Introduction
Huma was a member of No1 Fountain court before they merged with St Philips in 2003. She has been a practicing barrister for 27 years with the last 23 years exclusively being a specialist in family law, both in private and public law proceedings.
Huma has been a specialist in family law spanning over two decades and has represented families from all backgrounds and cultures. Her clientele has included doctors, lawyers, actors and other professional clients. Huma is also able to effectively communicate with clients from all walks of life and is known for her laid back and friendly nature. Huma has always taken a more realistic approach and understands that contesting cases is not always the most effective outcome. She is often able to procure favourable outcomes through fierce but sensible negotiations, saving not only clients the stress of court proceedings but also costs of further days at court.
Private Law Children and Domestic Abuse
Huma has over two decades experience in private Children Act proceedings, and has represented parents, grandparents, children and other relatives in complicated family situations and at all levels of the court system. Huma has a vast experience spanning across two decades.
She has vast experience in cases of:
- Residence
- Shared residence
- Contact (including high conflict and implacable hostility cases)
- Leave to remove from the jurisdiction
- Internal relocations and abroad
- Change of name
- Child abduction and the operation of the Hague Convention, and international law generally
- Specific issues (such as determining schooling/disputed medical treatment/religious upbringing to include circumcision).
- Fact-finding including serious findings of rape and other sexual allegations. Huma has successfully represented many clients both making and defending serious allegations including of a violent and sexual nature and drugs and alcohol addiction.
Public Law
Huma has represented parents, extended family members (including grandparents, aunts/uncles), foster carers, intervenors at all stages of care proceedings.
She has dealt with applications for leave to oppose adoption, post-adoption/placement contact, discharge of care orders and deprivation of liberty.
She has experience of proceedings involving:
- Non-accidental injuries (including head injury, suffocation, whipping as a form of chastisement, burns).
- Trafficking.
- Fabricated/induced illness.
- Child sexual exploitation.
- Parental alienation
- Threats of honour killing and risk of forced marriage
- Allegations against children
- Psychiatric illness
- Sexual abuse
- Female genital mutilation
- Jurisdiction issues
Huma has dealt with cases where families who have relocated to the UK have administered chastisement from their home countries and has dealt with number of cases of FGM and forms of chastisement that include administering unusual practices towards children. These families were from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Huma has had a lot of experience with people who may not understand the law as they have relocated and she is able to communicate in their native tongue to better understand their predicament, which may not come out in translation.
Education
Prestigious scholarship to Manchester High School for Girls
LLB (Hons) Liverpool
Bar Vocational Competent
Karmel Award Entrance Prize from Gray’s Inn 1995.
Appointments and Memberships
Association of Lawyers for Children
FLBA
Languages
English
Urdu
Hindi
Punjabi
Read and write in Arabic
