Kate Tompkins - 36 Group

Kate has an unparalleled ability to determine the salient issues of a case, and provides client-focused adviceLegal 500, 2025
Tailors her strategy to each case flawlessly.Chambers UK, 2025
A well-prepared and thorough advocate, who will take silk in due course. She is forensically very strong. Chambers & Partners, 2023
Kate Tompkins is very pragmatic and excellent in court. Chambers & Partners, 2023

ktompkins@36family.co.uk

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clerks@36family.co.uk

+44 (0) 20 7421 8019

Chambers & PartnersNominated as Chambers & Partners Family Junior Barrister of the Year2022

Lord Denning Scholarship2003

Kate is a specialist children law barrister and mediator with a wealth of experience in complex private and public law proceedings.

Kate is consistently ranked in Band 1 of Chambers & Partners where her strengths of excellent forensic skill combined with pragmatism and empathy are recognised.

Key cases & testimonials

2023 Citation awaited for judgment in fact finding hearing where allegation is that the father killed the mother and then disposed of her body in a river.

The Mother v The Father [2023] EWFC 182 Allegations of domestic abuse of the most serious kind including an allegation that the father had hired a hit man to harm the mother in the presence of their young child.

AG (A Child) [2022] EWCA Civ 1505 Case concerning the power of the state to intervene to protect the children of diplomats from significant physical and psychological harm.

London Borough of Barnet v AG and others [2021] EWHC 1253 (Fam) Further first instance decision in case concerning the power of the state to intervene to protect the children of diplomats from significant physical and psychological harm.

AX v BX & Ors (Revocation of Adoption Order) [2021] EWHC 1121 (Fam) Case concerning the revocation of an adoption order following the break down of an adoption.

Re X (Care Proceedings: Jurisdiction and Fact Finding) (Rev 1) [2020] EWHC 2742 Care proceedings stemming from private law proceedings between the child’s non-biological father and step-mother which resulted in the court aborting a fact-finding hearing.

A Local Authority v AG [2020] EWFC 18 First instance decision in case concerning the power of the state to intervene to protect the children of diplomats from significant physical and psychological harm.

Re X (Female Genital Mutilation Protection Order) (No 2) [2019] EWHC 1990 (Fam) Case concerning application brought under section 5A and Schedule 2 of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 20223 for a Female Genital Mutilation protection order relating to a 2-year-old girl.

H (A Child: Hair Strand Testing) [2017] EWFC 64 Guidance case in respect of the use of hair stand testing for illicit substances in Family Court proceedings.

Kate has an unparalleled ability to determine the salient issues of a case, and provides client-focused adviceLegal 500, 2025

Tailors her strategy to each case flawlessly.Chambers UK, 2025

Kate Tompkins is an experienced, pragmatic and fierce advocate who has the ability to get to the root of issues.Chambers UK, 2025

She is very good with clients - they immediately warm to her and trust her.Chambers UK, 2025

Kate Tompkins is an excellent barrister capable of managing anything thrown at her. She's unflappable and the amount of information she processes and presents is impressive. Legal 500, 2023

Kate is tough and effective but with a wonderfully warm client manner that makes her a pleasure to work with. Chambers & Partners, 2021

Good at presenting legal arguments and dealing with difficult clients, she cuts through the emotion of a case and gets to the core. Legal 500, 2021

Is at a stroke, brilliant but unassuming, empathetic but realistic, combative but personable. She is the Judge's barrister; the client's barrister; and, much more often than not, the winner's barrister. Expect great things. Legal 500, 2021

An excellent advocate who can cut through to the heart of an issue. She has an impressive detail and knowledge of both the law and each case she is instructed on. She has an easy manner with clients and is able to put them at was whilst retaining the upmost professionalism. Chambers & Partners, 2019

Areas of expertise

Kate undertakes complex private law proceedings. She is well regarded for her calm and creative approach to seemingly intractable disputes between parents regarding the arrangements for their children post the breakdown of their relationship. Kate has extensive experience and skill in dealing with cases in which relocation of a child is sought and in cases where parental alienation is alleged as a response to allegations of domestic abuse or in cases where a child appears to have aligned themselves with one parent in preference to another.

Kate has previous experience as a criminal advocate and is able to utilise her knowledge gained where clients are accused, or have accused another, of committing a criminal offence that is relevant to the issues before the Family Court. Kate’s cases often involve allegations of the most serious kind made by one family member against another.

Kate has extensive experience in representing parties in care and wardship proceedings. Kate excels in cases that are factually and/or legally complex and in particular in cases of multi-generational sexual abuse, the causation of non accidental injuries, the abuse of children of diplomats, where one parent has caused the death of another or caused the death of a child of the family and where there is a dispute between parents and medical professionals as to the appropriate assessment or treatment for a child. Kate is able to draw on her historic experience as a specialist sexual abuse and serious violence advocate in the criminal courts to assist in ensuring that care and wardship proceedings that run parallel to criminal proceedings do so smoothly.

Kate is often called upon to advise local authorities in respects of the duties and responsibilities they have to families.

Kate is a trained mediator and she sits as a Recorder of the Family Court. Kate has appeared frequently in arbitrations.

Kate has significant expertise in technical and complex cases involving both the international and domestic relocation of children. Kate works with clients from the moment that a plan for relocation is devised to ensure that the client’s case is presented exceptionally and given the best opportunity for success.

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