Alex Carruthers

Spear’s Review

Alex Carruthers studied science at Cambridge before joining Bates, Wells & Braithwaite, where he was made up to partner. He co-founded Hughes Fowler Carruthers in 2001 and is relaxed about the firm’s reputation for being litigious: ‘If you don’t like litigation, frankly you shouldn’t be a family lawyer,’ he says.

This doesn’t mean that Carruthers is unable to pursue other routes if he thinks the case demands it: ‘You’ve got to be able to say, “Right: mediate. Right: arbitrate.”’ Sometimes, his inspiration for these approaches is practical; he is a lawyer who would prefer to spare his clients the vagaries of a justice system suffering from government cuts.

Adviser Profile

‘Very incisive’ and ‘absolutely top-rate’, Alex Carruthers is one of the few practitioners in the field highly regarded by ultra-high-net-worth individuals for a wide range of family law work. Whether negotiating complex settlements, litigating against multiple parties or dealing in cross-jurisdictional disputes, he is in the top tier. 

Highly commended for his ‘gilt-edged’ expertise, Carruthers is described as an extraordinarily good litigator and an ‘outstanding strategist’ who is ‘empathetic, practical and a pleasure to deal with’. He continues to be involved in a number of well-known long-running reported cases and others involving ultra-high-net-worth individuals. 

A qualified mediator and resolute litigator, Carruthers represents clients in cutting-edge legal cases and is a well-known figure in the High Court and Court of Appeal. He is known as ‘someone you go to with a really knotty problem’ and as a ‘feared litigator’. 

Carruthers has been consistently recognised as top tier in the leading legal and high-net-worth directories for many years. A source comments that he has ‘really good judgement on cases,’ while another describes him as ‘sharp, incisive and astute... tactically brilliant and extremely patient.’ 

One commentator praises Carruthers for his ‘astute and brave approach to any problem,’ continuing ‘he never takes a step backwards and leaves no angle unexplored or unexploited. A top choice for difficult finance cases.’ 

Carruthers is also a well-renowned commentator on family law, and has appeared on broadcast and in the national press discussing key issues at the heart of legal discourse.