Hanne & Co

Family & Divorce

Consultant

James is a specialist in domestic and international family law matters, particularly involving children.

Primarily, he focuses on:

Child abduction matters involving the Hague Convention as well as non-Hague Convention countries; Wardship; Forced Marriage Protection Orders; and Jurisdictional issues.

He is a Resolution Accredited Specialist in child abduction and domestic abuse and is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor through the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit to secure the return of abducted children. He is listed with the international child abduction charity Reunite, as a specialist family lawyer with a particular interest in the field of international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders.

James also deals with domestic child arrangement matters, often involving complex issues such as parental alienation.

Notable reported cases include:

F v M & Ors [2020] EWHC 3532 (Fam) – acting for a father in a parental alienation case where the High Court allowed his appeal against an order for indirect contact only and transferred the matter back to the family court for further consideration; B v A [2020] EWHC 3138 (Fam) – acting for a father in child abduction proceedings where the court rejected the mother’s two defences that the child objected to a return and that the impact on the mother’s parenting capacity would be so severe as to put the child at risk of severe psychological harm; Amine v Amine [2020] EWHC 2339 (Fam) – acting for the father in child abduction proceedings where the court took the unusual step of naming the family to deter the mother from attempting a fourth abduction; West Sussex County Council & The Chief Constable of Sussex Police v F, M, N, P and T [2018] EWHC 1702 (Fam) – a decision clarifying the difference of approach to prohibitory and mandatory orders in forced marriage proceedings; T (A Child: Hague Convention Proceedings) [2016] EWHC 3554 (Fam) – a High Court decision summarizing the test to be applied when the “settlement” defence is raised in child abduction proceedings; TF v PJ [2014] EWHC 1780 (Fam) – a case in which the High Court’s power to set aside a final order was considered; Re F (A Child) [2014] EWCA Civ 275 – a Court of Appeal decision relating to the instruction of experts in child abduction proceedings.

French

James is a Resolution Accredited Specialist in child abduction and domestic abuse and is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor through the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) to secure the return of abducted children. He is listed with the international child abduction charity Reunite, as a specialist family lawyer with a particular interest in the field of international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders.

James has a degree in European Law and Languages