36 Family has the depth and breadth of expertise and experience to deal with the full range of family work through its main specialist sub–groups: Family Finance, Children & Modern Families and Care proceedings. From the most complex disputes to the more straightforward, every case is treated with the utmost importance and respect.
We also provide a full and bespoke out of court Dispute Resolution service which utilises the expert skills of our family barristers as mediators, arbitrators and through neutral evaluation (private FDR hearings). We can offer neutral evaluation in children cases as well as financial cases.
The expertise of several members is recognised by prominent directories –Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500.
Areas of Experience
- Child arrangement orders and enforcement
- Parental responsibility, specific issue and prohibited steps orders
- Special guardianship orders
- Family creation, including:
- Surrogacy
- Children born through donor conception
- Adoption
- Parental responsibility
- Gender identity and family creation
- International Children law, including:
- Cross border jurisdictional disputes
- Applications to take a child to another country
- International child abduction cases (involving both Hague Convention and non-Hague Convention countries)
- International public law cases involving transfer of proceedings and placement of children with their extended families
- Enforcement of child arrangement and other orders in overseas jurisdictions
- International adoption
- Appeals to the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court
We offer advice to both UK based clients and clients based in other jurisdictions regarding the operation of family law in England and Wales. We can also offer expert advice regarding family law in England and Wales for the purposes of proceedings in other countries.
Private Law – Children
Chambers has dealt with many of the most difficult and contentious disputes over children’s welfare and has a wealth of experience in all aspects of child law. A handful of the most significant Court of Appeal and Supreme Court decisions that members of our Children and Modern Families team have appeared in include;
- G v G [2023] 2 FLR 491
- Re H-W (Children) [2022] 2 FLR 533
- Griffiths v Tickle [2022] 2 FLR 879
- Re S (Parental Alienation: Cult) [2020] 2 FLR 263
- R (TT) v Registrar for England and Wales [2020] 1 FLR 676
- Re B (a child) (habitual residence: inherent jurisdiction) [2016] 1 FLR 1
- Re S (A child) [2015] UKSC 20
We particularly excel in matters which require patient and creative management and in those which involve allegations of serious harm to children. Our leading junior barristers often act against King’s Counsel in the most complex cases.
A large proportion of our cases concerning children contain an international element. We are regularly instructed in cases concerning international child abduction and cases of domestic and international relocation. The enforcement of orders concerning children, in this jurisdiction and overseas, is a regular part of our work.
Examples of the cases that we regularly undertake include:
- Disputes over contact and residence
- Relocation overseas
- Relocation within the UK
- Disputes over trips abroad
- Disputes over children’s schooling
- Changes of children’s names
- Disputes between parents over children’s health care
- Child abduction
- Recognition of international adoption orders
- Enforcement of orders in England and internationally
- Declarations of parentage
- Applications for parental orders following international surrogacy
Our Ethos
We aim to provide the highest levels of service, with the emphasis on quality, approachability and accessibility. We aim to provide excellent and cost–effective advice and representation. We recognise the pressures that our solicitor clients face daily and the emotional pressures upon our lay clients. Our objective is to ease the burden on both.
As a team, we regularly share expertise and experience through a variety of forums. We also provide training opportunities for our solicitors through webinars and seminars, our regular family law webinar ‘Family Law Live’ is award winning. We can offer bespoke in–house seminars by arrangement – please contact us. Our International Family Law blog can be found here.
Many members of the team also blog and tweet on issues of family law. You will find links to their social media feeds on their profile pages.
36Family are a leading set for alternative family law, with an unparalleled depth of experience at their fingertips. It is led by a particularly dynamic team which adapts to face the traditional profession and modern world in one package. They put on training/CPD programmes for solicitors on a range of issues and will always have a barrister available for a call or chat if you have an issue. It really is the Chambers that shows the best of the profession.