The Financial Remedies Awards 2026

On Thursday 15 October 2026, the great and good of the family law world descended on the Pullman Hotel at St Pancras for the annual Class Legal conference. Attendees were treated to a number of insightful talks throughout the day, including a live recording of Sir Nicholas Mostyn’s chart-topping podcast, Law & Disorder, followed by an abundance of wine and nibbles. In years gone by, 6 pm would have signalled the train home or moving onto the pub, however, this year saw the second ever Financial Remedies Awards. This is unlike any other legal awards ceremony – it’s free to enter and took less than an hour to get through.

Matters kicked off with a welcome from everyone’s favourite northerner, Samantha Hillas KC, welcoming the family law glitterati to our answer to the Oscars. Sam sported a gorgeous red jumpsuit worthy of any red carpet and was joined by her glamorous assistants, Lord Falconer and Sarah Hoskinson, throughout the evening.

A strong theme for those taking home the trophy was their commitment to pro bono work, fee transparency and adoption of non-court dispute resolution, which are all admirable qualities. In the interests of diversity, perhaps next year needs a category for the aggressive litigators who charge a fortune?

The quick turnaround of the evening is even more impressive when you consider that the number of categories has almost doubled from last year’s awards, to now include regional firms and chambers, as well as case and silk of the year (the latter being criminally underpraised).

Thanks to such a breadth of categories, the winners spanned two distinct categories – those born in the 1990s and those who have been at the bar since then. The evening was a double victory for three underdogs: QEB (Young Barrister and Barrister), Kingsley Napley (London Firm and Case of the Year for Michael v Michael) and 1 Kings Bench Walk (London Chambers and Silk of the Year for James Roberts KC). A full breakdown of the winners is set out below:

• Young Barrister: Cara Donegan of QEB
• Young Solicitor: Taler Kelly of Irwin Mitchell
• Barrister: Fiona Stewart of QEB
• Solicitor: Jemma Pollock of Russell Cooke
• Regional Firm: Anthony Collins
• London Firm: Kingsley Napley
• London Chambers: 1 Kings Bench Walk
• Regional Chambers: 9 Park Place
• Case of the Year: Michael v Michael – Kingsley Napley
• Silk: James Roberts KC

Outstanding contribution: Finally, and with a rightful standing ovation, Graeme Fraser took home the outstanding contribution award for his tireless work on campaigning for cohabitation reform and the Ministry of Justice Consultation: A Fairer End to Relationships.