Citywealth Leaders List, 60 seconds interview – Barbara Corbett, Corbett Le Quesne – Jersey
This week’s 60-second Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Barbara Corbett, Senior Partner at Corbett Le Quesne, Jersey. One of the founding partners of Corbett Le Quesne, a specialist family and private client law firm in Jersey, she combines senior leadership of the firm with an active practice as a family lawyer acting for high net worth individuals on complex divorces and the separation of assets. Her recent work includes multi million financial claims, international child relocation and abduction matters, and cases involving domestic abuse and human trafficking, often referred by leading London firms. A Jersey advocate since 2010 with a long standing commitment to legal aid, she is known for her calm, practical approach, her willingness to take on difficult cases that others pass on, and her focus on helping clients find realistic ways to move on with their lives.
Tell Citywealth Leaders List readers a bit about your role.
I am one of the founding partners of Corbett Le Quesne, a specialist family and private client law firm in Jersey. We are a small firm so although my partner Nick and I are very involved in the running of the company, we both work as family lawyers as our primary role. Corbett Le Quesne specialises in acting for HNWIs in matters relating to divorces, assisting with the process of separating out assets.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I swim before work and get to the office around 8.40am in time for the first coffee of the day. Depending on whether I am in court or have appointments with clients my days aren’t really the same two days in a row. In between court hearings and client meetings I read and respond to emails, prepare documents, deal with the admin I need to deal with as senior partner and discuss cases (mine and those others in the firm) with my colleagues.
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
I completed a long-running multi-million financial claim at the beginning of the year and also succeeded in getting an order that the husband on the other side pay towards my clients costs. Costs orders are quite unusual in family law cases so that did show that the husband had not been reasonable in the way he conducted himself. That was a case originally referred to me from a leading London law firm. We receive quite a few instructions that way. Recently I have been instructed in a case of potential child abduction involving several different countries, domestic abuse, human trafficking and international treaties. As an island with people from many different parts of the world working here, relocation of children is a significant area of our work.
I have recently been instructed on two high net worth cases where the assets are held by the women in the relationship rather than the men. My experience is that there is a greater proportion of such cases in Jersey than in England and Wales.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
The time it takes for houses to sell is still an issue for many of our clients. Perhaps the best way of coping with this is for clients to explore alternative ways to move on. For example, changing the mortgage to a buy to let mortgage and renting out the family home can help parties to separate and make plans for the future while waiting for a sale, but that does either mean them each renting smaller places themselves in the meantime or having sufficient capital to buy on their own.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
Qualifying as a Jersey advocate, in 2010 is still the stand-out moment of my professional life. As any Jersey lawyer will tell you, the Jersey advocates’ exams are the hardest exams you will ever take…and you take them while working full-time in an extremely demanding job! In Jersey the Legal Aid system is that every advocate has to do pro bono legal aid cases for the first 15 years of call. On 30th September 2025 my 15 years will be up and I will no longer have a legal aid obligation. However, as a firm we always try to help those who need our expertise and we will continue to offer support and representation in those complex cases that other lawyers pass onto us.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
To listen to those you work with, to be supportive and encouraging and never be too proud to roll up your sleeves and get on with what needs doing rather than just asking other people to do it.
Who do you most admire and why?
I especially admire people who are successful in their chosen life-plans, whether that means they make money or not, but who are also kind and supportive to those around them. I have been lucky enough to have had many people, both men and women, who have inspired me and others to achieve as much as achieving themselves. Those who help and support people on their way to success and who consequently gain respect and admiration themselves.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
I have just returned from two weeks near Fremantle in Western Australia visiting one of my daughters and her family there. Just spending time helping out with the washing and nappy changing and playing with my delightful granddaughters was indeed a pleasure!
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
I started my working life as a journalist. I might still be doing that.
How do you relax after a long day?
Dinner with my husband followed by reading a good novel, then an early night.
Key Takeaways
- Barbara Corbett is a founding partner at Corbett Le Quesne, specialising in family law for high net worth individuals.
- Her work involves complex divorces, financial claims, and international child abduction cases.
- Corbett’s proudest achievement is qualifying as a Jersey advocate in 2010 after challenging exams.
- She believes a good leader must listen, support, and be willing to contribute actively to their team’s efforts.
- Outside law, Corbett had a background in journalism and enjoys relaxing with her family after work.
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