Nigel is a former solicitor with over 40 years experience, specialising in family law work. He was until October 2024 a consultant with national firm Mills & Reeve having previously been the firm’s national Head of Family Law.  In the later stages of his career he practised as an arbitrator and supported the firm in specific projects.

Nigel is also an adviser to commercial lending business, Ampla Finance, providing technical and strategic support.

Throughout his long career Nigel has been committed to helping those experiencing family breakdown to find an agreed, constructive solution to the issues they face, with a particular focus on how this benefits children. He is a Life Member of the family justice organisation, Resolution, and is the only person to have been its national chair twice, first between 1995 and 1997 and then most recently 2016-2018. He campaigned for many years for a change in the divorce laws so that the ability to apportion blame in the process is removed and conflict, particularly for children, is reduced. This resulted in his firm representing Resolution pro bono in the Supreme Court case of Owens in 2018 and the campaigning finally led to the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act which finally came into effect in April 2022 . This provides for a no fault divorce process and has already started to make the process kinder and more constructive for thousands of couples and their children.

In 2018 Nigel was given honorary life membership of Resolution, in 2019 was honoured with the Cornwell Award for Outstanding Contribution to Family Law and in 2022 the Lifetime Achievement Award from Manchester Law Society.

Nigel is passionate about music. His tastes range from Beethoven to Bowie and Zappa to Zauberflöte! He plays piano but can only dream of reaching the standards he experiences whenever he hears Chethams’ students play. He did however write the music that his elder daughter came down the aisle to at her wedding, with his original composition being recorded on the former Director of Music’s piano and then rearranged for quartet by a Year 10 student at the school. Nigel also featured years ago on a Radio 1 session when his brother’s band recorded at the famous Strawberry Studios in Stockport. He was entrusted with backing handclaps. Rock and roll!