Cambridge Family Law Practice

How would you describe your role at Cambridge Family Law Practice?

I’m a partner at the firm and a solicitor advocate, that means I’ve completed the necessary training to appear in the higher courts, such as the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

I’m also a children’s arbitrator. I sit as a private judge when people want to have decisions made about options for their children, rather than going to court. I was the youngest children’s arbitrator appointed at the time. I’m also on the Attorney General’s panel of special advocates to advocate in ‘closed cases’. These are cases which require closed material – eg, police information that shouldn’t be disclosed in court proceedings in the way they would in ‘standard’ cases. In those closed cases, I go into a closed-door process and receive instructions there.

I’m also a family mediator, which probably takes up about 40 per cent of my practice. I do lots of mediation, typically financial cases and disputes concerning children, predominantly international ones.

I’ve also recently been appointed to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) Disciplinary Inclusion and Diversity panel. I sit on a panel of three and hear cases where discrimination is alleged in a rugby setting.

You qualified in 2005. Could you give a summary of your career since then?

Sure. I qualified at a firm now called Ashtons in Cambridge specialising in family law. After two years I joined a boutique Westminster firm called Piper Smith Watton, who’ve now merged. After 4 years I then moved to Cafcass Legal, which was probably the most interesting part of my career. I acted on behalf of children in High Court proceedings for Cafcass. That experience exposed me to all sorts of very varied cases involving children – lots of surrogacy cases, child abduction, radicalisation, and whether it was in a child’s best interests for life sustaining treatment to continue.

I decided to obtain my solicitor advocate qualification, because I was appearing in the High Court as an advocate regularly. Whilst at Cafcass on a couple of occasions I was appointed, as what’s called in Latin terms an amicus curiae, which is essentially ‘advocate to the court’. An advocate is usually appointed where the court requires assistance on a point of law from a neutral. Technically it was always very interesting.

Then after seven years I became a partner at Cambridge Family Law Practice in 2018. I’d known and worked with a lot of the people here when I was in Cambridge the first time around and had always admired the firm.

Looking back across your career, do any cases stand out as especially memorable or meaningful?

I acted for a same-sex female couple who had had a child via IVF, but when they went to register the birth, the registrar told them that only one of them was legally the mother and they had to adopt their own child, which they went and did.

It was only when they had their second child via IVF and the birth registration went through fine (i.e. without any ‘need’ for adoption) that they realised that there was an issue. That’s when they came to see me and we successfully obtained an order in the High Court and the Administrative Court revoking the adoption, making a declaration of parentage and quashing the original birth certificates so they could have a fresh birth certificate to properly reflect both of them as mothers of their child. That was really just one of those nice ones to do.

I acted for the child of a transgender man. He had IVF and gave birth to a child. He wanted his child’s birth certificate to record him as ‘father’ because legally he was a man. That went all the way to the Court of Appeal and have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. And we’re still waiting for an outcome on that.

When I was at Cafcass Legal, I acted in a case where a 16-year-old girl wanted to be cryogenically frozen on her death. That’s just not a situation you run into every day. It was a very sad case.

Medical treatment cases in which there are disputes over whether treatment should continue or not can be difficult. I acted in a number of these cases and one particularly high profile case for the child. I wouldn’t say it was a career highlight because it really took a piece out of me personally. We were public enemy number two because we were recommending that treatment be withdrawn. That was pretty raw, having young kids myself. Cases like that make you hug your kids tighter.

Finally, what are you interests outside work?

I’m a big rugby fan and I’m a level 2 qualified rugby coach. I coach the women’s team in Stamford, Lincolnshire. They were promoted at the end of their first season and are currently doing well in their second season, heading for promotion again. That’s been very rewarding. I’ve spent lots of my time coaching them and seeing them improve exponentially. I’m also the discipline officer at the club.

Do you play rugby yourself?

Yes, I occasionally run out, much to the disgruntlement of my fellow partners at work. I’m always injured after that!

I’m also a keen weightlifter and avid gym goer. I’m hoping to be competing in my first masters physique competition next year.