“David Allison combines international family law mastery with poise, precision, and remarkable strategic judgement, guiding clients through cross border divorce and high value financial disputes with clarity, assurance, and an unfailing focus on achieving the right outcome.”

Fantastic Lawyers® Editorial, 2026

David Allison is a Director at Family Law in Partnership and a highly respected international family lawyer based in London. He advises clients on complex family law matters, with a particular focus on financial claims on divorce, especially where there is an international dimension. His work regularly involves jurisdiction disputes, urgent forum issues, and claims for financial relief following an overseas divorce.

He acts for a wide range of clients, including business owners, entrepreneurs, bankers, lawyers, and their spouses or partners. He is also well known for his work involving cohabitants, same sex couples, and civil partners, making him a strong choice for clients seeking experienced and commercially aware advice in modern family law matters.

What David Allison does

David Allison specialises in:

• Financial claims on divorce
• International divorce and cross-border family disputes
• Jurisdiction disputes and urgent forum advice
• Financial relief after an overseas divorce
• Cohabitation disputes
• Family law issues affecting same sex couples and civil partners
• Mediation and collaborative family law
• High value and complex family litigation

His practice is particularly relevant for clients dealing with substantial assets, international structures, trusts, overseas connections, and sensitive family issues requiring both strategic thinking and careful handling.

Why he stands out

David Allison is known for being calm, measured, strategic, and highly solution-driven. He prioritises listening carefully to clients so he can understand their objectives and build the right strategy to help achieve them. Where possible, he aims to resolve matters outside the court process. When court intervention is required, he is recognised as a determined and effective litigator with a strong record in difficult and high stakes cases.

Alongside his litigation practice, David is also a mediator with FMA senior mediator status and a Resolution collaborative specialist. He trained as a collaborative lawyer in 2003 with the first group of lawyers trained in the UK. This gives clients access to a lawyer who can handle both negotiated settlements and contested proceedings at a very high level.

Trust markers

David Allison has been ranked by Chambers UK, Chambers High Net Worth, and The Legal 500 as a leading family lawyer for many years. He is ranked in the Hall of Fame by The Legal 500 2025, which says he is “simply fantastic”, praising his calm and measured approach and his ability to get the best out of opponents while fighting difficult cases when needed.

He has also been described in previous directory commentary as a “stellar individual” who “stands out as one of the best negotiators in the business”, with a reputation for being trusted by peers, respected in the market, and consistently on top of the detail in the most difficult cases.

Chambers High Net Worth 2025 comments that “David Allison is really clever and gets the job done in the right way.” Previous editions have praised him as cool, calm, collected, supportive, solution-driven, and totally dedicated to the best interests of the client.

Further recognition includes:

• Top Recommended Family Lawyer, Spear’s 500 Guide of Leading Family Lawyers, 2023 and 2024
• Family Lawyer of the Year, Spear’s Awards 2023
• Family Law Partner of the Year, Family Law Awards 2019

Representative matters

David Allison’s recent work includes acting in complex international family cases involving disputed jurisdiction, enforcement of foreign orders concerning children, and financial relief following overseas divorce.

In one case, he secured recognition and enforcement in England of a foreign order concerning children and successfully resisted a substantial claim by a former husband in long running proceedings for financial relief after an overseas divorce.

In another major case, he acted for a wife seeking to secure jurisdiction in England where assets were spread across various European jurisdictions and exceeded £100 million. He successfully negotiated an equal division of assets, with his client receiving the bulk of the liquid capital.

He also acted collaboratively for the wife of an entrepreneur who had established a household name company, where wealth was structured through a Jersey trust holding property in the UK and USA. He successfully negotiated a settlement giving his client 50% of the assets.

Notable reported cases

David Allison has acted in a number of reported and high profile cases, including:

• Sloutsker v Sloutsker [2025] EWFC 369 involving a prominent former Russian senator, where a lump sum of £25 million was ordered for the wife after findings of non-disclosure and litigation misconduct
• Sloutsker v Sloutsker [2025] EWFC 368 concerning removal of anonymity and use of confidential third party information for enforcement
• PM v RM [2025] EWFC 11 where monthly maintenance exceeding £30,000 and substantial legal fees funding were secured
• Xanthopoulos v Rakshina in multiple reported decisions between 2022 and 2024 relating to overseas divorce, privacy in family proceedings, and ongoing financial provision disputes
• Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130 involving financial provision and significant press interest
• Re X (Children) [2022] EWCA Civ 1167 where he successfully represented a mother in the Court of Appeal in relation to recognition and enforcement of a foreign order
• Dobson v Griffey [2018] EWHC 1117 (Ch) where he successfully defended a claim by a former partner concerning property sale proceeds
• Divall v Divall [2014] EWHC 95 FAM involving a successful jurisdiction argument based on domicile in England
• Golubovich v Golubovich [2010] 2 FLR 1614 CA concerning recognition of foreign divorce decrees in England

Professional leadership and memberships

David Allison is a member of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, where he serves as Chair of the Gender Identity and Sexuality Committee and Secretary to the Executive Committee. He is also a member of the UK & Ireland LGBT Family Law Institute.

His wider leadership roles have included serving as former Chair of the International Family Law Committee of the American Bar Association, International Section, and past Chair of Resolution, the family lawyers association.

In summary

David Allison is one of London’s standout international family lawyers for complex financial claims on divorce, especially where jurisdiction, overseas divorce issues, or high value cross-border assets are involved. He combines technical excellence with a calm, pragmatic, and client-focused style, backed by exceptional directory rankings, awards, and a strong record in major reported cases.