Family - Children

Public Law

In public law, Daniel represents parents, children (directly and via their guardian), intervenors and local authorities at all stages of proceedings. Daniel regularly drafts documents such as skeleton arguments and threshold documents. He has experience representing vulnerable clients with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties. Daniel appears in the High Court in his own right and as a led junior, and has drafted submissions filed in the Court of Appeal.

Daniel has acted in cases involving factual issues such as historic and ongoing sexual abuse of children (including fabricated allegations of the same), honour-based violence and non-accidental injuries, including brain injuries. He has acted in cases involving complex medical evidence, expert testimony, and phone records. Daniel has particular experience of proceedings involving international elements, including placement outside the jurisdiction.

Daniel has a developing practice in matters relating to deprivation of liberty and secure accommodation. He has acted in matters involving complex legal issues such as the exercise of the parens patriae jurisdiction of the High Court and is available to advise on matters of law.

Private Law

Daniel represents all parties, including parents, grandparents, wider family members and children in private law matters, including before the High Court. He has conducted matters involving complex issues such as implacable hostility, improper retention of a child after contact, parental alienation, domestic abuse and sexual assault. Daniel has experience of cases with an international element, including child abduction and applications to remove a child from the jurisdiction and has recently delivered a seminar on the subject. He has an interest in matters involving the acquisition and termination of parental responsibility and has conducted and advised upon matters involving such issues.

Cases

A Local Authority v H (2020-2021) Daniel successfully represented the local authority as a second junior to Neil Owen-Casey appearing against leading counsel in a matter which involved a number of complex issues. The matter was protracted and involved coached and coerced allegations of sexual abuse against a parent, placement outside the jurisdiction, abduction of a child from foster care, media scrutiny, and vigilantism by an online campaign group. During the course of the case, Daniel advised on a range of issues, such as application to limit a parent’s participation in care proceedings.

D v A Local Authority (2022) Daniel represented the respondent local authority in a two-day hearing in the High Court, seeking dismissal of the parents’ application for discharge of care orders in respect of a large sibling group. This was a complex case with a long history of High Court proceedings, involving children who suffered from very rare medical conditions. Daniel successfully sought dismissal of the parents’ application and section 34(4) and 91(14) orders at an interim stage.

Re C, D and E (2021-2023) Daniel represented the mother as a second junior to Rachael Banks in a lengthy and complicated matter before the High Court, which involved an 18-day fact-finding hearing. The matter involved heavily contested cross-allegations regarding issues such as rape, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation. Further complicated issues, including alleged breaches of reporting restriction orders and arguments as to whether a party had waived legal professional privilege, arose during the course of the proceedings. The matter concluded with a no contact order against the father and a number of ancillary protective orders, including orders limiting the father’s parental responsibility.

Family - Finance

Daniel acts in family finance and divorce matters. Daniel has represented parties within family finance proceedings of a range of complexity, from needs cases to cases involving multiple millions, both as sole counsel and as a led junior, including matters in the High Court involving non-disclosure, business interests and fraud.

Daniel contributed to the recent report by the Financial Remedies Court Sub-Group of the Transparency Implementation Group. He is available to advise on matters pre-issue and draft documents within proceedings. Daniel is also available to deliver training and seminars, having recently given talks on transparency and adverse inferences at the Matrimonial Finance Team Breakfast Seminar series.

Cases

Rose v Rose [2022] EWFC 192: Daniel acted as junior counsel to Samantha Hillas KC in a case involving ‘one of the most flagrant breaches of the duty of full and frank disclosure that has come before the Courts.’ There were £5.5m of hidden assets, which were traced via analysing several thousand pages of disclosure received pursuant to wide-ranging third-party disclosure orders. The case involved issues such as complex trust and corporate structures, offshore bank accounts, adverse inferences, and the publication of an un-anonymised judgment. In proving the level of non-disclosure, Daniel also drafted allegations of fraud against the husband.

Court of Protection

Daniel has experience of Court of Protection matters in welfare and in property and finance. Daniel has assisted with complex cases relating to the capacity to consent to sexual relations and the use of the internet.

Daniel has conducted welfare matters such as section 16 and 21A MCA 2005 disputes. Daniel is instructed to act on behalf of local authorities, P and intervenors. Daniel has been instructed in matters involving complex capacity disputes and serious allegations against his client, including a matter in which his client was accused of attempting to murder P.

Daniel is available to advise upon matters relating to the Court of Protection. Daniel has advised upon disputes as to local authority designation and has drafted opinions in relation to property and finance disputes.