My Professional Background

I purely specialise, and have a wealth of 29 years’ experience, in child and family law including: divorce and separation, financial remedy proceedings (financial settlements), private law children disputes, child protection, cohabitation agreements and disputes, pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements and civil partnerships.

My clients are often vulnerable and emotional. I am acutely conscious of the fact that they require not only sound legal and practical advice, but reassurance and support. The relationship that they have with their solicitor is extremely important and with my diverse and specialised knowledge in family law, I am able to assist and guide them through some difficult times.

I started at Attwater & Liell (as was) in December 2000 as Head of the Family department in Harlow. I became a Partner in 2003 and headed the Family department until April 2020 over all five of our offices. I retired from the Partnership in April 2020 and am now a Consultant within the firm focusing on Business Development.  Prior to this I spent five years at a firm in Hertfordshire, after training in a large firm in Buckinghamshire and working in North London.

Achievements / Accreditations

• Accredited panel member of the Law Society Family Law scheme
• Accredited panel member on the Law Society Family Law Advanced Scheme (adult party’s Representative – Children Law proceedings) until May 2023
• Accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer (Private Law Children and Complex Financial Remedies 2)
• Panel member of the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme for 14 years
• Band 1 Chambers and Partners 2024 – “Joyti is of the highest calibre. She has extraordinary tact and patience with clients but also fearlessly represents their interests.” “She is amazing – compassionate yet not afraid to deliver difficult news when needed.”
• Recommended Lawyer Legal 500 2024 ‘Joyti Henchie is best described as being the standout lawyer of her generation in this field. There is no question of her ability as a lawyer, and there is in my view no-one better in this field.’
• ‘Band 1’ ranking Chambers and Partners 2023
• Recommended Lawyer Legal 500 2023  – ‘Joyti Henchie is by far the best lawyer of her generation that I have encountered. There is no question of her ability as a lawyer, and there is in my view no-one better in this field. Her strategic thinking is unrivalled and she brings measured calm to the storm every time.’
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2022 . ‘A highly acknowledged leader in the Essex market, Joyti Henchie handles the full remit of family law matters, advising on both matrimonial finance and children law cases. “She sees the big picture and keeps a pragmatic and practical approach.” “She also shows a lot of empathy when dealing with clients.”
• Legal 500 2022 ‘Recommended lawyer’  ‘I would particularly single out Joyti Henchie as an exceptional practitioner within the department. She is a consultant at the firm having headed up the department for a number of years. She goes beyond the call of duty for her clients. She is held in the highest of esteem by her colleagues and I cannot commend her highly enough in terms of her representation. She has a reputation of fearlessly representing her client.’
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2021 “Her abilities as a lawyer are absolutely first class,” one client reports, adding: “There is simply no one better – her strategic thinking is beyond measure.”
• The Family team are ranked Band 1 in Chambers and Partners 2021. A market commentator describes the team as a “down-to-earth group of efficient solicitors who provide sound advice to clients,” and goes on to praise their “consistency in quality and speed of response. One client praises the family team as a “good, solid and diverse” group, adding that “the communication is always efficient and the service couldn’t be better.”
• ‘Leading Individual’  Legal 500 2021
• The Family team were ranked ‘Band 2’ in Legal 500 2021. Comments include This team provides a high quality all round service.’ and ‘They have good, solid and diverse team that deals with all aspects of family law. They provide a great service as a team, and a real team is what they are. It’s a delight to experience. They are miles ahead of any competitor. I honestly cannot speak highly enough of them – the matters they deal with are so very stressful for the people involved and they make a wonderful job of it all‘. and finally ‘Attwaters deals with some of the more challenging cases in the Essex area. They are not afraid to act for demanding clients and those with a high net worth or complex financial affairs‘.
• ‘Leading Individual’ Legal 500 2020. A “leader in her field, without question and an exceptional practitioner in the department with a first-class practice.” “reputation of fearlessly representing her clients’ interests. She is extremely hardworking, dedicated and clients love her.” 
• ‘Band 1’  Chambers and Partners 2020 “an incredibly down-to-earth solicitor who gives her clients the best service they could ask for”  “vastly experienced so there’s very little that fazes her.”
• The Family Team are ranked ‘Band 1’ in Chambers and Partners 2020 for the second time running and was lauded as “down-to-earth and the type of firm you would recommend because their advice is robust and realistic.” 
• The family team was  ranked as ‘Band 2’ in Legal 500 2020 as being “Renowned as being the ‘best family law firm in Essex’, the ‘impressive’ team at Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors is led by ‘stand-out lawyer’, Joyti Henchie who specialises in a spectrum of matters ranging from divorce and separation, financial settlements, children disputes, child protection, pre-nuptials, and civil partnerships matters, as well as aspects of private and public law matters. Stephanie Holmes undertakes private family law work.”
• Best Lawyer within the UK for Family Law- London 2020 and 2021
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2019. The directory commented that I ‘come highly recommended’ with my clients finding me ‘extremely helpful, knowledgeable and very understanding’.
• Also achieving the highest possible rank  in Chambers and Partners 2019 was my “compact, impressive” Family Law Team, receiving some truly fantastic comments from clients and the directory. We were known for our skill in “highly specialised areas such as Schedule 1 cases, same-sex marriages and civil partnerships”. One satisfied client remarked: “They are so client-friendly, I got everything I could have ever asked from them and more”. My team was also praised for its “hard-working and enthusiastic lawyers who always strive for the best results”.
• ‘Leading Individual’ in the 2018 Legal 500 rankings. The directory commented that I “undertake the most complex work to an exceptionally high standard’, ‘being on top of every issue’ and having ‘great tact and patience with vulnerable clients who have difficulty in giving instructions”
• Family department also ranked as ‘Tier 2’ in Legal 500 2018 rankings with the directory commenting that we were “competent, efficient and friendly” comprising of a team of “capable, helpful and committed” solicitors, and had been lauded for its “niche expertise” and “great client service”.
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2018: “Joyti Henchie advises on complex matrimonial finance and children disputes and is highly commended by sources’. ‘She is down to earth, extremely conscientious, and has excellent judgement,’ an interviewee reported. ‘She always has time to speak, no matter what,’ 
• ‘Leading Individual’ Legal 500 2017 The directory commented that I was a “standout lawyer” and  “down to earth and extremely conscientious, going above and beyond the call of duty for clients, making them feel well supported”.
• My department was ranked in ‘Band 2’ for the Legal 500 2017
• In the 2017 Legal 500, the directory reported that my team were “highly experienced” and provided “excellent client care”. Particular mention was made of the services my department provides, as the team was “able to represent clients in family finance work, private law children work and care work, to an extremely high standard”.
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2017: “Joyti Henchie is ‘an exceptional practitioner with a first-class practice’. She handles complex children law cases and substantial financial work, along with cohabitation and prenuptial agreements” “she is a fantastic lawyer, who always has time no matter how busy she is”.
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2016 : “Joyti Henchie has established ‘an extremely busy and successful family practice’. She handles a range of financial disputes and cross-border mandates. Sources also single her out as ‘extremely personable, organised and efficient’”.
• ‘Band 1’ Chambers and Partners 2015: “Joyti has a wealth of expertise in matrimonial finance and children work. She receives solid praise for her ‘wise and practical counsel,’ in addition to her highly ‘approachable’ nature and ‘unending patience and empathy.’”
• In Chambers and Partners 2014, I was listed as a ‘notable practitioner’.
• My department was ranked in ‘Band 3’ of the Legal 500 2016 and Band 2 (Essex) for Chambers and Partners 2017
• Nominated for the Family Law Partner of the Year Award of the Family Law Awards (2012)
• Rated in Thomas Reuters Super Lawyers (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)
• Admitted to the exclusive Leading Lawyer Global 250 list
• Involved in Re A (A Child) [2011] EWHC 517 (Fam), Consideration of whether s.31 Children Act 1989 threshold had been crossed where it could not be shown that a child’s injuries had been caused by his parents
• Acted pro bono in Re G 2020 EWFC 94 (22 December 2020)

About me

I was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, and have since lived within the Home Counties of Hertfordshire and Essex. I am married with three children, aged 23,20 and 15.

HSSF (Help and Support for Separated Families) is an initiative that aims to reduce conflict and improve parental collaboration, to focus on the needs of children.