Children Private Law

St John’s Chambers is one of the leading sets on the Western Circuit for public and private child law work.”
The Legal 500 2024, Family: Children and Domestic Violence

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“St Johns Chambers is one of the fore-front chambers offering counsel for Public Childcare. The clerks are particularly helpful and will go above and beyond to find cover for hearings at short notice.”
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Voted ‘Regional Family Law Chambers of the Year’ at Family Law Awards 2023

Renowned for their expertise in private law children cases, our barristers act for parents and other adults involved in difficult disputes relating to children, and for the child (either directly or through their court appointed Guardian). Our barristers have expertise across the full spectrum of private law children matters, from making, varying or enforcing child arrangements orders, to cases involving leaving or removing from the jurisdiction and international abduction, to matters relating to surrogacy, alternative family structures and religious upbringing.

Our barristers are often instructed in cases concerning alleged parental alienation and intractable child arrangement disputes (where the parent with care is opposed to any form of contact between the child and the non-resident parent). A large part of the team’s work involves complicated cases where there is a need for a ‘fact-finding hearing’, such as where there have been allegations of domestic or sexual abuse of the child or other parent. Our team are experienced in dealing with the additional issues that may arise in such cases where one or more party is unrepresented.

Representing clients at all levels of court, the broad spectrum of expertise within the team means we can provide a high level of service to the client with the right barrister. Members are also highly experienced in representing with sensitivity those who may be vulnerable through mental health difficulties and/or significantly affected by the stress of the proceedings.

Our clerking team are always accessible, and take care and time to understand the case or the individual personalities involved when recommending individual barristers. Read more.

Public Access

Some members of the team are also available to act, where appropriate, for members of the public, under the Public Access scheme. Read more.

Publications and training

The team includes published authors, members who run their own Family Law blogs, and members who write regularly for Family Law Week, the Family Law journal and for other legal publications.

The team also offers a series of free CPD-accredited training events in Chambers, and members regularly conduct bespoke seminars at solicitors’ offices, or at other venues throughout the UK. Keeping up to date with family law and sharing knowledge is really important to us. For more information, please contact our family clerks on 0117 923 4720 or email [email protected].