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Family Finance
Children private law - disputes including abduction
Children public law - care proceedings and adoption
Human Rights (Including International)

Our Family Group

Our Family Practice group is ranked and recommended by both Chambers Partners and Legal 500. Our large group of barristers, comprising over 60 barristers means that we are able to offer specialist, expert advice and representation in respect of the full range of family and matrimonial law.  We have members at various levels of experience and are accordingly able to offer advice and representation across a wide spectrum of family and matrimonial law.

We are acutely aware of the human side of family law and explore all avenues, including mediation,  to minimise the financial and emotional cost of disputes. We operate an out-of-hours helpline and our barristers will respond quickly to emergencies.

The group is especially well-known for its work in the public law childcare field, but we regularly work in all of the following areas of family and matrimonial law:-

  • Adoption Act Applications
  • Financial Remedies
  • Child Abduction
  • Forced Marriage
  • Radicalisation
  • Inheritance Act Applications
  • Private Law Children Act Applications
  • Public Law Child Care
  • Human Rights
  • Mental Health
  • Community Care
  • Asylum Applications
  • National Assistance Act Cases
  • Education
  • Provision for the Elderly
  • Registered Home Act Applications
  • Judicial Review
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Family Barristers

News & events

Re D Judgment

Re D Judgment

Following on from the recent Supreme Court judgment in H-W [2022] UKSC 17 ...

Published: 30th Jun 2022

Supreme Court Judgment re H-W

Supreme Court Judgment re H-W

Damian Woodward-Carlton QC, Sharan Bhachu and Katie Phillips appeared for the respondent Local Authority at Supreme Court level, in the matter of H-W.

Published: 15th Jun 2022

Gemma Farrington - Recent Case

Gemma Farrington - Recent Case

This case concerned a toddler who sadly passed away from natural causes but as is usual underwent a skeletal survey following his death.

Published: 13th Sep 2021

Re A, B and C [2021] EWCA Civ 451 – Case note

Re A, B and C [2021] EWCA Civ 451 – Case note

The Court of Appeal has found that a trial judge had misapplied Lucas in finding that a juvenile’s consciousness of guilt that he had sexually abused another child was the only reasonable explanation for his lies at trial.

Published: 12th Apr 2021

Caroline Landes

Caroline Landes

Chambers is delighted to welcome Caroline Landes as a new member of our Family Law team.

Published: 27th Aug 2019

CHICKS Charity Night

CHICKS Charity Night

Thanks to the generosity of everyone, we raised an outstanding £1,309.65 which will go some way to help children in desperate need for a respite break.

Published: 27th Mar 2019

Public Children Law Conference

Public Children Law Conference

Tina Cook QC will be speaking at the Public Children Law Conference on Tuesday 2nd October 2018 at The Caledonian Club. Tina Cook QC will be speaking on Fact finding hearings.

Published: 26th Sep 2018

Bloomsbury Family Law Conference

Bloomsbury Family Law Conference

Sharan Bhachu and Sian Gough are joining a panel discussion on children law at the Bloomsbury Professional Family Law Conference on the 16th May, at Gray’s Inn.

Published: 18th Apr 2018

Gemma Taylor

Gemma Taylor

42 Bedford Row is delighted to announce that Gemma Taylor has been appointed Queen’s Counsel in the 2017 competition.

Published: 20th Dec 2017

Jeremy Rosenblatt – Family Law update

Jeremy Rosenblatt – Family Law update

Jermey Rosenblatt has contributed to the December edition of the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division. Topics include: Poland: a Supreme Court and Gay lawyers.

Published: 20th Dec 2017

Priority need and the meaning of ‘dependent children’

Priority need and the meaning of ‘dependent children’

19 and 21-year old son and daughter of a homeless applicant are not ‘dependent children’ for the purposes of assessing ‘priority need’ Introduction Stefan Liberadzki recently appeared for a local authority in a homelessness appeal under s.204 of the Housing Act 1996. Here he discusses the Court’s decision that the appellant’s children could not count

Published: 5th Jul 2017

Heading AD & AM (Fact-Finding: Re-Hearing) [2016] EWHC 2912 (Fam)

Heading AD & AM (Fact-Finding: Re-Hearing) [2016] EWHC 2912 (Fam)

Tina Cook QC, Damian Woodward-Carlton and Fareha Choudhury appeared in this re-hearing of a fact finding. A mother found to have inflicted near-fatal injuries to the spine and skull of her infant son, successfully applied to re-hear the findings of fact. Newly-obtained medical evidence of the child’s spinal osteopenia led the Court to replace its

Published: 12th Jan 2017

Archer v Titchener: Did Judge Loomis get it right?

Archer v Titchener: Did Judge Loomis get it right?

After the almost unbearable tension of the criminal hearing to determine whether or not Helen would be found guilty of stabbing Rob, last week saw the family court hearing to determine the living and contact arrangements for Henry and Jack. Four members of the chambers’ family team, who are all addicted to the Archers, have

Published: 19th Sep 2016

Parents with learning disabilities in care proceedings seminar 10th March 2016

Parents with learning disabilities in care proceedings seminar 10th March 2016

Seminar on parents with learning disabilities given on 10th March. Gemma Taylor (barrister 42 Bedford Row) outlined the duties of Local Authorities to parents with learning disabilities and the recent case law. Rachel Butt (Senior Advocate, Impetus) explained how parents actually experience court proceedings and what steps could be taken to improve outcomes. Please find

Published: 14th Mar 2016

Siân Gough acted for the younger children in the case of Hampshire County Council v A, B, C, D & E [2015] EWFC B186

Siân Gough acted for the younger children in the case of Hampshire County Council v A, B, C, D & E [2015] EWFC B186

The 22 day final hearing took place over a period of 19 months. The local authority were found to have extensively breached the family's human rights by the unlawful removal of the children from the parents' care, failure to fairly involve the parents in the decision-making process, the deliberate failure to disclose material evidence, failure to promote family life and the failure to undertake a fair assessment.

Published: 2nd Dec 2015

Paedophile Ring successful convictions

Paedophile Ring successful convictions

A Paedophile case in which Tina Cook QC appeared both in the Court of Appeal and later in the High Court on a jurisdiction matter has culminated in successful prosecutions of the Mother in the Norwich Crown Court.

Published: 29th Jul 2015

Family Law Awards

Family Law Awards

Chambers is delighted to announce that Zimran Samuel has been awarded Family Junior Barrister of the Year by Jordan Publishing. Congratulations are also extended to Frank Feehan QC who was a short-listed nominee in the category of Family Silk of the Year both by Jordan Publishing and Chambers and Partners.

Published: 21st Oct 2014

Family Law Awards 2014 shortlist announced

Family Law Awards 2014 shortlist announced

Chambers is delighted to announce that Frank Feehan QC has been shortlisted for Family Law QC of the Year 2014 and Zimran Samuel has been shortlisted for Family Law Junior Barrister of the Year 2014.

Published: 28th Jul 2014

M-F (Children) [2014] EWCA Civ 991 (15 July 2014)

M-F (Children) [2014] EWCA Civ 991 (15 July 2014)

4 members of 42 Bedford Row appear in a significant Court of Appeal case in which the President gives an unequivocal message: in a case not completed at 67 - 26 weeks is not a straight-jacket.

Published: 18th Jul 2014

Re P (Children- Relocation) EWCA 2014 (6th June 2014)

Re P (Children- Relocation) EWCA 2014 (6th June 2014)

The Court of Appeal has allowed the appeal of a Mother seeking to relocate with her two children to Germany. The Mother's application had been dismissed by the lower court after it found that the Mother was motivated to stop contact.

Published: 18th Jun 2014

Deaf parents – Court of Appeal Guidelines

Deaf parents – Court of Appeal Guidelines

Frank Feehan QC and Francesca Conn successfully appealed against full care order and placement orders on behalf of a profoundly deaf parent. The Court of Appeal judgment provides guidelines for cases involving a deaf parent.

Published: 22nd Apr 2014

Tina Cook QC on the films of Rehna Azim – Counsel magazine

Tina Cook QC on the films of Rehna Azim – Counsel magazine

Tina Cook QC gives her views on Rehna Azim's work and the need for more discussion and transparency in the family justice system. “Never Had You” was one of several films by Rehna Azim screened on 17 October 2014 at the Courthouse hotel.

Published: 28th Mar 2014

MUST-READ TOPICAL RRO ARTICLE

Mary Lazarus' highly topical three-part article on "Reporting Restrictions and the New Transparency", published this week by Family Law Week, is essential reading on this controversial subject.

Published: 10th Mar 2014

UK is failing to meet international obligations on FGM

The UK is in breach of its international legal obligations on FGM. Following submissions to Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee, Zimran Samuel writes on Female Genital Mutilation in The Times newspaper.

Published: 10th Mar 2014

Alcohol testing in Children Act cases

Julie Stather analyses the various methods of alcohol testing now available in Children Act proceedings, including the latest developments in transdermal alcohol continuous testing. Read the complete article here: Alcohol Testing – What are the options?

Published: 21st Nov 2013

42 Bedford Row launches Human Rights Working Group

Children within care proceedings and those with mental health difficulties represent some of the most vulnerable groups in society. The Family Law Team at 42 Bedford Row is dedicated to principles of fairness and equality underpinning the Human Rights Act 1998. Members of the Family Team are able to provide specialist advice and representation in

Published: 16th Nov 2013

Child Rights Manual for Unicef

The Bar Human Rights Committee has been nominated for the Bar Pro Bono Unit Award for writing the Child Rights Manual for Unicef Nigeria. Zimran Samuel formed part of the legal team who wrote and edited the forthcoming publication on behalf of Unicef.

Published: 24th Oct 2013

Family private international law – problems in England and Wales

April 2013 saw the UK government remove public funding through the recently renamed Legal Aid Authority from private law work and representation unless domestic violence of a serious nature is revealed. For years as part of the legal culture and representation of parties before the courts of England and Wales many Mother or Fathers were

Published: 13th Sep 2013

Exceptional press protection for defendant mother & family

Mary Lazarus successfully obtained a highly exceptional order for an Applicant Father whose ex-wife was in the throes of a massive benefit fraud trial, based on her fraudulent claims that her children were disabled. Her trial involved extensive exposure of five of her eight children’s private lives, and her defence involved detailed trawls through their medical

Published: 30th May 2013

Shocking ‘virgin birth’ case & key development in press restriction case law

GROSS EXPLOITATION – In three recently released judgments in the case of A Council v M & Others, Mary Lazarus appeared for the local authority in a series of hearings last year involving the most shocking exploitation of an adopted child. Child A, represented by Tina Cook QC and Anthony Jerman, was persuaded by her

Published: 16th May 2013

Supreme Court Care Case

In the matter of B (a Child) (FC) UKSC 2013 / 0022 Three members of Chambers, Frank Feehan QC, Anna McKenna and Sheila Phil-Ebosie appeared in a care proceedings matter in the Supreme Court on 25th and 26th February 2013 as appellants in a case for which Baroness Hale, Lord Wilson and Lord Carnworth considered

Published: 20th Mar 2013

Frank Feehan QC and Gemma Taylor succeed in Supreme Court

Frank Feehan QC and Gemma Taylor of 42BR’s Family team have succeeded in the Supreme Court case of Re A (A Child). Judgment was handed down on the 12th December 2012. Their arguments on the nature of “unqualified” rights under the European Convention were accepted by the Supreme Court in deciding that the right of

Published: 14th Dec 2012

Are We Missing a Trick? Section 34 of the Children Act – An under-used application

Julie Stather, barrister, of 42 Bedford Row examines the advantages to child, parents and local authority of using section 34 of the Children Act Despite the obvious impact of an order allowing the local authority to refuse contact in the context of ongoing proceedings, or indeed the possible ramifications of applications made by the parents

Published: 2nd Dec 2012

Enhancing the Role of Grandparents in the Current Legal Landscape

Julie Stather, barrister, of 42 Bedford Row suggests some ways to benefit children by strengthening the position of grandparents Society is constantly evolving. Grandparents used to be very central figures in the lives of their grandchildren often living on the same street. Then as families became more mobile and the cities provided more possibility of

Published: 2nd Dec 2012

Kernott v Jones [2011] UKSC 53

Latest Debate Over DUI Checkpoints Is Whether They Should Be Banned Altogether DUI checkpoints continue to generate a lot of debate and discussion. The latest skirmish involving DUI checkpoints comes from at least two states that are now reconsidering the legality and effectiveness of DUI checkpoints in the first place

Published: 19th Aug 2012

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