Women lawyers will battle it out in Madonna divorce

Ritchie is understood to be taking advice from Lady Ward following the break-up of his eight-year marriage to singer Madonna.

Helen Ward is one of the most formidable divorce lawyers in the country, having secured a £48million pay-out for Beverley Charman, the ex-wife of an insurance magnate. The sum given to Mrs Charman is the largest ever awarded by a British court.

Madonna, 50, may now face a battle to keep her £300million fortune and to ensure custody of the couple's two children together Rocco, eight, and David, three, who is adopted.

She has hired Fiona Shackleton to handle the divorce, pitting Britain's two leading female divorce lawyers against each other.

Mrs Shackleton acted for Sir Paul McCartney in his £25million divorce from Heather Mills. Ms Mills was so antagonised by the lawyer she drenched her with water at the end of the High Court case.

Madonna and Ritchie will be anxious to avoid the media circus that followed the McCartney/Mills divorce. Both Mrs Shackleton and Lady Ward are skilled negotiators who are likely to urge their clients to reach a settlement and avoid a court case.

Although Ritchie, 40, is independently wealthy he has an estimated £30million from his earnings as a film director some legal sources have suggested he may be entitled to as much as half of Madonna's money after 10 years together.

Lady Ward, 55, a senior partner at Manches law firm and a part-time judge, is married to Sir Alan Ward, one of the country's most senior judges. According to Manches' website, Lady Ward "specialises in family law, with emphasis on the financial consequences of the breakdown of relationships with particular expertise in cases involving substantial assets, complexity and an international element".

Sources suggest she is particularly adept at protecting the interests of fathers and is said to stress the well-being of the children in settling divorces.

Her success in the Charman case set a new standard for pay-outs. John Charman was ordered to pay his ex-wife Beverley £48million in a ruling that confirmed the "equality principle" should govern the splitting of a couple's assets.

Manches today refused to comment on Lady Ward's appointment.

The prospect of a divorce battle did not seem to affect Madonna who was on stage in Boston last night hours after the split was confirmed. In the first of two shows on her Sweet and Sticky tour, she gave a typically slick performance.

The reasons for the divorce are being aired in stories which quote "friends" of the couple. It is suggested Ritchie wanted "a normal family life" while his wife wanted to "heal the world". Madonna was said to have been unhappy about Ritchie's lack of support for her and is also said to have become much closer to Carlos Leon, the father of her daughter, Lourdes, 12.

Member of the 'magic circle'

Helen Ward, 57, a friend of Tessa Jowell in the "magic circle" of divorce lawyers, lists among her clients Paloma Picasso, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Ian McEwan and David Seaman.
Lady Ward went to fee-paying King Alfred School in Golders Green before Birmingham University. She qualified in 1978, joining Manches, her present law firm, as a partner in 1994.
She said: "Divorce is a discretionary area of law. It's haute couture — a case of measuring up the client as best you can. You need to establish a rapport so you can give unpalatable advice."
According to Chambers "family comes first". She and husband Lord Justice Ward were devastated by the death of daughter Amelia, 16, in 2001.

Macca's steely negotiator

Nicknamed the Steel Magnolia, Fiona Shackleton, 52, sprang to prominence acting for Prince Charles in his divorce. She cemented her reputation as a tough negotiator with her handling of Sir Paul McCartney's split from Heather Mills. It is said Sir Paul phoned her night and day for advice while she charged up to £1,000 an hour, earning her firm Payne Hicks Beach as much as £3 million. At leading girls' school Benenden she was not considered particularly academic, and scraped a law degree from Exeter University. Mrs Shackleton began her legal career in her mid-twenties with Farrer & Co, whose clients include the Queen. After the royal divorce Princess Diana sent her flowers as a thank you for "being so civilised".