Ayesha Vardag

Ayesha Mary Barbara Vardag (born March 1968) is an English solicitor. Her Supreme Court victory in the 2010 case Radmacher v Granatino[1], is noted for a strengthening of prenuptial agreements' status in English law[2]. By allowing the Radmacher v Granatino prenup to stand, the Supreme Court justices opened the door to consideration of all prenups in Family Law cases[3]. The result was that such agreements became likely to be upheld, except if found to be unfair, in which case the presiding judge has the right to waive.

Ayesha Vardag
Born
Ayesha Mary Barbara Vardag

March 1968
London
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge (B.A.)
Université libre de Bruxelles (LL.M.)
OccupationSolicitor
EmployerVardags Ltd
Spouse(s)Stephen Bence
Children5
Websitevardags.com

Vardag qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and was initially trained at Linklaters[4].

Ayesha Vardag's Offices in Bell Yard, December 2009

Prior to becoming a family lawyer, she worked for the New York law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges[5].

Vardag’s training in matrimonial law was as one of two assistants to Raymond Tooth, senior partner at London law firm, Sears Tooth, and co-founder of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an invitation-only organisation which now consists of over 500 of the world's leading family lawyers.[6]

Vardag founded Ayesha Vardag solicitors in 2005, which incorporated as Vardags in May 2010.[7]

Vardag's clients in divorce proceedings have included members of the Royal Family,[8] heiresses,[9] footballers and entrepreneurs.[10]


Notable cases

In 2010 Vardag was initially involved with a Radmacher v Granatino, which allowed a prenuptial agreement for the first time in the UK. German heiress Katrin Radmacher won a ruling holding that the prenup drawn up to protect Radmacher’s £100 million fortune from her French-born husband Nicolas Granatino, was legally binding.[11] While the case established for the first time that prenups are enforceable in the UK, courts still retain the discretionary right to veto them if they are found to be unfair.[12] Vardags was removed and replaced from the case by the client before the close of the trial.[13]

In 2017, in a four year-long divorce case complicated by a dispute over whether jurisdiction lay in the UK or Malaysia, Vardag represented London-based former Malaysian beauty queen Pauline Chai whose Malaysian tycoon husband and non-executive chair of Laura Ashley Holdings, Khoo Kay Peng, wanted the case heard in their original homeland[14]. Vardag's jurisdiction argument was decided in favour of her client and ultimately a UK court awarded a settlement of £64 million to Chai -- one of the largest ever family law settlements in the UK.[15][16]

Early life

Raised in Oxfordshire, England, Vardag read Law at Queens' College, Cambridge, with a Duke of Edinburgh award for membership of the Inner Temple[17]. She took a Masters as a Cambridge Wiener Anspach scholar in European Law at the Université libre de Bruxelles, where she worked on research projects at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and at the UN (IAEA) Legal Division in Vienna.[18][19]

Personal life

Vardag is married to Stephen Bence, a financial consultant who is director of strategy at Vardags Ltd. As of April 2016, the couple has five children.[20]

See also

References
  1. Bowcott, Owen (20 October 2010). "Prenup agreement enforced under UK law". The Guardian.
  2. Addley, Esther (20 October 2010). "Banker fails in challenge to prenuptial agreement with heiress". The Guardian.
  3. Hamilton, Sally (20 October 2010). "Prenup business on brink of a boom". The Guardian.
  4. Ward, Audrey (3 February 2019). "The Interview: top divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag on becoming a mother again at 50, prenups and maternity policy".
  5. "The ex factor: meet London's A-list female divorce lawyers". ESMagazine. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  6. "Leading family lawyer loses high-profile client". Solicitors Journal. 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  7. "Interview with Ayesha Vardag, Divorce Lawyer". NowBrayByDesign. 15 December 2016.
  8. "Ayesha Vardag - "Top divorce lawyer" - Vardags". vardags.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  9. bbc.co.uk (15 November 2016). "Pre-nuptial victory for heiress". Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  10. "Interview with 'The Diva of Divorce' Ayesha Vardag". Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  11. "The Oxford student in pre-nup battle with heiress". Evening Standard. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  12. Bowcott, Owen (20 October 2010). "Prenup agreement enforced under UK law". The Guardian.
  13. Radmacher v Granatino, 1 A.C. 534 (Supreme Court 20 Oct 2010) ("Reporter's note. After the appeal had been argued but before judgment was given Ayesha Vardag Solicitors came off the record and were replaced by Farrer & Co").
  14. Mendick, Robert (6 April 2017). "'Homemaker' ex-wife of Laura Ashley boss wins a third of his £200m fortune after bitter divorce battle" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  15. "Britain's most expensive divorce pay outs". The Telegraph. 8 August 2017.
  16. Mare, Tess de la (6 April 2017). "Laura Ashley boss to pay ex-wife divorce settlement of £64m". The Guardian.
  17. "Ayesha Vardag". Oxford High.
  18. "Ayesha Vardag – Divorce diva". The Vintage Magazine. London. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  19. "The break-up business". bqlife. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  20. Ward, Audrey (3 February 2019). "The Interview: top divorce lawyer Ayesha Vardag on becoming a mother again at 50, prenups and maternity policy".
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