Emma Gill

Accolades:

• Took the Manchester and Cambridge teams to Tier 1 in The Legal 500 in 2024.
• Emma has been recognised since 2009 in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.
• She is the ‘go-to’ Manchester lawyer for television, radio and print press.
• Led the regional team to win the Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Award for ‘Private Client Team of the Year 2025’.
• Led the team to be short-listed for ‘Family Team of the Year’ at the Manchester Legal Awards in 2017 and 2025.
• Shortlisted for ‘Partner of the Year’ at the Manchester Legal Awards 2022.
• Spear’s 500 Top Recommended Family Lawyers 2023, 2024, and 2025.
• Legal 500 Leading Individual.
• CityWealth Future Leader 2020, Family Lawyer of the Year 2020 - Bronze Award, Top 100 Private Client Lawyers 2021, Top 25 Family Lawyers 2024.

Education

Emma read Law at the University of Manchester before qualifying as a solicitor at the Manchester office of a national firm.

Press & publications

Emma is very experienced in handling the press. As an industry leader, she is often called upon to give expert commentary on television, radio and in the national press and has featured frequently in The Times, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The independent and The Telegraph. She has also appeared on The Money Confidential podcast.

She has spoken on a wide range of issues including divorce reform, financial issues on separation, and being the parent of an SEN child.

Career

Emma knew from her first family law lecture that this was her future field of practice. She set herself two goals following her graduation, to be listed in the leading legal directories before she was 30 and to be an equity partner by age 35. She achieved both. Emma is now a leader in family law.

“Ferociously bright” and a “complete star” (Legal 500), Emma is the Head of the Manchester team at Vardags. She specialises in divorce and matrimonial finance and has acted for the good, the bad, the rich and famous. Emma’s clients include lawyers, accountants, CEOs of multi-million pound companies, footballers and their spouses, entrepreneurs and business owners. Her cases are complex, dealing with issues around share valuations, option schemes, trusts, foreign properties and pension funds.

Emma also acts in financial claims for unmarried partners.

Emma is highly sought after, with clients recommending her to others for her intelligent, practical yet sensitive approach. She has a broad geographical practice with clients based in the North West and North East of England but also the Midlands, Shropshire, Wales and London.

REPORTED CASES

• HD v WB [2023] EWFC 2
• L v L [2021] 10 WLUK 588, also discussed in Practical Law
• ON v ON [2024] EWFC 379 

Testimonials

‘Emma Gill is a very formidable opponent in the big cases!’ - Legal 500

‘A fierce opponent but not an unreasonable one, and she is well able to cut to the real issue in cases’ - Legal 500

‘Emma Gill is a complete star. Clients adore her and her team really works for her. Definitely somebody to have on your side’ - Legal 500

‘Emma Gill is an extraordinary talent. Simply the best communicator I have worked with in my many years at the Bar. She has the capacity to immediately focus on what really matters in a case and then to explain why. She is also great at putting her clients at ease. A force of nature.’ - Legal 500

‘Emma Gill is a standout solicitor. She is head and shoulders above her peers in terms of her client empathy, client care and legal knowledge. She does not leave any stone unturned and works incredibly hard for her client. She has exceptional knowledge and skills. She is always ready and more than able to go the extra mile for her clients.’ - Legal 500

‘Emma Gill is simply superb. I have no hesitation in recommending her to colleagues. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of matrimonial finance and, combined with her boundless energy, is the leading light in the North West.’  - Legal 500

‘To describe Emma as a lighthouse at what was the darkest time for me is an understatement.’ - Legal 500

Personal

Emma truly has Northern soul, having been raised in the suburbs of Salford and then reading law at the University of Manchester. Emma trained for her post graduate qualifications at the College of Law in Chester (as it was). She lives with her husband and daughter in Lancashire and can be found enjoying the great outdoors.