Clerking team

Matthew Rigby

Assistant Senior Clerk (Children)

Ciarece Brown

Junior Family Clerk

Chambers UK Bar

Rachael’s practice is primarily children law, both public and private, acting for Parents, Guardians, interveners, competent children and the Official solicitor.

Rachael was called to the Bar in 1998. She read Anthropology at Hull University, before heading to Japan to work for the Japanese Government. On her return to the UK she studied law at BPP in London and completed family law pupillage at Fourteen Gray’s Inn Sq before taking tenancy at Garden Court Chambers in London, where she practised for 15 years.

Rachael has developed a thriving direct access practice. She is frequently instructed by Local Authorities on a direct access basis, to represent family members who wish to intervene in care proceedings. This is cost effective for the LA. Rachael has acted on behalf of intervening family members from outside the UK, most recently representing clients from Australia and Russia.

Children (Public and Private law)

Rachael is experienced in cases with complex evidence, international elements both in private and public law. This includes cases of physical, emotional and sexual abuse; death of children and serious injury cases. Serious domestic violence fact-finding; international abduction, forced marriage. She represents a wide range of clients including those of high net worth and the most vulnerable in society.

Rachael has the ability to grasp complex evidence and gets straight to the issues. She is a skilled communicator and wins the judge’s ear with her calm and reasoned approach.

Rachael is extremely approachable and is able to put clients at ease whilst dealing with the most sensitive of issues. She is a tenacious advocate and will fight hard knowing when and how to do so, whilst remaining equally capable of taking a resolution based approach, in the clients’ best interests.

Recommendations

“Ms Rowley-Fox is a very experienced and well respected Counsel in all areas of family law and specifically in respect of private and public children law proceedings. She has appeared before me on numerous occasions and on each I found her to be of the highest standard. She is of course based at an excellent set of family chambers who are highly regarded and she is seen in the same light.” – DJ Central Family Court

“From the cases in which she has appeared before me, she readily comes to mind as an exceptionally good, perceptive advocate, who very effectively puts her client’s case yet in the sensitive, balanced way that is so important in family cases.” – DJ Watford Family Court

“I can highly recommend Ms Rowley-Fox. I am an advocate myself so have worked with Ms Rowley-Fox both as instructing solicitor and advocate where we represent different parties. I have always been impressed by Ms Rowley-Fox’s calm and patient approach to her clients often in difficult circumstances.” – Leading Solicitor

Cases

NA v AH (Central Family Court 2015 Private Law): Autism – severely autistic child. International, Immigration, forced marriage and criminal issues – made for a complex case. Successfully fought for successful conclusion of child arrangement order avoiding local authority intervention.

LB K v A v B v C v Intervener v Child (2014) (Public Law): Instructed by a Local Authority on a direct access basis to represent a grandmother who wished to adopt the children and relocate them to Eastern Europe. Successful judgment on behalf of the maternal grandmother.

LB H v M v F v Intervener V child (2014) (Public Law) (Gee St Family Court): Successfully obtained an order facilitating the international adoption of the children to Australia.

B (A Local Authority) v (1) RM, (2) MM and (3) AM [2010] Hedley LLJ Family Division and Court of Protection reported at (2011) 1 FLR 1635

Care proceedings relating to a 16-year-old girl of Moroccan heritage with diagnosis of severe learning difficulties, autism, possibly Malignant Tourette’s Syndrome – at risk of self-injury due to a catalogue of factors. Needed specialist nursing, with at least 2:1 nursing care. LA wanted a CO leaving her in residential placement 250m away from home costing in XS of £300,000 pa. contact and DOL’s issues Proceedings transferred to COP jurisdiction thereby giving less control to the LA and more control beyond 18 years to the court (gatekeeper) and the parents.

Successfully represented the Mother standing up to a very aggressive fight by the LA.

Family finance

Rachael is accustomed to representing parties in matrimonial finance matters following relationship breakdown. This includes experience of co-habitee relationship breakdown. Her experience includes dealing with property, foreign property, business assets, assets in trust, future assets, provisions for children and allegations of fraud.

Recommendations

“Rachael has assisted me in an exemplary manner and is very fair in her fee structure and generous of her time and guidance.” – Direct Access Client Private Law

“I was almost at the end of my tether until I found Rachael. She gave me advice in a way that I felt able to trust and understand and had no hesitation in explaining to me that my case was not appropriate to be dealt with under the direct access umbrella. She recommended an excellent solicitor who instructed Rachael as counsel in the case.” – Direct Access Client Private Law

“Rachael was instructed by us as an intervener in a highly complex care case. She was instructed mid way and very quickly grasped the issues and complex evidence and law. Her handling of her professional client in the UK and lay clients in Australia was second to none.” – Direct Access Public Law

Memberships

  • Family Law Association
  • Association of Lawyers for Children
  • International Association of Matrimonial Lawyers
  • Family Mediation Association