Family

Lorraine practices in all areas of Family Law, including:

Public Law Children:

Lorraine has acted in numerous cases for local authorities, parents, relatives and children through their guardian. She has experience of acting through the official solicitor for parents and children who have lacked the capacity to instruct.

Lorraine has dealt with a number of NAHI & NAI cases with areas of medical complexity and failure to thrive cases with difficult medical issues. Lorraine has also acted in a number of High Court public law cases involving linked Human Rights Act claims and Judicial Review proceedings in which she also acted on behalf of the clients.

Private Law Children:

Lorraine has experience of acting in a wide range of private Children Act cases for parents, relatives and children with party status. Lorraine routinely acts in residence and contact matters including cases involving specific issues and intractable contact dispute involving emotional abuse.

Adoption and Leave to Remove from the Jurisdiction:

Lorraine has experience of acting in a wide range of applications under the Adoption Act and now the adoption and children act 2002 including revocation of freeing order applications of considerable complexity.

She has acted in a number of cases involving jurisdictional issues including international adoption cases.

Court of Protection / Community Care:

Lorraine has considerable experience of acting for the Official Solicitor, Local Authorities and families in welfare and property/ financial affairs cases. Lorraine has a particular interest in medical treatment cases for adults and children. Lorraine has acted in a number of cases relating to adolescents with Learning difficulties transitioning their care plan development and approval from the Family Division to the Court of Protection. Lorraine has been instructed in a number of injunctive relief applications relating to vulnerable adults who whilst having decision making capacity are unable to exercise it through the actions/will of others- these cases present a very challenging balance between autonomy and protection. Where public law remedies and HRA remedies are required to obtain services for P and/or arise from actions done to him/her then Lorraine has a wealth of experience in raising and pursuing such claims in the Court of Protection, Family Division and QBD.

Divorce/ Financial Provision:

Lorraine has a particular interest in international divorce matters and has been involved in a number of challenging cases in the High Court involving Hemain injunctions and restraint of foreign suits. Lorraine’s financial relief practice is varied ranging from High value to the much more modest asset base. Lorraine has been involved in two complex “conduct” cases involving murders/disposal of bodies by the other spouse in the past few years. Lorraine appeared recently as junior to Sally Harrison QC in the Court of Appeal in the Barder/Mistake case of Richardson.

Inherent Jurisdiction and Human Rights Act Claims:

Lorraine has experience in applications and declarations under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court acting on behalf of children through the official solicitor and relatives. Lorraine has acted in cases involving best interest declarations and raised section 7 claims under the Human Rights Act on behalf of the clients to address procedural irregularities.

Noteworthy Cases:

Children

1. Re F (A Child) (Interim Care Order)[2011] 2 FLR 856- CoA led by Anthony Hayden QC representing the father.

A challenge to the requirement for proof the identity of the perpetrator of harm to the balance of probabilities in order to establish threshold on the basis of risk of future harm to a second child . If a parent has a proven finding that they were a possible perpetrator of actual harm on a previous child in their history it is not enough to found threshold on a second child.
Click here for Family Law Week Report

2. Re M (A Child) (Leave to Defend Adoption Order) [2011] EWCA Civ 317- CoA led by Sarah Singleton QC representing the prospective adopters.

Section 47(5) Adoption Children Act 2002 appeal in which further guidance was sought in respect of the test for leave to defend adoption proceedings.
Click here for Family Law Week coverage.

3. Re L (A Child) [2011] EWHC 394 (Fam) Roderic Wood J

CONTACT ORDERS : PROHIBITED STEPS ORDERS : REMOVAL FROM JURISDICTION : SHARED RESIDENCE ORDERS : TALAQ DIVORCE : FEAR OF NON-RETURN OF CHILD OBJECTIVELY JUSTIFIED BY PARENT'S DISHONESTY

4. Re A (Adoption: Placement Outside Jurisdiction) Court of Appeal [2004] 2 FLR 337, [2004] 3 WLR 1207, [2004] 2 FCR 129, [2004] Fam Law 560, Times 10th June 2004, Independent 6th May 2004. CoA led by Anthony Hayden QC

Financial Relief

5. Richardson v Richardson [2011] 2 FLR 244- CoA led by Sally Harrison QC.
Ancillary Relief- death of wife and insurance policy being avoided by company leaving an uninsured potential liability for a personal injury- Barder event and/or Mistake.

Level of Work Undertaken (Complexity and Value):

Lorraine has experience of cases at all court levels in children act cases including the Court of Appeal and the preliminary stages of an appeal to the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights.

Associations:

Family Law Bar Association (FLBA) Secretary to the northern circuit expert
Witness Initiative Committee (NCEWI)
Family Court Users Committee (Family Justice Council)

Other Information:

Lorraine was the junior counsel for the Crown on the Operation Cleopatra prosecutions (historical sexual abuse in residential care homes) as a result of her experience of acting for local authorities and parents in public law cases.

Public/Administrative Law

Judicial review and Human Rights Act Claims:

Lorraine has acted in a number of high court public law cases with linked Human Rights and Judicial Review claims in which she has continued to represent her client's interests.

Lorraine has advised on the merits of applying for Judicial Review to challenge Local Government decision making and guided the claims through Pre Action Procedure on behalf of children, the Official Solicitor and relatives of the child or patient concerned. Lorraine has been involved in JR claims relating to the removal of a child under a care order from home which was alleged to be unlawful and contrary to a Article 6 compliant process.

Lorraine has advised Local Authorities in respect of their duties and the potential liability arsing from JR claims against them; including advising on practices to mitigate the potential liability in respect of groups of unaccompanied asylum children and in respect of individual Looked After Children. The nature of the claims in which Lorraine has acted have varied but have commonly involved the failure to initiate care proceedings, tension between the Local Authority's duties under Section 20 and Section 17 of the Children Act, pathway planning and LAC duties generally.

Lorraine has advised and acted for children and relatives in both concurrent Human Rights Act claims with Judicial Review and in freestanding claims under Section 7(1) (a) HRA 1998 at all court levels including the early stages of a petition to the House of Lords and an application to the European Court of Human Rights.
Lorraine also advises Local Authorities in respect of such claims.

Lorraine has experience in drafting JR and HRA claim particulars, defences and acknowledgments.

Important cases

Court of Protection/ Public Law

YA(F) v A Local Authority & Hospital Trust [2011] 1 WLR 1505 : [2011] and 1 FLR 2007

Human Rights Act 1998 claim pursuant to Section 7(1)(b): Jurisdiction to raise in Court of Protection: Jurisdiction to raise a claim for damages under the Human Rights Act in the Court of Protection: Human Rights Act jurisdiction and the welfare jurisdiction. Click Here for further information.