London Bar
Family: children and domestic abuse
Leading junior3Andrew Powell – 4PB ‘Andrew is an outstanding advocate. He is always well prepared and provides realistic and constructive advice.’
Barristers
Andrew Powell
4PB, London
- Phone020 7427 5200
- Email[email protected]
Work Department
Court of Protection - Vulnerable Adult; Inquests and Inquiries; International Children Law; Private Children Law; Public Children Law; Direct Access
Position
Andrew is widely recognised for his expertise in cases concerning children. His practice focuses on parental disputes about arrangements for children after separation, international children law including child abduction, and applications to relocate children to another country. He is an experienced trial advocate who regularly appears against silks.
He has developed a niche practice representing parties in surrogacy, adoption and declaration of parentage cases. He has appeared in some of the leading cases concerning surrogacy and adoption.
Andrew also appears in public law cases, including those with complex medical evidence and allegations of sexual abuse. He is regularly instructed in public law cases where there is an international element and public law cases arising from high conflict private law disputes.
Andrew was awarded the ‘Family Law Junior Barrister of the Year Award’ in 2021 and has published a book about the legal aspects of surrogacy. He is also the editor of the domestic adoption chapter in Rayden and Jackson.
He has been a Governing Board Member of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory since 2021 and is a member of the Steering Group for the Bar Council’s 10,000 Black Interns Programme.
In 2024 Andrew was shortlisted by Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards in the category of Diversity and Inclusion: Future Leader. He was also shortlisted as International Family Lawyer of the Year in the 2024 Family Law Awards.
Outside work, Andrew enjoys running and cycling.
International Children Law
Andrew regularly represents parents and children in child abduction cases, both Hague Convention and non-Hague Convention cases, or where there is a risk of wrongful removal of a child from this jurisdiction. He also has experience representing family members in a broad spectrum of wardship cases (including committals), as well as cases concerning vulnerable adults, such as stranded spouses and FGM cases.
In international surrogacy cases, Andrew represents intended parents and children, often when there is a legal complexity establishing parental status in this jurisdiction.
He represents parents in international relocation cases and welcomes working collaboratively with instructing solicitors from the outset.
Public Children Law
Andrew has a strong background in public law proceedings and represents local authorities, parents, children and other interested parties.
He has experience representing parties where there are allegations of non-accidental injury and fabricated or induced illness and has developed an expertise in cases where there is an international element. He appeared as junior counsel representing a family member in A & Others (Care Proceedings: 1996 Hague Convention: Habitual Residence) [2024] EWFC.
He has appeared on behalf of children and parents in high conflict private law disputes that later enter the public law area.
Private Children Law
Andrew has vast experience in all aspects of domestic private law cases representing both parents and children in applications for child arrangements orders, including where one parent seeks to relocate internally.
His background in public law proceedings means that he is well placed to deal with contentious private law disputes that require a forensic approach. He is regularly instructed in cases where a separate fact-finding hearing might be required or cross examination of expert witnesses.
Andrew is well known in the field of surrogacy and adoption (domestic and international) and is regarded as one of the country’s leading experts in this area.
He has experience of being instructed in cases arising out of LGBTQ+ family disputes that may require a creative legal solution. Many of his cases involve recognition of parental status, such as those where an application for a declaration of parentage has been made or step-parent adoptions (e.g. Re H (Surrogacy: Step-parent adoption) [2023] EWFC).
Andrew is instructed in medical treatment cases and has experience in cases concerning transgender children and the administration of puberty blockers. He appeared as junior counsel in AB v CD & Others [2021] EWHC 741 (Fam) on behalf the hospital trust and in Re J (Transgender: Puberty Blocker and Hormone Replacement Therapy) [2024] EWHC 922 (Fam) on behalf of the respondent mother.
Inquests and Public Inquiries
From 2016-2020 Andrew was led by Alex Verdan KC and Cleo Perry KC representing a core participant in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (Children in the care of Lambeth Council investigation). He was also led by Cleo Perry KC representing a core participant in a second investigation, also as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (Child Sexual Exploitation by Organised Networks investigation).
He has significant experience collaborating responses to Rule 9 requests.
Court of Protection
Andrew has experience representing parties in cases concerning deprivation of liberty and best interests in the Court of Protection and has experience being instructed by the Official Solicitor.
Non-court dispute resolution
Andrew has experience representing parents before Arbitrators in private law disputes.
Career
Year of Call: 2008
Memberships
Gray’s Inn Family Law Bar Association Association of Lawyers for Children Court of Protection Bar Association Associate member of the American Bar Association (Family law section) Child Abduction Lawyers Association JUSTICE
Education
University of Manchester (BSocSc Social Anthropology First Class) University of Leeds (LLM) BPP Law School (BVC) Pegasus Scholarship Bedingfield Scholarship (Gray’s Inn)
Consitutional Law Essay Prize (University of Leeds) The Professor Max Gluckman Prize (University of Manchester – Awarded for Highest First Class Degree)
Leisure
Keen runner and cyclist.