Geldards Family team is celebrating after being shortlisted at LexisNexis Family Law Awards as Family Law Firm of the Year and scooping the prestigious Associate Solicitor of the Year.
The Family Law Awards launched over a decade ago, to recognise the important role played by family lawyers and to celebrate family law practitioners who have achieved outstanding success and made groundbreaking contributions to family law. The awards are judged by an expert team comprising leading figures from the legal profession each contributing to their own specialist areas of expertise.
The Geldards Family team was shortlisted as Finalists in the Family Law Firm of the Year – Midlands and Wales category, from a record-breaking volume of high-calibre entries. The shortlisting is a testament to Geldards’ strong national reputation and expertise, the firm said. Geldards is one of few nationwide law firms offering a complete range of services to family law clients. The team specialises in medium to high net worth financial remedy cases and has carved a niche for private children work. Following the successful launch of a brand new Shariah Family Law service this year, the team has ambitious plans to further expand the family offering for clients, globally.
At the recent awards ceremony Geldards Senior Associate Aysha Chouhdary was crowned Associate Solicitor of the Year, beating off stiff competition from seven other shortlisted family lawyers. This prestigious award is presented to someone who the judges believe has made a major contribution to the field of family law through their practice, and demonstrated outstanding client service and teamwork both within the firm and beyond.
Aysha is one of the few family lawyers in the UK offering advice on religious, cultural and international jurisdiction issues and specifically on Shariah Law and Islamic Rulings. A talented multi-linguist, with languages including Urdu, Mirpuri, Punjabi and Hindi, Aysha spearheaded the launch of Geldards specialist Shariah Family law service to guide Muslim clients through the complexities of the dissolution of a marriage under Islamic/Shariah Law, with a sensitive understanding of cultural issues.
Aysha has a passion for diversity and inclusion and is dedicated to helping others overcome barriers to entering the legal profession . She is an active member of Cardiff & District Law Society, representing interests through their Ethnicity Network and Mentoring scheme and is the first British-Pakistani, Muslim appointment to the Council in the Law Society’s 137 year history.
On presenting the award, the judges commended Aysha on her achievements:
“Aysha’s focus on providing advice in the niche area of Shariah law and Islamic rulings offers an important and much needed service for Muslim clients in her area, and she is dedicated to giving back to the wider legal community through involvement in the law society.”
Fiona Apthorpe, Partner and Head of the Family team commented:
“I am extremely proud of Geldards Family team who were shortlisted as Family Law Firm of the Year – Midlands & Wales at the Family Law Awards. Every single member of Geldards Family team is dedicated to providing a first-class service to our clients and constantly striving to make improvements to the service we provide and I am delighted that this has been recognised.
I would like to offer my congratulations to Aysha on her extremely well-deserved Associate Solicitor of the Year Award. Her enthusiasm and drive for improvement is inspirational and the launch of the new Sharia Law Service has been a resounding success. I couldn’t be prouder of her achievements – well done Aysha.”
