Fiona Shackleton

See also Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton

The Right Honourable The Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia LVO
Born	Fiona S. Charkham May 26, 1956 (1956-05-26) London
Residence	Kensington, London
Nationality	English
Education	Benenden School Exeter University
Occupation	Solicitor
Employer	Payne Hicks Beach
Known for	Divorce solicitor
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Ian Shackleton
Children	2 daughters
Parents	Jonathan Charkham, Moira Elizabeth Frances Salmon

Fiona Shackleton, Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia LVO (born 26 May 1956) is an English solicitor, who has represented members of the British Royal Family and celebrities, including Sir Paul McCartney and The Duke of York. Her charm and resoluteness earned her the nickname "Steel Magnolia".

Biography

Born Fiona Sara Charkham in London, she is the daughter of Jonathan Charkham, an advisor to The Bank of England and economist, and Moira Elizabeth Frances Salmon, daughter of Barnett Alfred and Molly Salmon. Her mother's family, the Salmon family, were co-owners of the J. Lyons & Co. cornerhouse empire.

Through the Salmon family, Shackleton is a cousin to Nigella and Dominic Lawson, and George Monbiot. Shackleton was educated at Benenden School in Kent. She had ambitions to be a doctor, but was discouraged because she was thought not to be clever enough. She attended Exeter University, graduating with a third class degree in law. Shackleton then trained as a cordon bleu chef, and became an executive caterer for boardrooms before training to be a solicitor. In July 2010, she was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter in the form of an LL.D.

On 21 December 2010, the Queen created Shackleton a life peer as Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia, of Belgravia in the City of Westminster. She will sit as a Conservative in the House of Lords.

Legal career

Shackleton qualified as a solicitor in 1980 and by 1986, she had become a partner at Farrer and Co, the royal solicitors. In the same year Shackleton and other international family lawyers, including Jane Simpson and Raymond Tooth, co-founded the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, an invitation only organization which now consists of over 500 of the world's leading family lawyers. Her first high profile case was that of The Duke and Duchess of York. Her handling of the case for the Duke so impressed Lord Goodman, he recommended her to The Prince of Wales to handle his divorce.^{[citation needed]}

Shackleton joined Payne Hicks Beach in 2001 as a partner. Shackleton is reputed to have fallen out of royal favour in the aftermath of the Paul Burrell affair and the suggestions of a cover up over allegations of a homosexual rape within the royal household, put Shackleton in her own words: "Under pressure for a solution to be reached more speedily than I was able to achieve". She was criticised in the Peat Report on the proceedings.

In the 2005 the New Year Honours List, she was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order and remains solicitor for The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

In early October 2011, the Daily Telegraph reported that Shackleton has been overcharging several of her clients, sometimes by hundreds of thousands of pounds. One bill to Madonna had been 'marked up' by ₤100,000. Shackleton expressed relief when the singer agreed to pay the ₤221,000 bill, which had been marked up. In a private email to a colleague she wrote: "This is good news as I was worried that they were cross about the bill," she wrote, adding: "We obviously shd have asked for more?!!!!! F x." Sir Paul McCartney also had at least one bill marked up by Shackleton from ₤14,000 to ₤150,000. When interviewed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority about her billing practices, Shackleton admitted being "slack with time sheets".

Famous cases

Shackleton's high profile cases include:

• The Duke and Duchess of York (afterwards Sarah, Duchess of York)
• The Prince and Princess of Wales (afterwards Diana, Princess of Wales): where Shackleton represented the Prince. Diana was able to negotiate a £17m settlement and observers saw the outcome as a creditable draw. On the same date when Buckingham Palace announced to the public that the Prince and Princess had reached a settlement, The Queen issued Letters Patent to regulate the styles and titles of former members of the Royal Family after divorce. Information about those Letters Patent was included by the Palace in the same press release that contained the announcement of the divorce agreement. In accordance with those Letters Patent, Diana lost her style of Royal Highness when the decree absolute of divorce was issued. The forfeiture of the title of Royal Highness is often attributed to the diligence of Shackleton, but styles of members of the Royal Family are governed by the prerogative of the Sovereign.
• Paul McCartney and Heather Mills: in which Shackleton represented the former Beatle, and secured leading QC Sir Nicholas Mostyn before Mills solicitor Anthony Julius, leading to them being known during the case by the media as the "legal dream team." Mills described Shackleton in an interview with Larry King thusly: "There’s this nasty woman – Fiona Shackleton. She wants to drag it out as long as possible to fill her pockets and she’s said some pretty mean things when I was in a wheelchair.” At the final settlement hearing, Mills poured a jug of water over Shackleton's head.
• Claire and Thierry Henry: in which Shackleton represents wife Claire, whose marriage broke down after the Arsenal striker left for Barcelona.
• John Cleese and Alyce Faye Eichelberger:, in which she represented Alyce Faye. Cleese said afterwards, "What I find so unfair is that if we both died today, her children would get much more than mine".

In 2006 Shackleton won an apology and damages from Associated Newspapers over suggestions of impropriety in the Charles and Diana divorce case.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011 the Daily Telegraph reports that Shackleton has overcharged at least 9 of her clients by an estimated ₤659,000.

Personal life

Shackleton is married to Ian, a financial consultant, who is related to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. The couple have two daughters, and the family lives in Kensington. Shackleton has revealed in interviews that in her personal view, divorce is the worst case scenario in any relationship.

Quotations

• "A courtroom is a barbaric venue in which to pick over the carcass of a failed marriage".
• "This is good news as I was worried that they were cross about the bill. We obviously shd have asked for more?!!!!!"

See also

• Anne-Marie Hutchinson
• James Stewart
• Marilyn Stowe
• Jane Simpson
• Collaborative Family Law
• International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

External links

• Profile at Payne Hicks Beach
• Profile: Fiona Shackleton Sunday Times (London), 23 March 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2008