Practice Profile
Lucy is a family law specialist and has practised in family law throughout her professional career. Her practice now spans all areas of children work. She often acts in complex and/or multi-party cases, including high conflict intractable private law disputes, cases involving serious allegations of domestic abuse or cases involving an issue around publicity. In public law children cases she acts for parents, children, local authorities and extended family and the media. Lucy has experience of handling cases involving suspected non-accidental injury, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic abuse, where there are parental mental health, learning disability or capacity issues, concerns around substance abuse and addiction, and involving children with special educational needs and disabilities / complex medical needs. Lucy’s instructions also encompass cases involving suspected trafficking, county lines and gang involvement, honour violence and FGM/c.
Lucy’s practice includes matters with international aspects, including abduction, leave to remove and cross border families. Lucy is also experienced in dealing with in post-care applications such as applications for discharge of care or placement orders, leave to oppose adoption orders and contested adoptions.
In addition, Lucy is experienced in cases involving Human Rights Act claims or issues relating to reporting restriction orders, media applications or publicity. Her practice also encompasses the range of injunctive work, including Pt IV Family Law Act and forced marriage.
Lucy is instructed at first instance in the Family Court and High Court and in appellate work. In appropriate cases Lucy will undertake family work via public access.
Testimonials
Work Undertaken
- Private law children including abduction
- Public law children including adoption
- Inherent jurisdiction work
- Injunction work
- Media applications
Appointments & Memberships
- Recorder (2022)
- Chair, The Transparency Project
- Family Law Bar Association (committee member)
- Association of Lawyers for Children
- Western Circuit
- Legal Aid Practitioners Group
- Member of Justice Working Party on Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families
- Accredited facilitator for FLBA Vulnerable Witness Training
Notable Cases
X & Anor v M [2022] EWFC 168
Griffiths v Tickle & Ors (Re Disclosure by Counsel for Appellant and Application by First Respondent) [2022] EWCA Civ 465
Griffiths v Tickle [2021] EWCA Civ 1882
JB v SW [2021] EWHC 812 (Fam)
Y and Z (Separation of siblings) [2020] EWFC B59
X County Council v Y (A mother) & Ors [2020] EWHC 3638 (Fam)
BT & GT (Children: twins – adoption) [2018] EWFC 76
C (interim judgment on expert evidence) [2018] EWFC B9
Re M & L (Children) [2016] EWHC 2535 (Fam)
A Local Authority v X, Y & Z [2016] EWFC B72
A and B (Findings against a social worker) (Children) [2016] EWFC B115
Gloucestershire County Council v M & C (Rev 1) [2015] EWFC B147 / [2016] EWFC B4
Torbay council v M, F Re A B C [2015] EWFC B218
Louise Tickle v Council & Borough of North Tyneside v G v H, J & I [2015] EWHC 2991 (Fam)
PAM & PAF (Mr and Mrs PA) v South Gloucestershire Council (LA) & Ors [2014]
Q v Q, Re B (A Child), Re C (A Child) [2014] EWFC 31
D v K and B (a child) [2014] EWHC 700 (Fam)
Publications
- The Family Court without a Lawyer - A Handbook for Litigants in Person (4th edn forthcoming 2022, Bath Publishing)
- Transparency in the Family Court - Publicity and Privacy in Practice (co-author, 2018, Bloomsbury Professional Press)
- Pink Tape blog www.pinktape.co.uk
Lucy writes extensively about family law on various platforms including The Transparency Project blog and in the journal Family Law.
Seminars
Lucy regularly delivers workshops, lectures and topical seminars Including :
- Case law updates
- Transparency (various to Family Justice Boards, Judicial College, International Conferences)
- Legal blogging workshops
- Litigants in person
- Domestic Abuse
- Lucy has participated in debates and panel discussions on a range of family law topics including domestic abuse, covert recording, and the reporting of family courts. Lucy participated in the 2018 Family Justice Council Debate.
Additional Information
Alongside her court practice Lucy writes and talks on family law and has particular interests in issues arising from the involvement of litigants in person in family cases, and in issues surrounding the publication of information arising from family proceedings and transparency.
Lucy gave oral evidence to the President’s Transparency Review in March 2021, and has been appointed as the legal blogger for the Family Court Transparency Implementation Group (TIG).
Lucy has also produced a series of free self-help videos for Litigants in Person. The three videos are available to view for free on YouTube here or via the website accompanying the book (www.nofamilylawyer.co.uk).
Lucy has been writing about family law since 2007 primarily through her popular Pink Tape. Lucy was awarded the Family Law Readers Commentary Award 2012, and was shortlisted for Most Innovative Family Lawyer. Lucy now writes extensively for The Transparency Project blog, particularly their Family Court Reporting Watch project.
Lucy is involved with initiatives to develop support for litigants in person, including www.familycourtinfo.org.uk website.