Jennifer Grehan

Jennifer has considerable experience and is recognised for her expertise as an advocate and providing advice to the Official Solicitor, local authorities, ALR’s and family members.

Jennifer is regularly instructed in proceedings under sections 15, 16 and 21A Mental Capacity Act 2005,, as well as to draft and advise on orders to progress the case throughout. Jennifer is regularly instructed in matters where individuals have been assessed to lack capacity to make decisions on issues of residence, care, social media/ internet access, contact with others, sex and relationships.

Jennifer is able to provide advice on an urgent basis including where care homes have served notice on an individual and local authorities are looking to make applications to the Court of Protection on an expeditious basis.

As a result of Jennifer’s public law family background, she is often deferred to in cases of young people transitioning from children’s services to adult services and in cases transferring from the family court to the Court of Protection, including where there is a dispute as to residence between parents or between parents and a public body.

Public Law

Jennifer is experienced in representing parents, children through their Guardian, interveners and Local Authorities in all areas of public law proceedings at all stages of a case.

Jennifer regularly appears for public bodies in the High Court in complex Deprivation of Liberty cases in respect of children.

Jennifer regularly appears for all parties in non-accidental injury cases including serious fractures and life changing injuries to children.

Jennifer has particular interest and experience representing vulnerable parents and parents with learning difficulties where capacity may be an issue.

Private Law

Jennifer is regularly instructed to represent parents in Private Law proceedings where there are disputes relating to both residence and contact involving complex domestic abuse and neglect. She has experience representing grandparents and extended family members in Special Guardianship applications and Child Arrangement Order applications.

Jennifer specialises in parental alienation representing parents and children in complex proceedings where contact has broken down and children have become estranged from parents. Jennifer places significant importance on proceedings taking the right course from the outset to ensure that these complex but uncommon cases are dealt with as efficiently and thoroughly as possible.

Featured case

https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2024/349.html

Jennifer represented a mother making serious historical abuse allegations against the father of the children including rape, physical abuse and coercive control. It was necessary to ensure that the cultural context of the case was properly considered, highlighting the mother’s British Pakistani identity and the father’s Pakistani origin in addition to their arranged marriage and how their cultural and religious framework may have influenced their relationship.

The court commended the extremely high quality of the advocates who represented the parents.

• Family Law Bar Association
• Court Protection Practitioners Association (CoPPA)

• BA with Hons at the University of Liverpool
• General Diploma in Law at the College of Law
• Bar Professional Training Course at the Manchester Metropolitan University