Barrister Profile
Before being called to the Bar, Laura had extensive experience in the areas of child protection and public family law matters as a paralegal for Lancashire County Council. In the past she has used her spare time to focus on family issues having worked with Preston Women’s Refuge and the National Centre for Domestic Violence when at Bar school. To widen her experience Laura also worked as a solicitor’s agent across the North Western Circuit for LPC for 2 years before pupillage.
Laura is a leading junior in the Legal 500 specialising in family law and immigration law. She continues to practice family law particularly Public and Private children work and the cross over this brings with immigration law.
Expertise
Family: Care & Children
Public Law / Care and Adoption Proceedings
Laura is a specialist children barrister who has vast experience in public law matters having acted for the local authority, parents and Guardians as well as the children themselves. Laura accepts instructions in all public family law matters and has undertaken a range of hearings, often appearing in the High Court. She frequently appears in fact finding and final hearings involving issues of neglect, substance misuse, non-accidental injuries, mental health, domestic violence, psychological abuse and sexual abuse as well as matters of jurisdiction.
Laura has extensive experience dealing with vulnerable clients, both adults and children and has a particular passion for it being recognised in the Legal 500 as “very good in communicating with clients, especially those with learning disabilities”.
Laura’s experience in house as a paralegal at Lancashire County Council has allowed her to understand the way public children matters work.
Private Law Children: Contact and Residence disputes under the Children Act 1989
Laura is a specialist children barrister being recognised in the Legal 500 as “well versed on the law and very knowledgeable”. She has undertaken a range of hearings involving child arrangement orders, specific issue and prohibited steps orders including jurisdictional issues. Laura specialises in representing the children via their Children’s Guardian when the need arises for their separate representation. This has led to a number of multi-day fact-finding hearings involving complex issues including implacable hostility and parental alienation, adult mental health issues and serious findings of abuse.
