Exchange Chambers

Family

Celeste is human rights lawyer and activist recently returned to practise here in the UK in family law, specifically public law children cases. She was called to the Bar in 1991 and in 2011, having reached the pinnacle of junior work in her field, decided to follow her dream to work overseas in the international human rights field. Since her return she has seamlessly picked up her practice and is a highly respected and very sought-after advocate regarded as a leader in the public law family field. She brings a wealth of experience, including experience garnered in the criminal jurisdiction augmented by her overseas experience, a feminist and human rights-based approach, intellectual rigour, and passion.

Prior to her sojourn overseas she was regularly the advocate of choice both for the local authority and parents alike in the most serious cases such as shaken baby, FII and baby death cases.

Although often led in such cases she was regularly entrusted by the local authority to take on leading counsel.

Whilst overseas Celeste pursued her passion for the full realisation of the human rights of women and girls and worked with abused girls and issues of access to justice in Tajikistan, led a team of trainers providing human rights training to the range of stakeholders and beneficiaries from small NGOs to Parliamentarians and High Court judges across the Pacific, and working for USAID in Afghanistan on the world’s largest women’s empowerment project. Whilst in the United States she gained her LLM in International Human Rights and Gender then being asked to join the teaching staff of her university.

In September to October 2024, Celeste has:

• Presented at a conference, “Supporting Families” held at the University of Essex;
• Spoken at an event with ATD Fourth World on the links between poverty and the family justice system;
• Spoken at a panel held by the University of Cambridge Girls Human Rights Hub on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child.

She has also recently assumed responsibility for the Girls Human Rights Hub Young Experts Programme.

Called 1991

Family Law Bar Association Northern Circuit American Bar Association International Bar Association American Society of International Law Justice (justice.org.uk) Lawyers Against Poverty Fawcett Society FiLiA

Haslingden High School, Lancashire University of Liverpool: LLB Hons (1987-90) Inns-of-Court School of Law (1990-91) Open University: MSc in Development Management (part-time 1996 – 2011) American University Washington College of Law, Washington D.C., USA: LLM in International Human Rights and Gender (2016-2017)

Celeste loves the great outdoors – running, hiking and mountain climbing. She is a fervent LFC supporter and is thrilled that in the first full season following her return to the UK they were crowned champions , and in such magnificent style! She loves going to the cinema and voraciously consumes podcasts.

She maintains her overseas connections including by continuing to donate her time to support the work of the War Crimes Research Project at American University Washington College of Law, as well as The Center for Rule of Law and Good Governance and the Free Syrian Lawyers Association.