Who We Are

Collaborative Law Wales is an organisation of specialist family lawyers who share a commitment to resolving the issues following relationship breakdown in a constructive and amicable way.  We are all members of Resolution and all trained Collaborative lawyers.  Some of us are also trained mediators, arbitrators or accredited as specialist by The Law Society and/or Resolution.

Choosing a lawyer that is right for you is one of, if not the most important decision you can make.  Take time to explore our members’ profiles and individual firm websites.  Please do also feel free to call us for an informal chat to see whether the Collaborative process is right for you.

Some of the CLW members

Malcolm Stevens

Malcolm qualified in 1977 and has been Head of the Family Law Department at Hugh James for almost 12 years. He specialises in high net worth financial claims and private law children matters. The ethos of the Department is to provide support in a professional and sensitive manner and to achieve solutions by negotiation rather than litigation if at all possible. The Department has the advantage of being able to call upon expertise within the firm in the fields of tax, asset management, employment, trust and corporate law. Malcolm has been recognised in the 2012 edition of Legal 500 as having “a strong reputation, within the region and beyond, and regularly acts in multi-million pound divorce cases”. In the 2011 version he was described as having an “excellent, client-based, focused attitude, and is commercial: a very safe pair of hands”. The Department has a top tier rating. In Chambers UK 2011 Malcolm was described as having clients who have “absolute trust in him because he won’t settle for second best”.

Thea Hughes

Thea Hughes is a Partner with Cardiff-based Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice LLP. Thea is considered by her peers to be one of the best family lawyers in South Wales. She is recommended by Chambers & Partners, the Legal 500, Legal Experts 2012 and the Good Lawyer Guide. Thea, who deals with all aspects of family law and is on the Law Society Family Law Panel, was a founder member of Collaborative Lawyers in Wales. She is on the management committee of Family Mediation Cardiff, and is also a member of Resolution. Thea deals with all aspects of family law, specialising in the financial issues arising upon separation and divorce. She regularly deals with high net worth cases, including cases involving lottery winners. Thea regularly contributes to topical news stories on the radio and TV.

Rachel Davies

  Rachel is a member of the Family Department at Martyn Prowel Solicitors where she specialises in financial cases and private law children matters. She has been practising exclusively in the area of family law for 20 years and is a member of the Law Society’s Advanced Family Law Panel. She qualified as a Collaborative lawyer in February 2009 and is convinced of the benefits to clients of dealing with cases in a collaborative way. She was a founder member of the local collaborative pod of solicitors and has recently been appointed Chairman.

Sophie Hughes

Sophie is a Partner and Head of the Family Team with expertise in high value financial arrangements following divorce and also cohabitation disputes. Sophie trained and qualified at a “magic circle” firm in London in 1991. Sophie is an accredited specialist of Resolution; the first in South Wales to be accredited for small and big money cases. She also holds specialist accreditation for domestic abuse cases. Sophie became a collaborative lawyer in 2010. Sophie always looks for creative solutions; “thinking outside the box” – which is an attribute ideally suited to the collaborative process. 

Sali Jackson-Thomas

Sali Jackson Thomas is a family law Solicitor and Partner in JCP Solicitors. With offices in Swansea, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire, Sali is on hand to offer her services in collaborative law across the whole of South and West Wales. Sali has more than 20 years of experience providing family legal advice. In 1996 Sali underwent training as a Mediator with the late Professor John Haynes PhD, who was known to be a leading authority on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Sali then qualified as a Collaborative Lawyer in 2005, after undergoing training with Pauline Tesler, a San Francisco Bay area Collaborative Lawyer. Sali is an expert in cases involving family businesses, pensions, overseas trusts, and assets outside the jurisdiction. Sali and her team have been actively involved in developing new approaches to partnership and living together agreements for many years. As well as being a member of Collaborative Lawyers in Wales, Sali is a member of the Solicitor's Family Law Association (now Resolution), The Law Society Advanced Family Panel and the UK College of Mediators.