The removal of children into local authority care, and proceedings to place a child for adoption are amongst the very starkest interferences with family life. 

Hand in hand with our instructing solicitors, our committed and experienced barristers will work with our often vulnerable parent clients to guide them through the court’s expectations, planning strategically to thoroughly test the threshold evidence and to seek a positive outcome for the parents with their children.

We also frequently act for children’s guardians. We absolutely understand the need for rigorous protections of the child’s welfare interests at every stage, and the importance of testing the local authority case, and the commitment and capacity of parents and carers are able to meet the children’s short term and long term needs.

And we are experienced in acting for wider family members and connected carers who increasingly may be an option for long term alternative care.

The timescale for care proceedings is very tight. We can provide thorough advice and representation throughout the process, and in complex cases often provide  in-house teams or work with external leading counsel We understand the importance of taking an early realistic approach to keeping parents and children together through the assessment process, and, if that cannot happen, of securing interim placements with wider family and connected carers. 

We are probably unique at the family bar in  not encouraging instructions from local authorities – none of our members are on their lists. This frees our barristers to be fearless in challenging local authorities which have fallen short of the high standards all children deserve. The challenges we have championed have led to developments in law and practice over the years, such as the requirements on authorities to provide written “care plans” when applying for public law orders.

One Pump Court has an outstanding reputation for representing parents, children and wider family members in care and adoption proceedings.

You can call at any time on our members’ great experience in cases involving allegations of—

• the death of a child or parent through the conduct of a party;
• serious non-accidental injuries;
• domestic violence;
• Fictitious Illness syndrome (Münchausen’s);
• Mental health issues which may impede a parent’s childcare (including where the capacity of a party to give instructions is in doubt);
• Serious physical health issues which may impede a parent’s childcare;
• Alcohol-related issues,
• Drug-related issues,
• Radicalisation,
• Neglect
• Emotional harm

The interdisciplinary structure of One Pump Court gives us a distinctly different offer advantage over family-only sets of barristers in cases which do not fall neatly into family law. Many cases raise important issues about criminal law, immigration, housing, community care, mental health and capacity or special educational needs. In particular, we can test and advise on support arrangements for parents and family carers.

This is especially important in allowing us to advise on areas where the only remedy might be obtained through judicial review, such as challenging leaving care arrangements, challenging care plans where a court feels there is no alternative to a care order, challenging special guardianship and kinship provision. We can also advise on claims for damages following unlawful removal/detention, either within care proceedings or as stand-alone applications.

We often advise after care orders have been made on opposing placement and adoption orders, applying to discharge care orders, or applications for contact. We also represent guardians and applicant adopters. In these difficult areas we are careful to give realistic advice, but have a good track record of challenging orders both at appellate level and through further applications to the Family Court.