Nick Howell Jones
Nick Howell Jones

Introduction

Nick Howell-Jones has been at the Bar for over 25 years and has experience across the full spectrum of public and private family law disputes. This includes acting for parents, children and Children’s Guardians appointed under section 16(4) of the Children Act 1989. He undertakes work at the more complex end of the spectrum, including cases with international elements, serious allegations and multi-party proceedings.

Nick now practises exclusively in public law children proceedings.

He represents parents and children in cases involving the most serious allegations of non-accidental injury, child death and sexual abuse. He is regularly instructed as leading counsel, together with junior counsel, in lengthy High Court hearings and has appeared in a number of reported cases.

He is regularly instructed in cases involving:

  • Non-accidental injury, including catastrophic injury and child fatalities;
  • Allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation;
  • Fabricated or induced illness;
  • Complex medical evidence;
  • Radicalisation and extremism concerns;
  • International child protection issues, including jurisdictional disputes and child abduction;
  • Cases involving serious domestic abuse and coercive or controlling behaviour;
  • Secure accommodation and deprivation of liberty applications;
  • Multi-party proceedings involving numerous interveners and extensive expert evidence;
  • Cases raising novel or complex legal issues in public law children proceedings.

Reported Cases

  • A Local Authority v Mother & Ors [2026] EWFC 96. Nick was senior counsel leading Lauren Starmer.

  • Staffordshire CC V R 2026. McKendrick J High Court. Non-accidental injuries trial. Lancashire findings.  Nick was senior counsel leading junior on behalf of the father.
  • Coventry City Council v XX YY Z [2024] EWFC 249 (B) Name and shamed expert. A case where an independent social worker was cross examined and found to be deficient in her assessment.
  • LCC and V&B [2023] EWFC 268 (B), Expert heavily criticised by the court for being unprofessional.
  • Derbyshire County Council v M and Nottingham NHS Trust [2022] before Justice Judd – Representing a child in an end of life case.
  • RE M (Children: Applications by Email)  [2021] EWCA Civ 806
  • Cumbria County Council v S E R EWHC 2782 (FAM) [2019], where the court considered whether to make a ICO or final SGO.
  • Birmingham City Council v S, R and A[2007] 1 FLR 1223.  In that case, the father did not wish his devout Muslim parents to be informed of his child’s birth, fearing ostracism from his family; he sought a declaration that the local authority and guardian “be forbidden to disclose directly or indirectly to the paternal family any detail that the father is in fact the father of [the child]”.

Languages

English

Nick Howell-Jones

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