The only woman head of a City law firm (until she recently stepped down) Diana Parker, 50, has cemented Withers’ position in the uppermost tier of family law firms. She was the youngest and first woman to be appointed in this role by any of the country’s top 100 law firms. A leading matrimonial lawyer who is regarded as brainy and pragmatic (she took a double first at Cambridge), she qualified with Withers and was made a partner in 1987. In 1991 she took over as head of its family law department, became senior partner in 1999 and chairman in 2002 when the firm was incorporated as a limited liability partnership. Parker acted for Melissa Miller whose settlement after a short marriage was upheld by the House of Lords. She co-founded the Family Mediators Association in the mid-1980s to extend the ambit of mediation to include finances as well as children. Parker co-authored Practical Matrimonial Precedents, the leading text for practitioners, and has regular speaking engagements on family law topics. She resigned from the chairmanship last July to focus on clients. She is married to Dr John Landers, the principal of Hertford College, Oxford.

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