Piers Pressdee QC (Associate Member)
Call 1991 (QC 2010)
Professional Memberships Co-Chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children and sits on the National Family Justice Board
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Profile
- Piers Pressdee QC is one of the leading children law barristers in the country.
- Called in 1991, he took silk in 2010, becoming at the age of 41 one of the youngest family silks ever appointed
- Piers practises exclusively in private and public children law, undertaking complex and important cases at first instance and on appeal. He has appeared in 15 reported cases, regularly acts in hearings lasting 10 days or more, and is recommended for children law by all the major guides to the legal profession.
- He has co-authored two major books on children law – in public law The Public Law Outline: The Court Companion (Family Law, 2008) and in private law Contact: The New Deal (Family Law, 2006).
Areas of Practice
Public Law Children
- Piers is briefed in substantial cases in the High Court and county court, usually those involving complex expert evidence, and appears in equal measure on behalf of local authorities, parents/other adult family members, and children.
- In Re J (Care Proceedings: Injuries) [2009] 2 FLR 99, he acted for a father accused but exonerated of causing three skull fractures to his baby daughter – the court’s finding of accidental causation led to these care proceedings being dismissed at threshold stage only 18 weeks after their initiation.
- In Re J (Application for a Shadow Expert) [2008] 1 FLR 1501, he appeared for the local authority in this complex non-accidental head injury case, successfully resisting the application for a “shadow expert”, and securing all findings sought in the subsequent ten day fact-finding hearing.
- In Reading BC v F [2007] (unreported), he represented the interests of three damaged teenage children in this complex 21 day inter-generational sexual abuse case.
Private Law Children
- Piers has vast experience of private children law disputes, with recognised expertise in relocation cases (external and internal) and those in which shared residence is sought.
- In Re F and H (Children: Relocation) [2008] 2 FLR 1667, he successfully appeared for the relocating mother in the High Court and then the Court of Appeal.
- In D v D [2008] (unreported), he appeared for the father, for whom he secured a 50-50 shared residence order against the recommendation of the Cafcass officer.
- In Re B (Medical Treatment) [2009] 1 FLR 1264, he acted for the mother in a case in which a declaration was sought authorising the refusal of her child’s resuscitation.
Appellate Advocacy
- Piers has appeared in a number of significant appeal cases in recent years.
- In Re B (children) (evidence: expert evidence) [2010] All ER 212, he successfully appeared for the appellant Official Solicitor in this important case establishing the nature and extent of the Official Solicitor’s duty to obtain expert evidence on behalf of incapacitated litigants.
- In Re P (Adoption: Leave Provisions) [2007] 2 FLR 1069, he successfully appeared for the local authority and prospective adopters in this widely reported Court of Appeal decision establishing the leave test for parents seeking to defend adoption proceedings under the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
- In M v Warwickshire CC [2008] 1 FLR 1093, he acted for the children, supporting the local authority’s successful appeal in this case establishing the test for parents seeking leave to discharge a placement order under the ACA.
- In Re F and H (Children: Relocation) [2008] 2 FLR 1667, he successfully appeared in this major Court of Appeal relocation decision establishing that the practicalities bar is set lower if the would-be relocater is looking to return to their country of origin.
- In Birmingham CC v M [2008] 2 FLR 542, he represented the local authority upon its successful appeal that led to guidance being given on the making of interim secure accommodation orders and the role of Guardians in secure accommodation proceedings.
Publications
- Co-author of The Public Law Outline: The Court Companion (Pressdee, Vater, Judd QC & Baker QC – Family Law, 2008) – the leading guide to the Public Law Outline and the reforms associated with it.
- Co-author of Contact: The New Deal (Pressdee, Vater, Judd QC & Baker QC – Family Law, 2006) – the well-reviewed book on the Children and Adoption Act 2006 and other recent developments in private children law.
- Recent articles include Relocation, Relocation, Relocation: Rigorous Scrutiny Revisited [2008] Fam Law 220, and (with Simon Miller) Parental Opposition to Adoption: The Two-Stage Test [2007] Fam Law 1004.
- Recent lecturing includes on the Children and Adoption Act 2006 at the 2008 Midland Circuit Family Judicial Conferences and on private children law at the Jordans 2007 National Children Law & Practice Conference.
Reported Cases
- Re B (children) (evidence: expert evidence) [2010] All ER 212
- Re J (Care Proceedings: Injuries) [2009] 2 FLR 99
- Re B (Medical Treatment) [2008] EWHC 1996 (Fam), [2009] 1 FLR 1264
- Birmingham CC v M [2008] EWHC 1085 (Fam), [2008] 2 FLR 542
- Re J (Application for a Shadow Expert) [2008] 1 FLR 1501
- M v Warwickshire CC [2007] EWCA Civ 1084, [2008] 1 FLR 1093
- Re F and H (Children: Relocation) [2007] EWCA Civ 692, [2008] 2 FLR 1667
- Oxfordshire CC v DP, RS & BS [2005] EWHC 2156 (Fam), [2008] 2 FLR 1708
- ReP (Adoption: Leave Provisions) [2007] EWCA Civ 616, [2007] 2 FLR 1069
- Re H (Residence Order: Placement Out of Jurisdiction) [2004] EWHC 3243 (Fam), [2006] 1 FLR 1140
- A County Council v DP, RS, BS [2005] EWHC 1593 (Fam), [2005] 2 FLR 1031
- Re H (Care Order: Appropriate Local Authority) [2003] EWCA Civ 1629, [2004] 1 FLR 534
- Re ET (Serious Injuries: Standard of Proof) [2003] 2 FLR 1205
- Oxfordshire County Council v S [1999] TLR 781
- Kumari v Jalal [1996] 2 FLR 588
Recommendations
- Recommended as a leading children law barrister by the Legal 500 (London section):
“peers recommend Piers Pressdee as an outstanding barrister” (2009-10)
“he has an impressive body of appellate experience in this area” (2008-9)
- Recommended as a leading family law barrister by the Legal 500 (regional section):
“recommended for challenging child law work” (2009-10)
“an expert and busy child law practitioner” (2008-9)
- Recommended as a leading family law barrister by Legal Experts:
“Piers Pressdee is renowned for his expertise in children law” (2010)
“Widely recognised as one of the leading children law barristers in the country” (2009)
- Recommended as a leading family law barrister five years in a row by Chambers and Partners:
“Piers Pressdee is highly respected for his work on the children side. He is a tenacious advocate who fights hard for his clients” (2010)
“Phenomenal knowledge of the law” (2009)
“Good at handling clients and good on his feet” (2008)
“A well-respected children lawyer … universally regarded as being very effective” (2007)
“A great children lawyer who really stands up for his clients’ interests” (2006)
Personal
- Piers is 41 years old, married with four daughters.
- He was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge, and was President of the Cambridge Union in 1988.
- A lover of football and writing, he is acknowledged in Joanna Trollope’s latest novel, Friday Nights: “I am indebted to Piers Pressdee, who wrote A Football Guide for the Thinking Woman especially for me. Clear, energetic, comprehensive and funny, it deserves to be a best-seller in its own right.”
