My Professional Background

I purely specialise, and have over three decades of 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 Law department in Harlow. I became a Partner in 2003 and headed the Family Law department until April 2020 across 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

• I am an accredited panel member of the Law Society Family Law scheme
• I was an accredited panel member on the Law Society Family Law Advanced Scheme (adult party’s Representative – Children Law proceedings) until May 2023
• I am accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer (Private Law Children and Complex Financial Remedies 2)
• I was a panel member of the Law Society’s Children Law Accreditation Scheme for 14 years

I have received praise across the industry for my Family Law work, with consistently high rankings in the two most respected guides to the legal profession, The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.

• I was named as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in the Legal 500 2025 with one contributor noting : ‘Joyti Henchie is simply amazing. I have never known a more complete lawyer. She literally has everything you would want. Massive intelligence, a first class command of the law, and you really feel she is working with you, not for you. I could not recommend her highly enough, and have in fact referred anyone that has asked me, to her.’
• I was ranked as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in Chambers and Partners 2024, with comments including: “Joyti is of the highest calibre. She has extraordinary tact and patience with clients but also fearlessly represents their interests” and “She is amazing – compassionate yet not afraid to deliver difficult news when needed.”
• I was named as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in the Legal 500 2024, with a commentator noting: “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.”
• I was also ranked as a Band 1 practitioner in Chambers and Partners 2023
• I was a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in the Legal 500 2023 rankings, with one person stating: “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.”
• I was ranked as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in the Chambers and Partners guide for 2022 . Comments included: “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.”
• I was named as a Legal 500 2022 ‘Recommended Lawyer’, with comments to the directory including: “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.”
• I was ranked as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in the Chambers and Partners 2021 results,  “Her abilities as a lawyer are absolutely first class,” one client reported, adding: “There is simply no one better – her strategic thinking is beyond measure.”
• The Family Law team were ranked in ‘Band 1’ in Chambers and Partners 2021. A market commentator described 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.”
• I was named a ‘Leading Individual’  in the Legal 500 directory 2021
• The Family team were ranked in ‘Band 2’ in the Legal 500’s 2021 rankings. Comments included: “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.” Finally, one commentator stated: “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.”
• I was named as a ‘Leading Individual’ in the Legal 500 rankings for 2020. I was called a “leader in her field, without question and an exceptional practitioner in the department with a first-class practice,” with a “reputation of fearlessly representing her clients’ interests. She is extremely hardworking, dedicated and clients love her.” 
• I was named a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in Chambers and Partners 2020, where I was said to be “an incredibly down-to-earth solicitor who gives her clients the best service they could ask for” and “vastly experienced so there’s very little that fazes her.”
• The Family Law team were ranked in ‘Band 1’ in Chambers and Partners 2020 for the second time running, and lauded as “down-to-earth and the type of firm you would recommend because their advice is robust and realistic.” 
• The Family Law team was ranked as ‘Band 2’ in Legal 500 2020, with the comment: “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.”
• I was awarded Best Lawyer in the UK for Family Law – London 2020 and 2021
• I was ranked in ‘Band 1’ in the Chambers and Partners guide 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 praised 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”.
• I was named as a ‘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 that I have “great tact and patience with vulnerable clients who have difficulty in giving instructions.”
• The Family Law department was also ranked in ‘Tier 2’ in the Legal 500 2018 rankings, with the directory commenting that we were “competent, efficient and friendly,” comprising a team of “capable, helpful and committed” solicitors, and we were also lauded for our “niche expertise” and “great client service”.
• I was ranked as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in the Chambers and Partners results for 2018, with comments including: “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.” “She always has time to speak, no matter what.”
• I was named a ‘Leading Individual’ in the Legal 500 results for 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’ in the Legal 500 rankings in 2017.
• In the 2017 Legal 500 rankings, the directory reported that my team were “highly experienced” and provided “excellent client care.” Particular mention was made of the services my department provides, with the team noted as being “able to represent clients in family finance work, private law children work and care work, to an extremely high standard.”
• I was classed as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in Chambers and Partners 2017. Comments included: “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.”
• I was ranked as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner in the Chambers and Partners results for 2016. The guide said: “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.’”
• I was named as a ‘Band 1’ practitioner by Chambers and Partners in 2015. Commentators said: “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) in Chambers and Partners 2017
• I was nominated for the Family Law Partner of the Year Award at the Family Law Awards (2012)
• I was rated in Thomas Reuters Super Lawyers for four consecutive years (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)
• I was admitted to the exclusive Leading Lawyer Global 250 list

I represented a Party in the following reported cases

• Redbridge LBC v B and C and A (Through his Children’s Guardian) [2011] 2 FLR 117
• G, Re [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.