Samara assists clients in all financial remedies disciplines and has a busy matrimonial finance practice. She regularly attends first appointments, FDRs and trials, and other stages of proceedings, including preliminary issue hearings, MPS applications, enforcement applications and appeals.

Samara’s cases increasingly involve factual disputes, which have recently included third party interests in matrimonial property, inherited wealth and conduct including findings of material non-disclosure. She has experience of dealing with agreements (PNAs and separation agreements) and the litigation strategy required to deal with challenging or upholding agreements.

Samara is instructed in contested divorce cases and has advised specifically on the validity of single and triple Talaqs and other non-proceedings foreign divorces. She has also advised on forum arguments.

Selected Cases

H v H

Junior counsel for H in an 8-day final hearing. Issues involved separating the parties’ property portfolio of c. 115 properties (with highly mortgaged properties including some in negative equity), the parties’ multiple businesses (some SPV’s), and issues arising from H’s tangential bankruptcy proceedings.

B v B

Samara represented H for four years, culminating in a 5-day final hearing, where there were several factual issues including disputed loans, disputed beneficial ownership of investment properties, contributions arguments and most notably, W’s non-disclosure of several properties which had been subject to tangential TLATA proceedings involving her ex-partner (subsequent to the marriage). Samara secured a finding at trial that W had deliberately hidden assets from the Family Court and had produced sham loan agreements to cover up monies transferred to her ex-partner to purchase the non-disclosed properties. Samara also secured a costs order against W for 50% of H’s costs.

C v C

Representing H throughout proceedings until settlement, Samara represented H at the 2-day preliminary issue trial to determine the date of separation where the parties were apart by 25 years. Samara achieved 19 findings on behalf of H, including that his date of separation was correct and W had been financially independent from that time. H was awarded 100% of his costs.

J v J

Ongoing proceedings in the High Court, acting for W in a case concerning significant company and offshore assets, and a factual dispute about a separation agreement.