Leaders List interview: 60 seconds with Georgina Hamblin, Hamblin Family Law
This week’s 60-second piece is dedicated to Georgina Hamblin, Founding Partner at Hamblin Family Law.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.
I am proud to have set up my own boutique Family Law firm, Hamblin Family Law LLP, over the last 18 months, catering for High-Net-Worth clients with the guarantee of offering fixed fees to all.
In that short time, the firm has grown meteorically from just me, working in my bedroom at home, with zero clients on my books, to a firm of nine, with four partners, and over 80 active cases.
In that time my role has evolved from bookkeeper, website designer, sole biller, receptionist, networker to lead lawyer and everything in between.
I am now back where I belong in leading high value divorce cases, managing a specialist team and attracting new work in.
However, in experiencing all the different roles within a law firm, and having built it from scratch, I have learnt so much and I feel so much better placed to run it.
The process of starting from nothing (having left my position as Head of Department at a top tier London firm, after 10 years there), has ignited an entrepreneurial spirt that I knew I had in me. It has also given me a huge sense of liberation and empowerment.
I can manage my team in a way that makes sense for each of them (and their families) as individuals within a flexible working environment, and act for my clients in the way that I would want to be represented myself. I can also make sure that what we charge is objectively fair and can be fixed if that is what clients want.
What does a typical day look like for you?
As I have two young boys (8 and 4) every morning is an assault course, and a test of what working parents can (and cannot) achieve.
Eventually once they are at school I breathe, relax (and then immediately start to miss them)!
I then enjoy drinking a full cup of tea, uninterrupted, and speak to each of my team to make a plan for the day (whether they be at home or working in the office).
I start client meetings and calls by 10 am and by 2pm I usually haven’t stopped and am reminded by one of my team that I haven’t eaten and am becoming grumpy, so they force me to eat something or present me with some chocolate.
There are obviously days when we are in court or private settlement meetings and those days can go on late. There are also new clients that pop into see us after their workday which require us to work some later evenings.
But ideally, if I am in our London office (which typically happens on a Tuesday, Wednesday and a Thursday), I leave the office by 6pm to get home to see my boys before they go to bed (as I have a 1-and-a-half-hour commute to get home).
I then finish up my work when they are in bed and make a plan for the next day, so I am not chasing my tail in the morning.
I am one of those very annoying people that likes to have an empty inbox at the end of each day. Whilst sometimes it isn’t possible, when it is it gives me a huge sense of satisfaction to keep myself organised and know that I have everything under control.
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
Our global reach is now spreading rapidly which is very exciting.
In just the last month we have received two new (separate) instructions from Singapore and one from Hong Kong, the value of each case exceeding £5m and one over £20m.
We have also increasingly found that we are either taking over cases from, or up against, top tier firms that I thought I would see less of once I had left my old firm and set up on my own.
I am super proud that those firms are now referring work to us where their clients want fixed fees. By entrusting us with their clients they are recognising the good work that we are doing (to their high standards) and also reinforcing the need for the fixed fees that we are offering within the industry.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
The first thing that most people think of when they think of instructing a lawyer is: how much is this all going to cost? That is not what they should be thinking about. They should be thinking: how do I resolve this with the best outcome, and get on with my life?
Whilst it is scary for us to commit to offering fixed fees to all our clients, I feel like it is our duty to do this as a nimble, and dynamic modern law firm.
Family judges (particularly Mr Justice Mostyn) have been crying out to solicitors to offer this for decades and we are the specialist Family law firm to guarantee to offer it, even on high value cases.
We still record our time so that we can cross check our fixed fees against what we would have made under the traditional 6-minute unit billing method. Often there is a gap between what we “could” have billed and what we recover on a fixed fee. However, in my view we must take clients “off the clock” to be competitive moving forward. It is an undated and unfair way of charging.
I therefore remain fully committed to a model whereby both client and firm come out of the position feeling the “right” price was paid and there was complete cost transparency throughout.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
In 2024 I was nominated as Citywealth’s Entrepreneurial Power Woman of the Year and Family Lawyer of the Year for Spears, which blew my mind. I was nominated alongside people I have a huge amount of respect for and feel honoured to be considered equal to.
However, I have to say that my greatest highlight so far, was appearing in the High Court for the first time since setting up on my own and securing a worldwide freezing injunction against a Tier 1 law firm. Even walking into the court building felt like having made it. And hearing Sir Jonathan Cohen give judgment (and even say the words “Hamblin Family Law” out loud) was a pinch me moment. I had to go for a walk around Inner Temple gardens with my now partner Antonia Barker and let is all soak in.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
Trust. I must trust my team and they must trust me to respect their boundaries, their judgment, and that they will get their work done to their absolute best. As without this you risk dis-empowering your team and leave them feeling that they lack agency over their own lives, which is a killer to staff retention.
I of course oversee and supervise my team, and I am a perfectionist, so it is difficult for me sometimes to let go of control, but I have recognised that mutual trust is key. I hope that my team trust me to give them the space they need to be the best lawyers they can be, whilst being reliably there when they need me to help them plan and deliver the outcome the client needs.
Who do you most admire and why?
This is an incredibly difficult choice, but I think Lady Hale (former, and first female, President of the Supreme Court) is truly inspirational.
She has forged her way through unchartered territory as a woman in law, and as an advocate of equality on the bench. She has done so with bravery; incredibly intellect; and quite uniquely I would say, kindness and humility.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
To celebrate the first year of the firm I took my children sailing in the Caribbean at Christmas. It was a special blend of terrifying (to have a 4 year old on board who can’t swim) and wonderful to all be together on an adventure with the world as our oyster.
In fact, not all to dissimilar to the decision to start a law firm as the main breadwinner of the family.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
When I left my old firm, I did not have an immediate plan to set up on my own.
I considered being a property developer or even a wedding planner (ironically for a divorce lawyer).
Neither of those ideas stuck and I could not ignore the skills and experience I had- so it took less than a month for me to realise that they were both ridiculous ideas for me.
What I learnt quickly is that I need a busy and demanding job as I do not do well with time on my hands. My husband would certainly agree.
I suspect, if I was not a Family lawyer, I would now be a non-exec director/ board member of another young company or firm, as I love thinking through and resolving complicated issues and projects, of any nature, to find a way through and grow new concepts.
How do you relax after a long day?
As I am answering this in January and I am still struggling to get back to the gym after Christmas, my answer feels rather less energetic than usual.
I typically love going to the gym and having an ice bath outside in my garden to clear my mind at least 3- 4 times a week to wind down.
However, at this time of year I am afraid I am hooked on watching terrible television and quietening the mind that way. The current fix being Traitors. I suspect that a psychologist would tell me that my interest in programmes about conflict (Love Island/Traitors etc) reflects the kind of issues I experience at work which I am subliminally processing. But for me it is an easy way to switch off and try not to think too much!
Key Takeaways
- Georgina Hamblin founded Hamblin Family Law and rapidly grew it from a solo operation to a firm with 9 staff and over 80 active cases.
- Her typical day involves juggling family commitments, team meetings, and client consultations, often leading to long hours in court.
- Hamblin Family Law focuses on fixed fees to provide cost transparency and fair pricing for high-net-worth clients.
- Georgina’s proudest moments include receiving nominations for prestigious awards and successfully advocating in the High Court.
- She values trust within her team and admires Lady Hale for her contributions to equality in law.
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