Jennifer Headon
Jennifer is Head of the International Family Law Team and leads the firm’s Modern Family initiative.
She is a recommended lawyer in the prestigious Spear’s Family Law Indices 2025 and is described in the Legal 500 [UK 2024] directory as ‘being the right level of fierce and tenacious with the opposition, whilst having complete empathy and endless reassurance for the client’ and as having ‘niche expertise in international family law’. Jennifer specialises in international and cross-jurisdictional matters, and she regularly co-advises alongside lawyers based in other jurisdictions, particularly the US and Canada. She is also often instructed by lawyers from other jurisdictions to give an opinion on English family law.
Jennifer has experience of dealing with complex financial remedy proceedings arising from divorce and civil partnership dissolution, including those with family businesses, tax issues, trusts (including offshore trusts), significant pensions and offshore companies. Jennifer also has experience of advising upon and drafting nuptial agreements (pre and post-nuptial agreements) for HNW and UHNW clients, as well as advising upon cohabitation agreements and using various forms of alternate dispute resolution, including arbitration.
Uniquely, she continues to advise both in respect of financial matters but also in relation to complex private children matters. Her practice encompasses all elements of international child arrangements; including relocation applications, mirror orders and more general child arrangements for parents who live in different jurisdictions. She has a growing practice advising upon legal issues affecting modern families, such as international private adoption, international surrogacy arrangements, declarations of parentage and donor/fertility law.
Jennifer has contributed commentary to national and industry press including The Times, Lexis®PSL, Yahoo! News, Good to Know and Jordan’s Online (as it then was). In April 2024, Wealth Briefing published an article co-authored by Jennifer on ‘Trusts in Divorce Proceedings.‘
Jennifer is a regular speaker at national and international conferences, having recently spoken at Thought Leaders 4 Trusts in Divorce conference 2025, STEP Bahamas 2025 and the inaugural Thought Leaders 4 International HNW Divorce & Children Summit 2025 in Lisbon.
Recent work highlights
Advising on English family law for proceedings ongoing in Finland in which English matrimonial law is being applied.
Advising and drafting an English PNA and working in conjunction with US Counsel to ensure a mirror PNA was drafted in the USA to ensure protection of assets of $15m and to protect future inherited assets in the region of $100m.
Advising on an international PNA in which assets were in excess of £300m.
Experience & education
2023 Head of International Family Team, Birketts.
2022 joined Birketts as Legal Director.
2014 City boutique family law firm advising HNW and UHNW clients including international families and those in the public eye.
2012 Legal 500 London firm.
2012 admitted as a Solicitor.
