GT Stewart are delighted to announce that from the end of this month Max Konarek and Ryan Booth join GT Stewart as joint heads of the Family & Childcare Department as well as partners in GT Stewart LLP. Max and Ryan will be working with the current heads of our family public and private law teams to expand our public and private family law and childcare work across England and Wales. Both are ideally qualified to provide the strategic and operational guidance to ensure GT Stewart become a leading firm offering these services. Max will initially be based in West Kent and London whilst Ryan will be based at our East Kent offices at Canterbury and Margate.

Max is on the Law Society’s accredited Children Panel and has been recognised as a leading lawyer in the Legal 500 for the last 4 years running and ranked as an “Up and Coming” partner in Chambers and Partners this year. He comes to us from a well-respected Legal 500 firm in Kent where he was head of the Care Department for nearly 6 years. Apart from being an excellent solicitor and advocate, Max successfully recruited and grew an outstanding team of dedicated professionals who shared his ethos of self-improvement and team building.  He has become a recognised leader in care cases, dealing with some very difficult cases nationwide in the higher courts, working with some of the best legal minds in the field representing parents, children and other family members in very complex cases. His full professional profile can be viewed on LinkedIn here.

Ryan is on the Law Society’s accredited Children Panel and has come to us from a long established and well-respected Kent firm where he has been for 13 years. Having initially trained as a barrister he re-qualified as a solicitor, Ryan has built up a well-respected reputation throughout Kent and beyond as a superb lawyer and advocate.  He is well known for his forthright advocacy and meticulous preparation, he is respected by both the judiciary and colleagues alike. Ryan deals with a wide range of complex cases including very difficult cases in the higher courts, often representing vulnerable parents, children and other family members. His full professional profile can be viewed on LinkedIn here.

"Congratulations to GT Stewart for appointing Max Konarek to jointly head up the Family and Childcare Department. Max is a fantastic pro and he specialises in serious abuse cases in public law children work.  I have been privileged to have been instructed by him for many years in those types of cases. I am sure he will be a huge success."

- Paul Storey KC of 29 Bedford Row Chambers.