In 2010 Richard was Chambers & Partners “Family Law Silk of the Year”. In 2011 Richard became only the second member of the specialist Family Law bar to be short-listed for The Lawyer’s Barrister of the Year (the title being won by Jonathan Sumption). In 2011 he was also short-listed for Jordan’s Family Law Barrister of the Year. He is ranked in the top category for Family Silks by Chambers & Partners.
Richard was educated at the Royal Hospital School (Greenwich Scholarship) and Trinity College, Oxford (Keasby Scholarship). He was the highest placed in the University examinations in Public International Law (Hugh Belott Prize-winner), second in Family Law and third in Land Law. He was also placed in the first class in Jurisprudence. He won the Astbury Scholarship at the Middle Temple and the Gottlieb Prize in Bar Finals. He was called to the Bar in July 1988.
He sits as a Recorder in Chancery and QBD.
Reported Cases:
- Marsh v Marsh [1993] 1 WLR 744;
- Richardson v Richardson (No 1) [1994] 1 WLR 196;
- Richardson v Richardson (No 2) [1996] 2 FLR 617;
- H v H [1994] 2 FLR 94;
- Re H [1996] 2 FLR 65;
- Power v Power [1996] 3 FCR 338;
- C v C [1998] 1 AER 67;
- Re S [2000] 1 FLR 481;
- Jones v Jones [2001] Fam 91;
- N v N [2000] 2 FLR 899;
- L v L [2002] 1 FLR 642;
- Bloch v Bloch [2003] 1 FLR 1;
- Armstrong v Armstrong [2003] 2 FLR 481;
- Lambert v Lambert [2003] 2 WLR 631;
- Re B [2003] 2 FLR 1043;
- Wermuth v Wermuth [2003] 1 FLR 1020;
- Wermuth v Wermuth (No. 2) [2003] 1 FLR 1029;
- K v K [2005]; 2 FLR 1137
- R v R [2006] 1FLR 389
- GG v L [2006]EWCA Civ 1246
- T v T [2006] 1 FLR 903
- D v D [2006] 2 FLR 825
- Tracey v Tracey [2006] 2 FLR 480
- H v H [2007] 2 FLR 548
- SW v RC [2008] 2 FLR 663
- J v P [2007] 1 ALL ER 529
- NG v KR [2009] 1 FLR 35
- Radmacher v Granatino (No.1) [2009] 1 FLR 1566
- P v P [2009] 1 FLR 696
- Radmacher v Granatino (No 2) [2009] 2 FLR 1181
- P v P [2010] 1 FLR 1126
- V v V [2010] 2 FLR 516
- Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42
- Mansfield v Mansfield [2011] EWCA Civ 1056
- Berezovsky v Besharova (17 July 2011) The Times;
- K v L (on the appeal to the Supreme Court) [2011] EWCA Civ 550
- McTaggart v McTaggart (2011) Cayman Islands Court of Appeal
Publications:
Since 1989 Richard has been the co-author of "Practical Matrimonial Precedents" (2 Volumes), Sweet & Maxwell. It is now in its 40th release (2010).
Richard also co-authored, "Essential Family Practice" (2 Volumes), Butterworths and "At Court", FT Law & Tax. Richard is also an Editor of Jowitt's Dictionary of English Law.
He has also had published articles in Family Law, Family Matters, The Family Law Journal and The Lawyer. He has occasionally contributed to The Law Society's Legal Network Television. In 2000 he was shortlisted (list of four) for UNICEF's Lawyer of the Year for his work on the law relating to paternity disputes.
He has extensively lectured on Big Money Cases, Entitlements Arguments, trust arrangements in Family Law and Nuptial Contracts (both ante and post-nuptial)
Principal areas of practice:
Matrimonial Finance; including forum disputes.
Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 & Married Women's Property Act 1882.
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Drafting Ante-Nuptial Agreements.
Has extensively given expert evidence as to English law. Including to the jurisdictions of Australia, Belgium, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, Cyprus, Gibraltar, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and the USA.
Richard is called ad hoc to the Bar of the Cayman Islands and also the Bar of Hong Kong.
Education:
Royal Hospital School.
Trinity College, Oxford. (Law)
Membership:
General Council of the Bar (elected Senior Barrister category 1998 - 2001).
FLBA (Executive Committee 1998 - 2001).
Prosecuting Counsel for the Bar Standards Board.
Member of the Advisory Committee to the Law Commission (Ante-Nuptial agreements)
Personal:
Richard Todd is 47. He was born in Gosport Hampshire. He is married to another member of Chambers, Elisabeth Todd. Richard and Elisabeth have four children, two boys and two girls ( 16, 14, 12 and 10).
Richard used to be a keen back-packer in which capacity he traversed India, USA/Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Nepal (Everst base camp), East Berlin-Brest Litovsk-Moscow-Lenningrad (as then was)-Helsinki-The North Cape-Oslo and completed the Cairo to Cape route. Four children and two very active dogs mean that he tends to stay at home now where his principal hobbies are dispute resolution and history especially the British civil wars 1638 - 1783 and modern (post-1880) conflict.
What others say:
Ranked in Band 1 of the Family Law Silks in Chambers & Partners (2011/12) "Sources praise his command of the law". "He's a walking bank of knowledge" (2010). "A Richard Todd pre-nup is as an essential part of the celebrity wedding as booking the Hello photographer". “A man with a continuingly rising profile, he is "exceptionally bright, user-friendly and a recognised expert on prenuptial agreements." He has in the last year been increasingly involved in cross-disciplinary and international work.”
A recommended leading Family Law QC in the Legal 500 (2011/12). "Enormously talented and client focused. Recommended for high-value matrimonial finance cases, Solid. Immensely clever" (2010). “Exceptional in every respect” (2011).
Also recommended by "Legal Experts".
Media Comment :
"Fantastic" The Sunday Times (syndicating from The Tatler)
"A heavyweight Silk" The Lawyer
"One of the toughest legal names" The Evening Standard
"One of the three most influential people in my life" The Times
"Charming and devastatingly clever" The Observer
"Richard was The Times Lawyer of the Week, 4 November 2010. Click here to download the article.
