How Steel Magnolia won £5million battle of the lady lawyers

ONLY the ill-advised would tangle with lawyers Fiona ‘Steel Magnolia’ Shackleton, who represented Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana, or the formidable Helen Ward, who secured a jaw- dropping £50 million for Guy Ritchie when he split with Madonna.

But the High Court custody battle between the billionaire ruler of Dubai, who retained the services of Lady Ward (below left), and his estranged wife, Princess Haya, who had Lady Shackleton (right) in her corner, has knocked one of them out of the ring.

I can disclose that Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum dispensed with Ward’s services before the case reached its conclusion — and the damning ruling that he had abducted his daughter while waging a campaign to intimidate his wife. ‘It is a rare reversal for Ward ,’ says m’learned friend.

Described by lawyers’ bible The Legal 500 as ‘ extraordinary and brilliant’, she is married to Sir

Alan Ward, a former Court of Appeal judge. She has represented an extraordinary roll-call of clients, from Formula One billionaire Bernie Ecclestone and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan. All have benefited from what one former client has summarised as ‘a mind like a jewelled watch and a wise and honest heart’.

But Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia prevailed during a case estimated to have cost £5 million in legal fees. Aside from Charles, the ‘Steel Magnolia’ has represented everyone from Prince Andrew to rock star Liam Gallagher — and, most memorably, Sir Paul McCartney, whose second wife, Heather Mills, emptied a jug of water over her head. Shackleton was unmoved — and Mills left the court with a fraction of the £125 million settlement she sought.

But perhaps not even Shackleton could have secured victory for the sheikh. He has replaced Ward with up-andcoming legal talent, Catherine Bedford, who appears ready for battle. ‘I’m honest with my clients and they appreciate that,’ she said last year. ‘I will always tell it to them how it is, which they like.’ Good

luck with that.