Call 2002 (Lincoln’s Inn)
Qualifications Bar Vocational Course, Inns of Court School of Law (2002), PGDip Law/CPE City University (2001), MRes Humanities & Cultural Studies, Birkbeck, University of London (1998), BA(Hons) Exon English Studies (1997).
Professional Memberships Family Law Bar Association, Association of Lawyers for Children, ADR Group, Human Rights Lawyers Association, Western Circuit.
Judicial Office Deputy District Judge
Areas of Practice
Family Mediation
Lucy is a qualified mediator who specialises in mediations regarding children, finance and court of protection matters. Lucy is a member of ADR Group, which is a member organisation of the Family Mediation Council.
Recommendations
- “Lucy Reed has an impressive ability to get to the crux of a complicated and messy dispute.” Legal 500 (2011)
Education
Lucy has a background in education law and has represented clients at SENDIST Tribunals, and her family work often involves acting for children or the parents of children with special educational needs in the form of learning difficulty, emotional or behavioural difficulty or physical ill health / disability, or for the local authority responsible for their education and welfare.
Court of Protection
In addition to her children practice Lucy is able to deal with Court of Protection work.
Children
The focus of Lucy’s practice is on children work.
In public law cases Lucy acts for parents, children, local authorities and extended family. Lucy has experience of handling cases in cases involving suspected non-accidental injury, mental health or learning difficulties, special educational needs, substance abuse and addiction, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Lucy also often acts in complex, multi-party or high conflict intractable private law disputes, where children are separately represented. Lucy has acted both for parents and children in such cases, through CAFCASS and NYAS.
Lucy has experience of private law disputes involving same sex parents, leave to remove, internal relocation, parental alientation, serious domestic or sexual violence and allegations of abuse of a child or NAI.
Lucy also has experience of international child abduction work including Hague Convention, and international adoption matters.
Lucy has a particular interest in issues concerning the privacy of children proceedings.
Recommendations
- “Lucy is hardworking and a strong advocate.” Legal 500, Family (2012)
- “Lucy Reed has an impressive ability to get to the crux of a complicated and messy dispute.” Legal 500, Family (2011)
Practice Overview
Lucy is a family law specialist and has practiced in family law throughout her professional career. Her practice now spans all areas of family law with a particular emphasis on children work. She often acts in complex, multi-party or high conflict intractable private law disputes. In public law children cases she acts for parents, children, local authorities and extended family. Lucy has experience of handling cases cases involving suspected non-accidental injury, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic violence, 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 complex medical needs.
Lucy also has experience of child abduction work including Hague Convention, and international adoption matters.
Her practice also encompasses Pt IV Family Law Act injunctive work, including forced marriage.
In appropriate cases Lucy will undertake family work via direct public access. Lucy is a qualified family mediator.
Lucy is qualified to undertake direct access work in appropriate cases. For further information, please visit our Direct Access page.
Other
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 has a background in education law and has represented clients at SENDIST and Child Support Tribunals, and she is able to draw upon her experience in that field in family work.
Lucy is the author of Family Courts without a lawyer – a Handbook for Litigants in Person (Bath Publishing).
In March 2011 Lucy was named one of The Times’ best legal bloggers for her Pink Tape family law blog. In May 2011 The Guardian described Lucy as “one of the best legal bloggers for style and content”. Lucy was recently awarded the Family Law Readers Commentary Award 2012, and was shortlisted for Most Innovative Family Lawyer for her writing on Pink Tape. Lucy also contributes to the Family Law Week Blog.
Lucy has been actively involved since 2009 with the Family Law Bar Association, attending meetings at the House of Lords, Children’s Commissioner and the Family Justice Review Panel in respect of legal aid and family justice reform. She is a member of the Family Law Bar Association National Committee, Secretary to the FLBA Fees Sub Committee and editor of the FLBA Website.
Lucy is a Bar Pro Bono Unit panel member.
Lucy was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2013.
Seminars
Lucy has delivered seminars / workshops on the following topics:
- Litigants in Person (Napo Conference May 2013 – forthcoming)
- Press, Social Media and the Internet (Oct 2012, South Wales Legal Consortium)
- Adapting to the Self Represented Opponent (ALC Conference Nov 2012, Bristol Resolution March 2013)
- Litigants in Person – Videocast for Law Society (2012)
- Family Procedure Rules 2010 – Preparing for Change Seminar
- Family Proceedings In The Public Eye
- Contact: Hard Cases – Bad Law?
- Children Act Case Law
- Spousal Maintenance post Miller and McFarlane
- Ancillary Relief – Costs