Introduction
Lauren joined St Philips in October 2022. She completed pupillage under the supervision of William Horwood, Juliet Allen, and Huw Jones.
She accepted tenancy in October 2023. Her practice encompasses all areas of public and private law children work, including matters under the Family Law Act 1996.
Prior to commencing her pupillage, Lauren was a Caseworker at the National Centre for Domestic Violence. She worked with a variety of applicants regarding a breadth of sensitive issues, both factually and procedurally, including that of capacity.
Lauren also worked as a paralegal for a large firm of solicitors in Derby before attending Bar School. When later studying the BPC, she volunteered at the University of Law Legal Advice Clinic.
In her spare time, Lauren enjoys theatre, dog walks, and criticising heel leads and over-whipped meringues on Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off without any dancing or baking experience of her own.
Private Children
Lauren represents parents, grandparents, and children in all stages of private law children proceedings. She has conducted a number of significant fact-finding hearings, including hearings involving complex allegations of sexual abuse as well as hearings calling for sensitive consideration of cultural and religious matters. She also has experience dealing with contentious final hearings concerning issues such as parental alienation and international relocation.
Recent Cases:
- Instructed as second junior counsel for parent in an international abduction case (from the United Kingdom to a non-Hague Convention country) in the High court.
- Represented a mother from the commencement of proceedings through to conclusion. This included a four-day fact-finding hearing whereby the father faced allegations of child sex abuse with such findings made, and several substantial interim hearings involving contested applications. The matter finalised with no contact between the child and the father.
- Instructed to represent a mother at a retrial after a successful appeal, which finalised on indirect contact between the father and the child only.
- Acting pro bono, Lauren represented a grandmother to obtain a Live with Order for her granddaughter, the court therefore departing from the recommendation of the local authority.
- Represented a parent at a three-day fact-finding hearing at which they faced allegations of serious physical and emotional abuse. Proceedings concluded with a shared care arrangement.
- Acted for a mother in a four-day fact-finding hearing whereby the court was concerned with sensitive cultural considerations, including the allegation that the mother had attended and exposed the children to exorcisms. No findings were made against the mother and proceedings concluded on indirect contact only between the father and the children.
- Instructed for a parent in an unusual case where the court had to resolve a dispute about paternity by way of oral evidence.
Care
Lauren appears on behalf of local authorities, parents, extended family members, and children in care proceedings and has conducted a number of multi-day final hearings. She has represented vulnerable individuals, including clients deemed not to have capacity and so requiring the assistance of the Official Solicitor.
Lauren has also appeared in the High Court in cases raising difficult issues around deprivation of liberty and terrorism-related activity.
Recent Cases:
- Instructed on behalf of a parent who, unusually, required multiple assessments of her capacity to instruct a solicitor, providing continuity of representation throughout the proceedings due to the parent’s significant level of vulnerability.
- Instructed at a final hearing on behalf of an extended family member who had sought and obtained party status in order to challenge her initial viability assessment. The social worker accepted in cross-examination that the concerns raised in the assessment were ones that should have been explored in a full connected carers assessment.
- Instructed on behalf of a child at a final hearing in a case involving difficult questions of reunification after an acceptance that inter-sibling sexual abuse had taken place.
- Represented a competent child in proceedings involving a serious allegation of inter-sibling sexual abuse and a dispute between the local authority and the other parties as to whether or not a finding of fact hearing was required.
- Currently instructed on behalf of a parent in an application brought by the local authority to discharge care orders in favour of special guardianship orders to the children’s current carers, where the parent is to be re-assessed to care for the children notwithstanding initial opposition from the local authority.
- Currently instructed as junior counsel for a parent in the Court of Appeal in a case raising complex and legally significant issues in relation to parental responsibility.
Education
LLB (Hons) – 2:1 (University of Nottingham)
LLM in Bar Practice – Distinction (University of Law)
Bar Practice Course – Outstanding (University of Law)
Appointments and Memberships
Middle Temple
West Midlands Family Law Bar Association
Family Law Bar Association
Senior Advocacy Scholarship, University of Law (2020)
Certificate of Honour, Middle Temple (2023)
