Child care proceedings solicitors

What does a child protection lawyer do?

A child protection lawyer has a wide scope of work that can include representing parents or other family members, liaising with social workers, representing clients  in legal proceedings such as applications for care orders and emergency protection orders and offering expert advice during what can be a very difficult time for families.

What is a child care solicitor?

A child care solicitor is a lawyer who specialises in dealing with sensitive and often complex child care proceedings brought by social services and the courts where there are concerns about the care offered to a child or children. They offer expert advice and support to parents or other family members on any child care proceedings.

What can child protection do?

Child protection authorities are able to get involved with families where they believe that parents would benefit from additional support or where they feel that a child or children are at risk. Usually, every effort is made to keep families together but sometimes a child may be removed from parents if deemed at risk of harm. Other than in exceptional or emergency situations the parents should be given notice of any application to remove a child from their care and urgent advice should be sought.

The local authority has told me to contact a solicitor in regard to pre-proceedings/care proceedings

If you have been told to contact a solicitor by the local authority in relation to public law/child care proceedings we will need to speak to you to take the details of the proceedings and make an appointment for you to see one of our specialist solicitors.  

Why choose Stephensons?

Stephensons’ child care solicitors specialise in dealing with complex and sensitive child care proceedings. We represent thousands of people, each year, across the UK. We can provide assistance and advice to parents, family members, children and guardians across all aspects of child care proceedings, including:

• Care orders
• Supervision orders
• Emergency protection orders
• Placement orders
• Adoption orders
• Special guardianship orders
• Child arrangement orders
• Prohibited steps orders
• Specific issue orders
• Child abduction
• Wardship and orders under the inherent jurisdiction
• Defending allegations of injury, abuse or neglect
• Domestic abuse
• Police protection
• Pre-proceedings meetings
• Child protection conferences
• Coercive control

Our child care solicitors will handle every aspect of your case, from the first meeting to representing you in court proceedings. We recognise the need for adopting a suitable approach to meet the needs of your case and, when appropriate robustly defending you and your family’s interests in court.

Our lawyers recognise the difficulties faced by parents and extended family members who find themselves needing legal advice and always give straight forward guidance in a sensitive and empathetic way. We are also able to arrange emergency client meetings, when appropriate, ensuring that your case moves quickly when time is key.

We are committed to providing access to legal services for all and in other cases we offer affordable fixed fee legal services. Parents involved in care proceedings and the pre-proceedings process are entitled to legal aid regardless of financial position.

Stephensons’ family law team has a strong reputation for achieving positive outcomes for its clients. The department was voted the Family Law Firm of the Year in 2014 and is accredited in the Legal 500 and the Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession as ‘leaders in the field of child care’.