Local Authorities

Areas of Work

Public Law Children Act: We represent local authorities, parents and guardians.  We deal with a variety of matters, including judicial reviews, and appeal cases.  Our expertise can be summarised as follows:

Members of chambers have particular experience in dealing with cases involving children, including:

• Serious non-accidental injuries, particularly head injuries.
• Shaken babies and cases where there are allegations of factitious illness and neglect.
• Sexual abuse;
• Parents with psychiatric illnesses or personality disorders;
• Children and parents with HIV;
• Drug and alcohol problems;
• Fetal alcohol syndrome;
• Teenage parents,
• Care versus supervision orders;
• Designated local authorities;
• Human rights;
• s 38(6) assessments;
• Contact/permission to refuse contact, exclusion applications.
• Applications by foster carers & involving foster care regulations;
• Special Guardianship;
• Discharge of care orders;
• Concurrent criminal proceedings;
• Public Interest Immunity;
• Secure accommodation;
• Nursery & child minding registration and regulations;
• Publicity about children & locating children abducted from local authority care.
• Relocation applications.  
• Child Abduction.

Client Confidentiality

Briefs received into Chambers are only handled by the clerks and the barristers assigned to individual cases, sensitive items are held in a safe to which access can be gained only by the clerks.  Faxes and emails are received by the clerks in the clerks' room and are only made available to Counsel involved in the case.

Booking Counsel

When you contact Chambers to book Counsel, you will be advised if the barrister of your choice has an existing commitment and offered a choice of alternative Counsel. The size of Chambers, (38 members) most of whom specialise in family work with individuals also specialising in other areas, means that we can provide a breadth of expertise in each of our specialist areas.  The issue of continuity is important to all, and Counsel will not be changed after they have been booked, unless this is unavoidable and agreed with the client.

Complaints & Compliments

We aim to provide a quality service that conforms to the Practice Management Standards of the Bar Council. To achieve these standards, we rely on feedback from our clients. All comments are taken appreciated; they are recorded and complaints  are thoroughly investigated. We ask clients to address any feedback to our Managing Clerk (Clive Barrett) by telephone or preferably by letter. We also have a fully documented complaints procedure, the responsibility for which lies with our Practice Manager (Neil Monro).