Charmaine Clubb

Family Law

Charmaine accepts instructions across the full spectrum of family law, including public and private children, financial remedies and protective orders under the Family Law Act. Charmaine has recently completed the ICCA and FLBA Vulnerable Witness Training.

Charmaine has a particular interest in public children law, and she has experience acting for local authorities, parents and children’s guardians at all stages of care proceedings. She has appeared in cases involving allegations of non-accidental injury, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic abuse. She is particularly adept at forensically analysing medical and expert evidence having been led in two lengthy fact-finding hearings in 2022 by Gemma Farrington KC and Mark Chaloner, respectively.

Charmaine has extensive experience in private children law having appeared for clients at all stages of the Child Arrangements Programme. She has been instructed in cases involving domestic abuse, parental alienation and relocation. She has a strong track record of securing findings of domestic abuse at fact-finding hearings. Charmaine has experience representing clients in cases where a rule 16.4 guardian has been appointed.

Charmaine has a growing financial remedies practice. She is regularly instructed in First Appointments and FDRs as well as final hearings. Charmaine’s paper practice includes advising clients on issues such as such maintenance pending suit and applications under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989.

Recent Cases

Re R (2023): secured findings that the father caused 7 rib fractures, 2 metaphyseal fractures and 10 bruises to his two-month old baby.
Re A (2023): appeared before Keehan J in a complex contact case involving a convicted terrorist parent and risks of radicalisation.
Re A (2022/3): successfully appealed a case management decision not to direct a fact-finding hearing or a section 7 report. Subsequently secured 10 findings of physical and emotional abuse at the fact-finding hearing.
Re H and S(2023): elicited evidence that the father had physically chastised his children and secured a final order of no direct or indirect contact.
Re N and T (2022): led by Gemma Farrington KC on behalf of the guardian in a non-accidental injury case involving complex medical evidence about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
Re A, A, A and L (2022): led in the High Court by Mark Chaloner, successfully securing findings of non-accidental injury by the mother.
Re A (2022): secured 5 findings of domestic abuse and refuted 5 counter-allegations at a lengthy fact-finding hearing involving cultural and religious issues.

Public Inquiries

Charmaine has a developing practice in public inquiries. She is currently instructed as junior counsel to the Undercover Policing Inquiry, assisting the Inquiry Chair, Sir John Mitting, in this high-profile inquiry into undercover policing across England and Wales since 1968.

Between May to September 2022, Charmaine worked as junior counsel to the Scottish Infected and Affected Core Participants in the Infected Blood Inquiry, which is frequently referred to as the UK’s largest ever public inquiry.