Joanna Toch

Joanna Patricia Toch (/tɒtʃ/ TOTCH;[1] born 13 October 1961) is a British Olympian, a practising barrister and a Legal 500 expert in family law.[2] She is a Head of Family Law at Church Court Chambers, 2nd floor, Goldsmith's Building, Temple[3] and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases now cited as precedent in UK family and children's law.

Jo Toch
Personal information
Full nameJoanna Patricia Toch
NationalityBritish
Born (1961-10-13) 13 October 1961
Surrey
Medal record
Women's rowing
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
1989 Bled Lwt women's four

Sporting career

Toch comes from a sporting family: her father is the former boxer, Peter Toch, a British Army and 1950 ABA Heavyweight Champion.[4][5]

Toch rowed for Great Britain in the 1979 World Rowing Junior 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.[6] She was part of the eight, that won the national title rowing for Great Britain senior squad boat, at the 1981 National Championships[7] and was part of the eight that won the national title, rowing for an A.R.A Composite, at the 1982 National Rowing Championships.[8][9]

She won both the coxed four and lightweight coxless four national titles at the 1989 National Championships[10] and won a silver medal at the 1989 World Rowing Championships in Bled, in the lightweight coxless four event.[11] She was in the first women's crew to row at Henley Royal Regatta.[12]

After finishing her own competitive rowing, Toch became a successful Junior Rowing coach with crews competing at National and Inter-Regional finals.[13] 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 Joanna was in the Ardingly crew that won the Women's Eights Head of the River small clubs pennant, she won the pairs event at Master's Henley and won in the women's Masters eight at the Masters World Championships in Copenhagen.

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.[14][15] She contributed to a book on legal pleadings in tort.[16]

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[17] 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.[15][18]

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.[19]

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.[20][21]

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.[22][23][24]

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.[25] Users of the service interact with their hand picked legal team using a secure online portal which allows them to manage their family law matter from a smart phone or laptop.

Toch has particular expertise in handling cases on a public access basis (without a solicitor) and is a member of mybarrister.com[26] and a door tenant at ShenSmith Barristers chambers.[27]

Toch has given talks on financial aspects of divorce and on the law in cases of domestic violence.[28]

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[29]
  • Rana v Manan (validity of foreign marriage) 2011 AER (D) 179 (May) – a family case regarding the validity of Ahmaadi sect marriages in Pakistan and the recognition of such in England and Wales[30]
  • S (A Child) [2012] EWCA Civ 1031 – Hostile and controlling father not granted a shared residence order to prevent him dominating the mother.[31]
  • Goyal v Goyal [2014] EWCA Civ 523 (27 February 2014)- 'Marriage to imposter' rulings.[32]
  • Chiva v Chiva [2014] EWCA Civ 1558[33]

References
  1. "myBarrister Joanna Toch Family & Divorce Law Barrister". Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  2. Joanna Toch at "Legal 500" Archived 6 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Chambers is delighted to announce the arrival of Joanna Toch, a highly regarded and hugely experienced Family Law specialist". Church Court Chambers. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. ABA Heavyweight Champions
  5. Peter Toch at Boxrec Boxing Encyclopedia
  6. Sports Reference/Olympics Archived 14 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (17-18 JULY 1981)". Rowing Story.
  8. "Railton, Jim. "Rowing." Times, 19 July 1982, p. 15". Times Digital Archives.
  9. "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (17-18 JULY 1982)". Rowing Story.
  10. "NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (14-16 JULY 1989)". Rowing Story.
  11. YouTube 1989 World Championships (Bled)
  12. Sports Reference/Olympics
  13. Bewl Bridge Rowing Club Archived 23 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Joannatoch.com Archived 2 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Lamb Building
  16. Beardsmore, Valerie (30 March 1996). Opinion Writing & Drafting In Tort. Routledge. ISBN 9781135354084.
  17. "A Hidden Truth?" Archived 6 October 2011 at the UK Government Web Archive
  18. Joannatoch.com
  19. "Chambers is delighted to announce the arrival of Joanna Toch, a highly regarded and hugely experienced Family Law specialist. – Church Court Chambers". Church Court Chambers. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  20. "Banker's claim that wife married imposter rejected by judge" The Daily Telegraph, 3 March 2014. Retrieved on 1 April 2014.
  21. "City banker claims imposter stood in for him at wedding in bizarre divorce battle" The Independent, 3 March 2014. Retrieved on 1 April 2014.
  22. "Re G (A Child) [2015] EWCA Civ 834". www.familylaw.co.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  23. suesspiciousminds (29 July 2015). ""Just glanced?" Court of Appeal find Judge to have been unfair". suesspiciousminds. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  24. "A bad day at the office, or when intervention is too much intervention | Pump Court Chambers". www.pumpcourtchambers.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  25. "Family Law Cafe – Family Law Cafe". Family Law Cafe. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  26. "Joanna Toch". myBarrister. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  27. "ShenSmith Barristers – Direct Access Barrister"
  28. "Joanna Toch – Webinars". www.lexiswebinars.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  29. Hubert and Scott and New Media Law
  30. Rana v Manan at Familylaw.co.uk Archived 20 April 2013 at Archive.today
  31. S (A Child) (2012) at Familylaw.co.uk
  32. at British and Irish Legal Information Institute
  33. "Family Law Week: Chiva v Chiva [2014] EWCA Civ 1558". www.familylawweek.co.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
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