in commercial litigation, having trained with the firm and qualified into the Technology and Media Dispute Resolution team, before moving on to specialise in family law. She is, therefore, uniquely qualified to bring a commercial and pragmatic approach to matrimonial financial cases which involve complex business and overseas assets.

Jo has built up a strong network in Brighton and the surrounding area.  This, combined with her particular skillset, has enabled the team to carve out a niche as a market leader for complex matrimonial cases in the region.

Work Highlights

Advising on a highly contentious, and particularly complex, Schedule 1 Application involving a shareholder's dispute and difficulties surrounding contact arrangements.

Advising a client during a very acrimonious breakdown of a marriage. In particular, advising the client in relation to high value properties and companies in both the UK and USA.

Securing a financial settlement on divorce where the parties are joint owners of seven properties as well as high value pensions.

Issuing an urgent Schedule 1 Application to re-establish regular, unsupervised contact for a mother and her three young children.

Advising a party in proceedings relating to the joint ownership of a property; securing the sale of the property and division of the proceeds of sale in our client's favour on the basis of Trust law.

Advising and securing financial settlement for a wife in circumstances where the husband was refusing to provide financial disclosure in respect of his very successful businesses.

Preparing a pre-nuptial agreement; ring-fencing our client's various properties and pensions in the event of the parties' divorce.

Advising and preparing a cohabitation agreement for a couple who do not intend to get married, but who wish to document their common intentions to protect their assets.

Professional Memberships

Member of Resolution.