Tessa Bray

Partner
Mediator
Family

+44 20 3206 2453
Email Tessa
tessa.bray@smb.london

Tessa is a partner in the Family team. She has considerable experience working on high-value financial settlements, often including multiple jurisdictions and complex trust and pension issues. She has been ranked as a Band 1 solicitor in Chambers High Net Worth Directory 2024.

Tessa has been involved in many high-profile cases and has extensive experience in applications for financial relief following a divorce in countries outside the UK.  She acts for a range of clients, many of whom work in the financial sector, media, the leisure industry and homemakers.  She also has a special interest in farming cases, coming from a farming family herself. Tessa advises on private law children disputes and has expertise in applications for leave to remove a child from the jurisdiction. Other aspects of her work include advising on wealth protection by way of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements and dealing with disputes between unmarried couples (in particular, Schedule 1 claims under the Children Act 1989). She also deals with cases involving domestic violence, coercive and controlling behaviour, harassment and non-molestation injunctions/occupation orders.

Tessa is an experienced Resolution trained family mediator. She is a member of Resolution and the Franco-British Lawyers Society. Her articles have appeared in the Family Law Journal and Resolution’s Review magazine. Tessa regularly speaks at family law events.

“Tessa is exceptionally bright, focused on the bigger picture and finer detail, and very good with clients.” Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Bray is a really great solicitor, so hard-working, great on the detail, direct and yet amiable – always a pleasure to work with.” Chambers and Partners, 2024 HNW

“Tessa Bray is stand-out brilliant – tough but fair and a joy to deal with.” Legal 500, 2023

” Tessa Bray – sound judgment, good with clients and easy to work with” Legal 500, 2023

“She is competent beyond belief. She is tough, no-nonsense and very intelligent. I rate her very highly.” Chambers and Partners HNW, 2022

Tessa Bray “is a rising star, without a doubt. She’s a very knowledgeable lawyer with great clients.” Chambers and Partners HNW, 2022

“Tessa Bray is a stellar performer. She is bright, straight to deal with, and to the point.” Legal 500, 2022

“Tessa Bray – feisty and fun, clients love her, both for her approach and the results she gets.” Legal 500, 2022

“Highly professional and charming but also so amiable and pleasant. I felt from the get go that she has my very best interests at heart and her advice always reflected that.” Legal 500, 2022

“I found Tessa Bray to be exceptional in the work that she carried out.” Legal 500, 2021

“Achieves excellent results with the minimum of fuss.” Legal 500, 2019

Practice areas
  • “Tessa is tough and determined when required, whilst also being solution focused and technical. She also has great empathy and clients warm to her quickly.”

    Chambers and Partners, 2025
  • “Tessa is a very solid lawyer. She is tough and determined when required, while also being solutions-focused and technical. She also has great empathy and clients warm to her quickly.”

    Chambers and Partners, 2025
  • “Tessa works so incredibly hard on her cases. She is able to be robust when she needs to be but is also able to be calm and measured.”

    Chambers and Partners, 2025
  • “Tessa is fantastic – she’s very direct and doesn’t take stupid points. She is very good with clients.”

    Chambers and Partners, 2025
  • “Tessa is a very solid lawyer. She is tough and determined when required, while also being solutions-focused and technical.”

    Chambers and Partners HNW, 2024
  • “Tessa is fantastic – she’s very direct and doesn’t take stupid points. She is very good with clients.”

    Chambers and Partners HNW, 2024
  • “Tessa works so incredibly hard on her cases. She is able to be robust when she needs to be but is also able to be calm and measured.”

    Chambers and Partners HNW, 2024
  • ‘Tessa Bray is superb. Loved by clients, and tough but fair – a complete star.’

    Legal 500, 2025
  • “Tessa Bray is stand-out brilliant – tough but fair and a joy to deal with”

    Legal 500, 2023
  • “Tessa Bray – sound judgment, good with clients and easy to work with”

    Legal 500, 2023