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Our Family Practice group is ranked and recommended by both Chambers Partners and Legal 500. Our large group of barristers covers the full spectrum of family and matrimonial law, with members available at various levels of experience to accommodate your needs.
We are acutely aware of the human side of family law and explore all avenues, including mediation, to minimise the financial and emotional stresses 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:-
Here are some examples of our work:-
Lukjanenko v Medway Council EWCA Civ 612 – Mark Chaloner for the Respondent. Dismissal of appeal against an order imposing a sentence of imprisonment for breach of reporting restriction and Protection from Harassment Act injunctions. More information can be found here.
Re H (A Child : Hair Strand Testing) EWFC 64- Highly technical scientific case considering the efficacy of hair strand testing for metabolites of cocaine and other street drugs in family proceedings. Tina Cook QC and Damian Woodward-Carlton (instructed by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP) for Alere Toxicology. More information can be found here.
C, D & E (Children) – Tina Cook QC appeared on behalf of the Applicant. C, D & E (Children), Re [2015] EWFC 92 (22 May 2015) – Acting for a Local Authority in a historic sexual abuse allegation case where the allegations were made by family members of the most serious abuse. The evidential difficulties of seeking such findings after more than 15 years were explored by the court.
Devon County Council V EB & ORS (Minors) - Devon v EB was the first case where EDS was a feature involving infant twins both of whom suffered subdural haemorrhages and bone fractures. Tina Cook QC and Katie Phillips appeared on behalf of the father. The court was unable to make findings and the proceedings were dismissed. The unknown aetiology was of particular importance given the links to EDS.
C (A Child) Court of Appeal Neutral Citation Number: Jonathan Bennett - an appeal against a finding that the Mother was responsible for non-accidental injuries made by a judge effectively without notice to the parties at the disposal hearing, when a different judge had been unable to decide which of the parents was responsible for the causation of the injuries at a previous fact-finding hearing.
Family law seminars: we run seminars on many aspects of family and matrimonial law, in chambers and at clients’ offices. To find out more please go to our family law seminar programme page.
Damian Woodward- Carlton QC has contributed to the Counsel Magazine in an article discussing pupillage mistakes.
3rd September 2019 Read moreChambers is delighted to welcome Caroline Landes as a new member of our Family Law team.
27th August 2019 Read moreWe are delighted to welcome Marcia Hyde who has joined 42 Bedford Row’s Family Group as a senior barrister from Coram Chambers.
5th August 2019 Read moreJane Hayford instructed for the Respondent mother. Appeal by intervenor against findings of fact made in care proceedings. Appeal allowed.
31st July 2019 Read moreDamian Woodward- Carlton QC has contributed to the Family Law Journal July edition, discussing Radicalisation and the Family Court.
23rd July 2019 Read moreWe are delighted to welcome Shelly Glaister-Young to the 42 Bedford Row Family Team.
9th July 2019 Read moreMonica Ford was instructed on the appeal. Monica was instructed for the Respondent Children through their Guardian.
9th July 2019 Read more6.00pm, Tuesday 2nd July
19th June 2019 Read moreLatest Family Group Member
12th June 2019 Read moreVolunteers' Week
6th June 2019 Read morePhilip McCormack instructed for the Third Respondent acting by his Guardian.
20th May 2019 Read moreTina Cook QC and Gemma Taylor QC were instructed in the recently reported decision of Lancashire County Council v TP & Ors (Permission to Withdraw Care Proceedings) [2019] EWFC 30 (09 May 2019)
13th May 2019 Read more6.00pm - Thursday 23rd May
2nd May 2019 Read moreThanks 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.
27th March 2019 Read moreDamian Woodward-Carlton QC acted for the mother in Re Q (Child: Interim Care Order: Jurisdiction)
14th March 2019 Read moreMany congratulations to Damian Woodward-Carlton who takes silk today
11th March 2019 Read more6.30pm Thursday, 21st March 2019 - Above the Arts, 6/7 Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JB
24th January 2019 Read more6.00pm Thursday, 28th February 2019
24th January 2019 Read moreLegal 500 UK Awards
6th December 2018 Read morePhilip McCormack instructed on behalf of the children’s guardian
17th November 2018 Read moreChambers are thrilled to have 17 individual recommendations/rankings in the new Chambers & Partners 2019.
8th November 2018 Read moreRead Z v Kent County Council (Revocation of placement order – Failure to assess Mother’s capacity and Grandparents) [2018] EWFC B65 (18 October 2018).
7th November 2018 Read moreChambers are thrilled to have 13 individual recommendations/rankings in the new Legal 500 guide.
30th October 2018 Read moreRead re T [2018] EWCA Civ 1236 on deprivation of children’s liberty & the inherent jurisdiction.
16th October 2018 Read moreTina Cook QC for the respondent father has successfully sought the dismissal of an appeal in the above case.
15th October 2018 Read more42 Bedford Row are delighted to announce Mary Robertson has been appointed as one of the Counsel to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse as part of the team undertaking the inquiry into Residential Schools.
27th September 2018 Read moreTina 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.
26th September 2018 Read moreIn this case she acted for the mother. Knowles J provides detailed recommendations about the management of police disclosure in care proceedings.
9th August 2018 Read moreGemma Taylor QC acted for the mother.
1st August 2018 Read moreGemma Taylor QC for the children’s guardian, Francis Cassidy for the 3rd Respondent and Robert Cameron for the Applicant.
1st August 2018 Read moreChambers are delighted to announce that Rachel Chan has joined the Family Group at 42 Bedford Row today from Stour Chambers
25th July 2018 Read moreWe are delighted to welcome Gemma Farrington, who joins Chambers today from Stour Chambers. Gemma joins our growing Family team at 42 Bedford Row and we very much look forward to working with her.
11th July 2018 Read moreAppeal concerning the powers of the court to make an order for assessment of a child under section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989.
14th May 2018 Read moreSharan 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.
18th April 2018 Read moreA case where the local authority applied to remove Father as a party to proceedings and from local authority decision making about the welfare of his children.
19th March 2018 Read moreCongratulations to Gemma Taylor QC who is pictured here receiving her Letters Patent.
26th February 2018 Read moreCongratulations to Gemma Taylor who is pictured here with her family and colleagues from 42 Bedford Row as she leaves Chambers to travel to Westminster where she will be appointed Queen’s Counsel by the Lord Chancellor in today’s ceremony.
26th February 2018 Read moreWe are delighted to welcome Jonathan Pearce who joins Chambers today from 2 Dr Johnson’s Buildings. Jonathan joins the thriving Family team at 42 Bedford Row and we look forward to working with him.
5th February 2018 Read moreAs part of her ongoing training of professionals who work with parents with learning disabilities, Gemma Taylor has contributed to a new resource for independent advocates working with parents with learning disabilities.
18th January 2018 Read more42 Bedford Row is delighted to announce that Gemma Taylor has been appointed Queen’s Counsel in the 2017 competition.
20th December 2017 Read moreJermey Rosenblatt has contributed to the December edition of the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division. Topics include: Poland: a Supreme Court and Gay lawyers.
20th December 2017 Read more19 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
5th July 2017 Read moreJessica is a specialist family practitioner. Her particular expertise is in public law children cases involving chronic neglect, domestic abuse, substance misuse and non-accidental injury, representing parents, children’s guardians and other family members. Jessica acts for parents and grandparents in a wide range of family law and private law children applications, dealing with cases involving
19th June 2017 Read moreTina 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
12th January 2017 Read moreA new and concerning attitude of the High Court to urgent ex parte applications in Hague cases when the first process is commenced: solicitors and advocates must take notice. Read the articles written for the International Bar Association here and here
12th October 2016 Read moreAfter 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
19th September 2016 Read moreFrancesca Conn secured Human Rights Acts damages of £15,000 for a child and £6,000 for the parent following care proceedings. The local authority was found to have treated her client, the disabled parent, in a hostile and judgmental manner and to have failed to have due regard to its Equality Act 2010 obligations towards him,
9th September 2016 Read moreMonica is a specialist family practitioner with extensive experience in public law children cases and regularly instructed in public law care proceedings involving non-accidental injury, infant death, fabricated illness, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, Special Guardianship and adoption. Edward was called to the bar in 2012 having previously had a successful career as a solicitor. He
8th August 2016 Read moreEmma has very wide experience in all areas of children law and practice including care proceedings (including cases with an international element involving Brussels IIR and the Hague Convention), emergency remedies and adoption law and process (she was legal adviser to the agency decision-maker) including adoptions with a foreign element.
19th July 2016 Read moreSeminar 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
14th March 2016 Read moreThe 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.
2nd December 2015 Read moreA 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.
29th July 2015 Read moreZimran Samuel acted in care proceedings arising from alleged non accidental injuries to an infant with with a bone disorder.
20th July 2015 Read moreLaunch of the New Child Contact Centre on the 4th floor of the Central Family Court London WC1
20th July 2015 Read moreChambers welcomes Jane Hayford from New Court Chambers. Jane, who was Called in 1997, joins our Family Team.
14th April 2015 Read moreJulie Stather examines the recent use of section 20 and considers its future in the light of the impending 26 week limit for care proceedings.
21st October 2014 Read moreChambers 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.
21st October 2014 Read moreChambers 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.
28th July 2014 Read more4 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.
18th July 2014 Read moreThe 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.
18th June 2014 Read moreApplications by Slovak parents (i) for leave, pursuant to s.47(5), Adoption and Children Act 2002, to oppose the making of adoption orders in respect of two of their children, and (ii) for the transfer of the proceedings to the Slovak Republic, under Article 15, Brussels II R.
7th May 2014 Read moreThere have been several major changes in public children law with the coming into force of the Children and Families Act 2014. Jennifer Kotilaine provides an authoritative commentary on these changes.
28th April 2014 Read moreFrank 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.
22nd April 2014 Read moreZimran Samuel has successfully resisted an appeal against a decision to place children with their relatives in Poland, following the murder of their Mother by their Father.
7th April 2014 Read moreTina 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.
28th March 2014 Read more42 Bedford Row involved in case which is rapidly becoming the lead authority in Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and “unknown” causes
19th March 2014 Read moreMary 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.
10th March 2014 Read moreThe 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.
10th March 2014 Read moreJulie Stather appears in a case in which proceedings are withdrawn and caution is urged regarding the use of s20 where complex medical evidence is anticipated
19th February 2014 Read moreJessica Lee MP, a child law specialist in 42 BR’s family group (and currently MP for Erewash), was called to speak in the House of Commons on 10 February 2014 in support of amendments relating to children in care.
12th February 2014 Read moreJulie 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?
21st November 2013 Read moreChildren 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
16th November 2013 Read moreThe 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.
24th October 2013 Read moreDuring the London Film Festival, Chambers are to host a series of short films and monologues by family law barrister, film and producer/writer Rehna Azim.
17th October 2013 Read moreApril 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
13th September 2013 Read morePeter Jackson J gave his 4th judgment in this case. Here, the American adoptive mother was trying to persuade the court to recognise her Kazakh adoption of the youngest child (C) whom he had previously found that she had physically abused and gravely emotionally abused. (For references and discussion of the 3 previous judgments please
21st June 2013 Read moreMary 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
30th May 2013 Read moreGROSS 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
16th May 2013 Read moreIn 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
20th March 2013 Read moreFrank 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
14th December 2012 Read moreJulie 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
2nd December 2012 Read moreJulie 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
2nd December 2012 Read moreLatest 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
19th August 2012 Read more
