“Marilyn Stowe’s impact on family law extends far beyond her own distinguished legal career. As the founder of the UK’s largest specialist family law firm, she helped redefine access to dedicated family law expertise, combining entrepreneurial vision with an unwavering commitment to supporting individuals through some of life’s most challenging transitions. Her legacy continues to shape the profession and inspire future generations of family lawyers.”

Fantastic Lawyers® Editorial 2026

Marilyn Stowe is the founder of Stowe Family Law, the firm she established in 1982 and grew into the largest specialist family law practice in the United Kingdom.

Over a distinguished legal career spanning more than 30 years, Marilyn advised thousands of clients on divorce, financial settlements and family law disputes, acting for individuals and families throughout the UK and internationally.

Her work helped shape one of the most recognised brands in family law, built around specialist expertise, client care and a determination to achieve the best possible outcomes for families facing difficult personal circumstances.

What Marilyn Stowe did

Throughout her career, Marilyn specialised in a broad range of family law matters, including:

• Divorce and separation
• Financial settlements
• High net worth divorce
• Complex matrimonial finance disputes
• Asset tracing and hidden wealth investigations
• Business and property asset disputes
• International family law matters
• Children and family proceedings
• Relationship breakdown advice

She was particularly recognised for overseeing complex financial cases involving substantial wealth, business interests and allegations of hidden assets.

Why she stands out

Marilyn’s greatest achievement was not simply her legal practice, but the creation of a national family law firm that changed the landscape of specialist family law services in the UK.

As Senior Partner of Stowe Family Law, she built and led a highly specialised team of family lawyers dedicated exclusively to family law. The firm’s reputation grew through its expertise in complex financial disputes, forensic investigations and client-focused representation.

Her vision was to create a firm focused entirely on family law excellence, with the aim of becoming the best provider of family law services wherever it operated.

Career achievements

• Founded Stowe Family Law in 1982
• Built the firm into the UK’s largest specialist family law practice
• Advised clients across the UK, Europe, the Far East and the United States
• Led specialist teams handling high-value financial disputes and asset investigations
• Retired and sold her interest in the business in 2017

Leadership and legacy

Marilyn’s influence on family law extends beyond the cases she handled personally. Through the growth of Stowe Family Law, she helped establish specialist family law representation as a national service, making expert advice available to clients throughout England and Wales.

Her emphasis on specialist expertise, robust financial investigation and client-focused service continues to influence the family law sector today.