Sarah Orrell
“A brilliant and top class solicitor, to whom I will always be grateful”
Former client
Sarah is a Partner and Head of the Family Law Team at Leonard Gray. She is dedicated to providing clients with clear, straightforward advice and a professional pro-active service. Her personal experience of divorce means she understands the difficulties encountered when a relationship breaks down. She is able to offer her clients empathy and compassion whilst remaining practical and sensible in her approach.
Having over 27 years’ experience in family law, Sarah is an experienced tactician and negotiator. She specialises in all areas of family law including divorce, separation, financial settlements, pre and post-nuptial agreements and cohabitation disputes. In particular she has dealt with many complex financial settlements involving high net worth individuals, trust issues and business assets. She is highly rated by clients who describe her as “expert at her subject area, efficient, and effective”. Pamela Scriven QC, of leading barristers’ chambers 1 Kings Bench Walk says: “I have rarely in my career known such a high level of industry and had such unstinting support and help from a legal team”.
In addition to high net worth divorce, Sarah has developed a particular expertise in relation to public sector pensions for police officers and other members of the emergency services. She heads up the Leonard Gray Emergency Services Legal Team, which has now been recommended as a Member’s Service on the Essex Police Federation website. This team specialises in all aspects of a divorce or separation for members of the emergency services.
Sarah also advises on disputes regarding children including issues involving child arrangements orders and parental responsibility. She has recently been involved in reported decisions with international press attention. In particular, Sarah has successfully pursued many applications for the removal of a child from the country to live permanently abroad with the resident parent, for example to the United States and Greece.
Sarah is a member of Resolution 
and a former Trustee for The Change Project. Much of her work originates from recommendations from former clients.
Client testimonials
“Down to Sarah’s hard work, I now enjoy time with my son, which I’m sure I would not be enjoying without her help and advice.”
“I consider Sarah to be a valuable member of our legal community. She has a ‘sunny disposition’ whilst being able to convey a balanced professional opinion. I found her to have an in depth knowledge of my case on a both legal and factual basis, and was empathetic at a time when I required additional support.”
“Your help and advice has had such a positive impact on the girls’ past, present and future lives, for which I will always be extremely grateful. I cannot imagine how things would of progressed if I hadn’t found you when I did. Your honest, trustworthy advice together with your warm and friendly manner has been invaluable at the most difficult of times. I shall continue to urge anyone I come across in need of family law advice to speak to you before anyone else!”
Recent work highlights
Acting for the Father in the reported case of H (Children) [2014] EWCA Civ 733. Mother unsuccessfully applied to the Court of Appeal against what she contended was a “pre-emptory” change of interim residence orders in respect of her three sons to the Father. A landmark judgment addressing issues such as parental manipulation and the difference between the child’s ascertainable and expressed wishes and feelings.
