History

Dawson Cornwell was established in 1972 by John Dawson and John Cornwell with the aim of offering clients a full spectrum of family services. 

Ten years on, in 1982, John Cornwell founded Resolution, the national organisation for family lawyers, which now has 6.500 members. His purpose was to change the way in which family law cases were handled and to encourage a constructive and conciliatory approach.

In 1988, John co-founded the Family Mediators Association, having been one of the first family lawyers in the UK to be trained as a mediator. He was instrumental in the development of mediation in England and Wales.

John died in 2013; his obituaries in the national press can be read here

• The Telegraph
• The Guardian

That same year, Resolution launched the John Cornwell Award in his memory, in order to recognise lawyers who, like him, had gone the extra mile in their work to support separating families. Resolution commented “Both Resolution and separating families owe a huge debt to John for his vision, passion and determination.”

Built on these historical foundations, Dawson Cornwell has now evolved into a world renowned specialist family law firm; with distinct expertise in matrimonial law and international children law, supported by experts in property law and wills, probate and tax. 

With a firm of such historical foundations comes recognition and awards. Dawson Cornwell are proud to be consistently recommended by Chambers and the Legal 500, the two main legal directories which are referenced by both legal firms and clients.

Having a forward thinking approach to law we are unlike other niche family law firms nationally and internationally and continue to deliver on our past looking forward to the future.

In 2022/2023 we were proud to celebrate our 50^th anniversary. Read our story of how we got to where we are now.