Joanna Toch

Joanna Patricia Toch (born 13 October 1961) (LLB Hons) is a British Olympian, a practising Barrister and a Legal 500 expert in family law. She is a Head of Family Law at Church Court Chambers,2nd floor, Goldsmith's Building, Temple and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases now cited as precedent in UK family and children's law.

Sporting career

Toch comes from a sporting family: her father is the former boxer, Peter Toch, a British Army and 1950 ABA Heavyweight Champion.

Toch rowed for Great Britain in the 1979 Junior World Rowing Championships, 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (she was the youngest member of the Great Britain team), the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the 1986 Commonwealth Games and six World Rowing Championships between 1981 and 1990.

She won a silver medal in 1989 in the lightweight coxless fours and was European champion in that crew in 1988,1989 and1990. She was in the first women's crew to row at Henley Royal Regatta. Toch has been National Champion in most categories of boat and won most major rowing competitions in Britain.

After finishing her own competitive rowing, Toch became a successful Junior Rowing coach with crews competing at National and Inter-Regional finals. Toch now rows for Ardingly Rowing Club. In 2015 she won a number of domestic Masters events and competed in the 2015 World Masters Rowing Championships. In 2016 she was part of the Ardingly crew that won the Women's Head of the River Race, small clubs pennant.

Legal career

Toch received a degree in law from King's College London and was called to the Bar in 1988. She undertook a criminal pupillage at the Chambers of Ann Goddard QC and then worked in her own name until 1990 when she became a lecturer at the Inns of Court School of Law training law students in the skills of a barrister. In 1992 Toch returned to practice and undertook a civil pupillage and began to do a mix of civil and criminal work while also working as a part-time assessor for the Bar Council, setting exam papers and assessing entrants to the Bar. She contributed to a book on legal pleadings in tort.

In 1996 she moved to the Chambers of John Hodgson at 3, Dr Johnson's Buildings, a civil and family Chambers where she undertook the full range of family work including high-profile cases in the High Court, Principal Registry of the Family Division, County Courts and Family Proceedings Court. In 2002 she moved to work in a solicitor's practice in South London. She also gave advice at the Croydon One Stop Shop for victims of domestic abuse, the first in the country. In 2007 she moved to work in the family department of Brachers solicitors, the largest solicitors in Kent where she specialised in divorce, ancillary relief, cohabitation disputes, children's residence and contact cases, many of which were complex with international aspects.

In October 2009 she resumed practice at the Bar continuing to specialise in all aspects of family work with a particular interest in the financial aspects of divorce, cohabitation property and child disputes, domestic violence and children matters. In 2015 she moved to Church Court Chambers, headed by Kerim Fuad QC, to lead the family team.

In 2014 Toch successfully appeared for the wife in the newsworthy and precedent-bearing "imposter marriage case" in which a City banker asserted exemption from alimony on the grounds he had not been present at his wedding and his wife had married someone else with the same name.

In 2015 the Court of Appeal set aside the findings of fact made by a Circuit Judge who rejected the mother's evidence that she had been subjected to domestic violence. The Court of Appeal accepted Toch had not been allowed to put the mother's case because of numerous interventions by the Judge and the Judge had acted unfairly. This case is precedent for when a higher court will intervene to change the factual decisions of a lower court in family case.

In 2016 Toch set up Familylawcafe.co.uk to troubleshoot and strategise family law issues, find the right experts for those with a family law problem and mentor those going through the legal process, calling upon her years working in family law as a barrister and within solicitors' offices and her knowledge of mediation, arbitration and other alternatives to litigation.

Toch has particular expertise in handling cases on a public access basis (without a solicitor) and is a member of mybarrister.com and a door tenant at ShenSmith Barristers chambers.

Toch has given talks on financial aspects of divorce and on the law in cases of domestic violence.

Recent reported decisions

Toch has been involved in a number of notable cases in family law which are now cited as precedent:

• Hubbard and Scott [2011] EWHC 2750 (Ch) – a probate case regarding undue influence
• Rana v Manan (validity of foreign marriage) 2011 AER (D) 179 (May) – a family case regarding the validitly of Ahmaadi sect marriages in Pakistan and the recognition of such in England and Wales
• S (A Child) [2012] EWCA Civ 1031 – Hostile and controlling father not granted a shared residence order to prevent him dominating the mother.
• Goyal v Goyal [2014] EWCA Civ 523 (27 February 2014)- 'Marriage to imposter' rulings.
• Chiva v Chiva [2014] EWCA Civ 1558

External links

• Joanna Toch Family Barrister
• Family Law Bar Association
• Resolution
• Lamb Building, Chambers of Ami Feder