Zoe Saunders
Call 2003 (Grays Inn)
Qualifications BA Joint Hons (Bristol), PGDL (City)Scholarships, David Karmel Award & Lord Justice Holker Award (Gray’s Inn)
Professional Memberships Family Law Bar Association, Western Circuit, Member of the National FLBA Committee, Member of the Bar Council
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Background
Zoë completed her pupillage with Falcon Chambers, a specialist property chambers in London, where she edited an article for Landlord & Tenant Review (Vol. 8 Issue 5 New Procedures under Sections 25 and 26 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (as amended)”) before moving to Bristol to practice family law in October 2004. This background gives her particular insight into cases involving trusts of land and inheritance act issues.
Areas of Practice
Cohabitation
Zoë has a particular interest in this area and is often asked to advise both in writing and in conference as well as acting in disputed cases both in the county court whether before family or chancery judges and before the land registry adjudicator.
Ancillary Relief
Zoë has expertise in cases involving multiple properties, trusts of land, complex pensions and insolvency as well as both big and small money cases and the particular challenges presented by each. Zoë has also been asked to advise in relation to professional negligence issues arising from ancillary relief proceedings.
Private Children
Zoë has extensive experience in this area in particular in intractable contact cases where she has acted for the Children’s Guardians as well as for either parent. This includes experience of cases in the High Court and cases which have developed into public law proceedings.
Zoë has also been involved in international contact cases and cases involving removal from the jurisdiction, both in planned contested cases and urgent applications to prevent removal.
Domestic Violence
Zoë is always willing to carry out work in cases involving issues relating to domestic violence and has experience of complex injunction proceedings involving issues of capacity, litigants in person and lengthy contested proceedings such as finding of fact hearings. She has been involved in organising training in raising awareness of issues of domestic violence through the Local Family Justice Council for judges, social workers, police and others.
Seminars
Zoë has given seminars on a number of topics including the following:
- Ancillary Relief and Insolvency for CLT
- Cohabitation – law reform, legal developments and the future
- Practical Pensions
- Public law update and best evidence
- Contact: Hard cases – Bad law?
Zoë has also carried out training for the Local Family Justice Committee relating to giving evidence in court for Paediatricians and Child Psychiatrists.
Languages
- French
Interests
Zoë‘s interests include modern art, cinema, opera, science fiction and long walks with her English Toy Terrier.
