Katie Taft

In both her mediation practice and her legal work, Katie is committed to resolving disputes with the minimum amount of acrimony and costs. Katie’s approach is professional, empathetic, expedient and pragmatic. She is able to draw on her significant experience to mediate efficiently and effectively, avoiding the need for time consuming, stressful and expensive litigation. Katie strives to ensure that where relationship breakdown involves children, they remain front and centre of the mediation process throughout. 

• Financial disputes on divorce, often including properties, pension, business and tax issues
• Arrangements for children
• Complex cases involving domestic abuse, neurodiversity, personality disorders and narcissistic characteristics
• Complex cases involving children (domestic abuse, medical treatment, schooling)
• International children disputes (abduction, relocation, issues of jurisdiction)
• Schedule 1 Children Act claims (financial claims for children)
• Special Guardianship for children (grandparents and other family members)
• High conflict disputes
• Hybrid/integrated mediation

Case study one:
Katie mediated a separated couple who had not been in contact for several years due to a very
difficult end to their relationship, following by police involvement. The case involved complex
medical and mental health issues, as well as cross allegations of domestic abuse. Notwithstanding
the very difficult background, Katie was able to successfully conclude mediation on a “shuttle” basis
avoiding the need for the coupe to come into direct contact. Katie was able to assist with resolving a
longstanding complex financial dispute, without the need for the involvement of the Court.

Case study two:
Katie dealt with a complicated dispute between a separated couple involving multiple properties and
business interests, as well as a dispute over where the children of the family should, with one parent
wishing to relocate to another part of the country. With a commitment to the mediation process and
focussing on children’s best interests, the parties were able to reach an agreement on all fronts,
enabling them to move forward positively as co-parents, and with certainty in relation to their
financial future.

Katie is a highly experienced family lawyer and mediator. Katie qualified as a solicitor in 2010 and as a mediator in 2013. She has been a partner in the family team at Ellis Jones since 2018 and is accredited by Resolution as a specialist in private children disputes and child abduction.

Katie was accredited as a mediator by the Family Mediation Council in 2016. Katie is also qualified to undertake integrated (hybrid) mediation and is therefore able to involve various professionals within the mediation process (solicitors, accountants, pension advisors and therapeutic support) ensuring that every mediation is tailored to individual circumstances.