Amanda Williams – Children Panel Accreditation – Harland & Co. Solicitors York

Sarah Clarkson, Amanda Williams, Nick Middleton

We are pleased to announce that a member of our Child Care Team, Amanda Williams, has successfully been admitted to the Law Society’s Children Panel.

The accreditation is awarded by the Law Society to Solicitors and qualified Legal Executives who have demonstrated high levels of knowledge, skill and experience in the area of Child Care legal practice. It is a required qualification in order to represent children in Care and Private Law Proceedings.

The qualification involves examinations in the area of Children Law and requires the applicant to undertake a rigorous interview assessment process before a panel at the Law Society.

The number of legal practitioners who achieve this accreditation is relatively small so that clients, Local Authorities and Courts can be sure that it is a benchmark for quality in this often sensitive area of legal practice.

Amanda joins Nick Middleton and Sarah Clarkson within Harland & Co. who have also attained this accreditation.

So, whether you are a parent or concerned relative of a child in care, a Local Authority seeking appropriate representation for a parent it is working with, or a CAFCASS Guardian looking to arrange legal representation for a child, you can be assured of the highest levels of expertise from our Care Team.

We advise and represent parents, children and Guardians in connection with the following specific areas:

Child Care Proceedings – where a child is at risk of being taken into the care of the Local Authority
Local Authority involvement with children including pre-proceedings (PLO) meetings
Fostering and post adoption issues
Special Guardian applications and advice
Child arrangements through the family Courts
Domestic abuse and non-molestation orders
Specific Issue requiring a Court’s determination – including Orders relating to family relocation and disputes regarding welfare and school issues
Divorce related issues involving Children

Harland & Co. accepts work on a private basis and also has a contract to carry out Legal Aid work, subject (where applicable) to financial/merits assessment.