Yasmin Khan-Gunns

Experience

• I am an Associate in BLM’s family law team based in London.
• I practice in all aspects of private family law, with much of my experience being complex, international and high stakes. This includes divorce, financial remedies on divorce, children disputes, applications to relocate abroad with children, wealth protection agreements, property disputes between cohabiting couples and domestic violence.
• I specialise in the division of finances on divorce, with wealth in the region of £4-£60 million, including assets located in multiple jurisdictions, overseas pensions and complex income and bonus structures.  
• I also specialise in drafting cohabitation agreements and pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, including advising clients when they or their partner live in another jurisdiction; to date, I have advised clients with a connection to Lithuania, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Poland, France and Greece.
• My clients range from young adults wishing to get married to successful business professionals, stay at home mothers and ‘silver separators’ of 70+ looking to divorce.
• I am described in the Legal 500 2020 as a 'key lawyer'.

AWARDS

• Shortlisted by LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2021 for Young Solicitor of the Year.
• Shortlisted by LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2021 for Commentator of the Year.
• Shortlisted by City Wealth Future Leaders Awards 2021 for Family Lawyer of the Year (Associate).
• Shortlisted by City Wealth Future Leaders Awards 2021 for Future Leader Initiative of the Year.

OTHER

• I frequently write blogs and articles on topical family law matters, which have most recently been published in Today’s Family Lawyer, ePrivateClient, Mintr, Divorced Parents and Single Mums Club.
• I assist and mentor aspiring family solicitors and barristers and have written numerous articles providing insight and encouragement, including for LawCareers.net, The University of Law, SOAS University and Leeds Trinity University.
• I run a legal Instagram page under the name @londonfamilysolicitor.

Notable cases

• Reported Court of Appeal case of Attorney General & Akhter, Khan and others [2020] EWCA Civ 122 concerning the validity of Islamic marriages.
• Reported High Court international child abduction case of T (A Child: Hague Convention Proceedings) [2016] EWHC 3554 (Fam) concerning the return of a child to El Salvador.
• Drafted a pre-nuptial agreement for the Director of a well-known West London club to protect wealth exceeding £16 million.
• Represented a ‘silver separator’ who had been married for over 15 years and who lost litigation capacity at a crucial stage in the proceedings.
• Litigated and represented a Senior Vice President of a multinational company in divorce and financial remedy proceedings with significant post-separation accrual, complex bonus and share structures and assets exceeding £8 million.
• Drafted a post-nuptial agreement for a Spanish national to protect wealth exceeding £11 million where the wife was a Brazilian national.
• Litigated and represented applicant mothers in their applications to permanently relocate abroad with their children. Countries include New Zealand, Canada and Greece.
• Drafted a cohabitation agreement for an elderly widower looking to live with his new partner to protect assets exceeding £4 million.
• Litigated and represented a ‘silver separator’ who divorced 20 years ago and instructed us to deal with financial claims on divorce. Assets comprised of multiple plots of farm-land with significant development potential and approved planning permission, with assets exceeding £8 million.
• Litigated and represented a man in enforcing a Trust of Land (TLATA 1996) court order made in 2016 concerning orders made in 1994, with over £45,000 costs awarded.
• Represented a ‘silver separator’ and carer whose husband was terminally ill with just months left to live. In-depth consideration was given to the wife’s potential claims under the Inheritance Act.
• Litigated and represented a house-wife in section 37 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 disposition of land case in North Wales concerning plots of land with fracking potential, with 100% of costs awarded.
• Litigated and represented an ex-pat wife living in Dubai in an interim financial remedy Maintenance Pending Suit application, with 100% of costs awarded.
• Litigated and represented a husband in financial remedy consent order seeking to set it aside on the basis of undue influence or duress, including consideration of questionable judicial conduct.

Membership/appointments

• I am a member of Resolution.
• I am a member of Women in Family Law.
• I support and assist the charity Surviving Economic Abuse.
• The Family department at BLM won the European Legal Awards in December 2019.