Region Area

Barristers

Komal Patel

Komal Patel

3PB, South West

Work Department

Family law team

Position

Komal Patel is a barrister with a busy practice in family disputes (private and public law children), with a particular focus on matrimonial finance. She joined 3PB, having earlier established a successful practice on the South-East Circuit, in November 2022.

Komal accepts instructions in all areas of family law including financial remedies, divorces and domestic abuse as well as care proceedings and private law applications involving children encompassing complex facts and serious allegations of domestic abuse. In addition, Komal has a particular interest in cases involving mental health needs and cultural conflict.

Komal prides herself for her warm and reassuring manner that immediately puts her clients at ease. She is known to take a sensitive yet robust approach, whilst being as humble and child-focussed with clients. Both her lay and professional clients praise her communication both before and after the hearings and her willingness to discuss the strategic progression for the case.

Before coming to the Bar, Komal was an advocate in a national firm of solicitors, working in mental health law. She regularly appeared in the first-tier tribunal on behalf of patients detained under a variety of provisions, and the focus of her practice was on complex cases concerning patients in forensic services.

In addition to English as Komal’s first language, she fluently speaks Gujarati and is able to speak Hindi and Punjabi at a conversational level.

Outside of work, Komal is mother of two young children, both under 5 years old and recently raised money for the KidsAid in a charity abseil of the 418ft National Lift Tower in Northampton. She appeared on the televised MasterChef competition in 2016, and remains a keen cook.

Family law

Komal Patel is an expert family law barrister in financial remedy proceedings and public and private law cases involving children.

Financial Remedies

Komal advises and represents parties at all stages of financial remedy disputes, including enforcement of final orders. Komal also accepts instructions in financial remedies proceedings, having represented applicants and respondents in FDA and FDR hearings, final hearings, applications and enforcement hearings.

She has experience in successfully running dissipation of assets, conduct, non-disclosure cases with experience with representing clients with assets secured in foreign countries.

Komal also has experience in advising and representing parties in all stages of TOLATA matters, including Early Neutral Evaluation Hearings.

Children (Public Law)

Komal represents all parties at all stages of care proceedings including parents, grandparents, and Guardians.

She regularly acts for local authorities and recently represented a Local Authority in an 8-day contested final hearing involving multiple experts and interpreters.

Children (Private Law)

Komal is instructed on a wide range of private law children proceedings, representing both applicants and respondents. Komal regularly attends FHDRAs, DRAs, and multi-day fact-finding hearings and final hearings as well as hearings in enforcement proceedings. She has a particular focus on cases involving cultural conflict.

Komal also has experience in cases involving domestic violence and injunctions having represented parties at all stages of applications for protective injunctions, including emergency applications.

Career

Year of call: 2016

Languages

First language: English; fluently in Gujarati; conversational Hindi and Punjabi

Memberships

Resolution Family Law Bar Association Lincoln's Inn Midland Circuit

Education

LLB Law with Business, University of Brighton, First Class Honours BPTC, City Law School, Very Competent