Alex called to the bar in 2023, having previously practised as a solicitor in the family law teams of two leading multidisciplinary law firms. He qualified as a solicitor in Scotland in 2016 and in England and Wales in 2020.
Since calling to the bar, Alex has developed a busy and varied practice, predominantly in all aspects of family and child law. He also has experience of unjustified enrichment, education, contract, trust and succession law, including section 29 claims and executory disputes.
Alex has particular expertise and experience in cases having an international (including intra-UK) connection, often advising on matters of applicable law, jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement. He has been instructed in several petitions under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, including a reported decision JL, Petitioner 2024 Fam LR 26. He has significant experience of nuptial agreements and maintenance in the international context.
Alex holds a doctorate in private international law from the University of Tübingen, Germany, which was awarded with distinction. His doctoral thesis ‘The Application of Foreign Law in the British and German courts’ was published by Hart/Bloomsbury in late 2022. He has taught private international law at the University of Edinburgh for several years and will continue to lecture in the upcoming academic year with responsibility for the elements of the course addressing international family law.
Alex is an editor for Greens Family Law Reports, Greens Litigation Styles and the Butterworths Scottish Family Law Service, with responsibility for the section ‘International aspects of the law relating to parental responsibilities and rights’. He has published numerous articles covering a wide range of family law matters, including in Scots Law Times and Scottish Private Client Law Review.
Alex is a member of the Faculty of Advocates’ Civil Procedure Committee, TrustBar, the Advocates’ Family Law Association, and the European Association of Private International Law. He is regularly asked by the Faculty of Advocates to respond to consultations involving private international law.
Having worked and studied in Germany for several years, Alex speaks fluent German and has used the language in professional practice. He also speaks conversational Italian.
Email: Alex Critchley