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UK

David Thompson

Partner

England & Wales

020 3319 3700

david.thompson@keystonelaw.co.uk

David is a senior family partner with over 25 years’ experience in all aspects of family law, with a wealth of knowledge in the more complex financial divorces as well as intractable disputes involving children issues. He also has a great deal of expertise in drafting and breaking pre-nuptial agreements, both in the UK and abroad. Additionally, David advises on trust and wills disputes and every aspect of cohabiting relationship breakdowns.

David is a qualified mediator and collaborative lawyer with international experience in jurisdictions such as the US, UAE, France, Germany and India. David’s approach is to settle matters as quickly as possible and outside court if at all possible; however, where litigation is unavoidable, he has extensive experience in family court proceedings.

Expertise

David advises on complex family matters, including financial orders, children disputes, nuptial agreements, and separation, guiding clients through mediation, ADR, and private hearings.

Experience

  • Drafted a pre-nuptial agreement for a potential wife where the assets were worth over £1bn.
  • Acted in the applications to freeze the assets of a husband where the properties and companies were spread out worldwide and the applications had to be made simultaneously in many jurisdictions.
  • Acted in a complex and stressful High Court case to return a very young child to his famous parents when they were wrongly accused of child abuse.
  • Acted in the divorce of a wife in her 80s where the husband was in his 90s.
  • Acted in the fight for the son of a baronet who was born by artificial insemination and was initially adjudged not to be allowed to inherit the baronetcy.

David acts on international divorces and dispute settlements, often involving family trusts, cohabiting issues, and enforcement, combining cross-border expertise with mediation and litigation strategies in high-profile, sensitive cases.

Experience

  • Acted for the wife in a complex divorce where the couple were in the UAE and the wife fled with the children to London.
  • Managed the assets of a husband to protect his wealth in Singapore when the wife issued a divorce in London.
  • Acted in a cross-border divorce between London and New York in a jurisdiction race (who ‘gets in’ first).
  • Advised on a time-sensitive divorce petition issued in London for a wife whose husband was racing to issue in Paris (won by eight minutes and many millions depended on it).

Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.

Recognition

Recommended Lawyer in The Spear’s 500 Family Law Index 2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Family 2025

Former Chair of London Region of Resolution 2015–2021

David qualified as a solicitor in 2000. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2025, he worked at the following firms:

  • Seddons
  • BDB Pitmans
  • Charles Russell Speechlys

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