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I am a solicitor in the Health, Care and Regulatory law team, with a special interest in Children’s law. Prior to joining the firm I worked for a number of local authorities specialising in child protection proceedings and Children’s Services functions.
Experience
- Conduct of care proceedings on behalf of various local authorities at first instance and appeal, up to and including Court of Appeal. In this area I have broad experience of cases involving issues ranging from neglect to serious non-accidental injuries and of both parents and children with complex mental health, leaning difficulties and other support needs.
- Represented local authorities in other children proceedings, including forced marriage protection orders, applications for secure accommodation and High Court applications under the inherent jurisdiction.
- As an advocate representing local authorities in children’s proceedings multiday contested final hearing and drafting complex threshold documents and legal argument. Recently this included a nine day contested hearing before a Circuit judge with issues including serious domestic abuse, honour based violence, parenteral alienation and the use of intimate images in litigation.
- Outside of children’s litigation I advise on the exercise of children’s services functions more generally, including complaints and care planning for children in care as well as advice for decision in relation to fostering and ADM decision for adoption and fostering.
- Experience of responding to challenging to Age Assessment, including successfully defending client’s position at pre-action stage avoiding the client being drawn into litigation.
- I have experience of advising local authority clients in relation to deprivation of a child’s liberty, complex placement decision including the use of regulated and unregulated placements for children.
