Jonathan da Costa has once again been praised for his expertise and client focus in Chambers Directory. It’s the sixth successive year that Jonathan has been included in the guide, which announces the UK’s leading legal experts by region every autumn.

The editors noted that Jonathan da Costa is a collaborative lawyer who has experience in a range of family law matters and is often instructed on complex financial remedy and TOLATA proceedings.

The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act (TOLATA) gives courts the power to make decisions where there are property disputes between unmarried couples.

The publication said, "Jonathan gives sensible and practical advice, and he is very knowledgeable."

A contributor, commenting on how he was advised on his divorce said, "Jonathan da Costa was incredibly empathetic as well as dealing with the technicalities flawlessly."

Family and divorce law has entered a period of significant change and Jonathan da Costa achieved his listing despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Jonathan said: “Our team has shown true resilience and dedication in the past year, which has also brought much change. Covid-19 has fundamentally altered the way we as lawyers practise, often for the better. Digitisation of our practices, along with other developments such as meetings via Zoom, are enabling us to significantly improve client services.

“We can now work seamlessly in any location. Digital is a much less arduous way of working and I am glad to take a laptop to meetings rather than a large suitcase full of paperwork, as I did in the past.

“I still think you can’t beat a face-to-face meeting but Zoom conferences are proving particularly helpful for clients who are not working in the area, for example. It’s a much more personalised way of working than speaking on the telephone and I don’t think that it will ever go away.”

Another major change in the area of divorce will take effect in April 2022.

“The abandonment of fault blamed divorce is long overdue,” says Jonathan. “When it is introduced in April, no fault divorce will take away some difficult conversations and reduce conflict, allowing couples to focus on important issues such as children and finances.”

Jonathan da Costa and Boys & Maughan’s family team were recently also recommended by the UK’s other leading legal directory, the Legal 500.