On this page
Overview
Alex O’Dwyer Curran is a Legal Director in the Family Law team, specialising in complex, high-value divorce and family matters for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. He advises on sophisticated financial disputes involving international assets, trusts and business structures, as well as sensitive children law issues. Ranked in Chambers and recognised by The Legal 500, Alex is noted for his intelligent, strategic approach and ability to deliver clear, pragmatic advice in the most demanding cases, including those before the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
Expertise
Alex specialises in:
- High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth divorce and financial remedy proceedings
- Complex asset structures, including trusts, businesses and international wealth
- Cross-border family law and international financial disputes
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- Emergency injunctions and asset preservation applications
- Children law, including relocation, parental alienation and safeguarding
- International child abduction and cross-border child arrangements
- Financial provision for children and unmarried couples
Reported Cases
- BC v BC [2026] (No 2) (Matrimonialisation: Division of Shareholding: Provision for Debt) EWFC 37
- Lara Zibners Lohr v Gernot Lohr [2026] EWHC 1448 (Fam)
- BC v BC [2025] EWHC 2016
- AS v RS [2024] EWFC 32 (B)
- AS v RS [2023] EWFC 284 (B)
- AS v RS (Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act: Part III Application) [2023] EWFC 283 (B)
- LKM v NPM [2022] EWHC 140 (Fam)
- AB v CD [2021] EWFC 38
- AB v CD and C (no2) [2019] EWHC 2244 (Fam)
- AB v CD and C [2019] EWHC 1695 (Fam)
Qualifications & Accreditations
Alex holds an LLB in Law with French and completed his LPC at the University of Law. He qualified as a solicitor in 2015 and joined Payne Hicks Beach in 2021, becoming Legal Director in 2026. He is ranked in Chambers High Net Worth and Chambers UK and recognised by The Legal 500 and eprivateclient as a NextGen Leader.
Awards & Accolades
Chambers HNW 2026
Alex is ranked as an “Associate to Watch” in Family/Matrimonial Finance: Ultra High Net Worth.
The directory commends Alex for being a well-regarded legal director at the firm who advises on complex matrimonial finance matters. Testimonials include:
- “Alex is a very good lawyer.”
- “Alex is accessible and fights for his clients.”
Chambers UK 2026
Alex is ranked as an Associate to Watch in the category of Family/Matrimonial Ultra High Net Worth.
The directory commends Alex for being a well-regarded senior associate at the firm who advises on complex matrimonial finance matters. Testimonials include:
- “Alex Curran is a star of the future. He is bright, clever, engaged, driven and has a really good feel for cases.”
The Legal 500 UK 2026
Alex is ranked as a ‘Recommended Key Lawyer’ for Family: Divorce and Financial Remedy.
Spear’s Family Lawyers Index 2026
Alex is ranked as “Rising Star” with a focus on complex asset structures. Spear’s writes:
- “Alex O’Dwyer Curran, a legal director at Payne Hicks Beach, works at the sharpest end of family law, often acting alongside Baroness Shackleton on disputes where the assets at stake can run into the hundreds of millions. A growing theme in his work is the involvement of the wider family in a divorce: it is increasingly common, he tells Spear’s, for a spouse to discover that assets they assumed were the couple’s own are in fact held by a parent or in-law. Untangling such questions is not getting easier in an overstretched system, O’Dwyer Curran says. With time in court ‘like trying to get a GP appointment’, much of his work is moving to arbitration, including a recent Children Act case for a former FTSE 100 chief executive. His most complex cases are guided by a lesson from Baroness Shackleton: think three steps ahead.”
Chambers HNW 2025
Alex is ranked as an “Associate to Watch” in Family/Matrimonial Finance: Ultra High Net Worth.
The directory commends Alex for being a well-regarded senior associate at the firm who advises on complex matrimonial finance matters. Testimonials include:
- “Alex Curran is an excellent lawyer who is able to deal effectively with demanding clients.”
- “Alex Curran is really hard-working, really industrious, and he cares a lot about his clients. Clients really warm to him as he is an affable, friendly person.”
Chambers UK 2025
Alex is ranked as an Associate to Watch in the category of Family/Matrimonial Ultra High Net Worth. Testimonials include:
- “Alex is one of the most down-to-earth and matter-of-fact lawyers I’ve come across in this sector. Clients really like him.”
The Legal 500 UK 2025
Alex is listed as a Recommended Key Lawyer.
eprivateclient NextGen Leaders 2024
Alex is named as one of the 2024 eprivateclient NextGen Leaders and writes
- “Alex is a senior associate at Payne Hicks Beach, known for his specialism in family law. With nine years of experience, he has built a reputation for providing precise and specialist advice, staying at the forefront of legal developments. Alex is highly regarded for his robust yet proportionate approach, ensuring that clients feel supported and that their cases are handled with the utmost care and attention. His exceptional preparation and keen attention to key details make him a standout in complex family law cases. Clients appreciate his calm, empathetic manner, which is paired with a sharp legal mind, making him a formidable advocate in the family law sector. Alex’s ability to manage exceedingly complex cases and go toe-to-toe with any solicitor in the field positions him as a rising star in family law.”
Chambers HNW 2024
Alex is ranked as an Associate to Watch with the directory writing that he is a well-regarded senior associate at the firm who advises on complex matrimonial finance matters. Testimonial quotes include:
- “Alex is really smart and enthusiastic”
- “Alex is confident, good at giving advice and has a good following.”
The Legal 500 UK 2024
Alex is listed as Recommended Lawyer.
The Legal 500 UK 2022
Recommended Lawyer with testimonial quotes:
- “Alex Curran is an iron fist inside a velvet glove. His intelligent, eloquent approach to cases makes the unarguable appear arguable. He is a rising star in family law.”
- “Alex Curran – star of the present and the future; he will go far.”
