9 Park Place

Year of Call: 2004 (Solicitor 2005 - 2020)

Clerk: James Watson / Lee Fifield

Kelly is a specialist children and family law barrister with over fifteen years of advocacy experience spanning both private practice and local government. Kelly was Called to the Bar in July 2004 after which she cross-qualified and worked as a Public Child Law Solicitor. She returned to the Bar in 2020. Due to her extensive experience Kelly received a full exemption from pupillage in August 2020 and she joined 9 Park Place in January 2021.

Kelly represents Local Authorities, Parents, other family members, Children, Children’s Guardians and Adopters. She specialises in public and private children law and judicial review. Recent High Court cases of note include

• Re X (HHJ Furness) Successful urgent out of hours application to protect and return children currently outside of the jurisdiction - habital residence, Female Genital Mutilation Proctection Orders, Tipstaff Orders, Passport seizure and Port Alerts, Orders to HM Passport Service, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and request to non-signatory Country to assist in the return of children to the jurisdiction.
• Re X (Francis J) Inherent Jurisdiction and Wardship, Tipstaff orders, Passport seizure and Port Alerts, Orders to HMP Passport service, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, committal proceedings.
• Re X (Russell J) alleged NAI in Adopters Care after adoption order application made, application for ICO and findings sought on new factual matrix.

Care Proceedings

Kelly has particular specialism in Care Proceedings and the following types of cases:

Inflicted injury attribution cases, including but not limited to: single and multiple injuries, head injuries, fractures, alleged bone disease/genetic disorders, bruising, burns, poisoning and Fabricated or induced illness

Families fleeing the jurisdiction, to avoid local authority intervention

Care Order application alongside Female Genital Mutilation or Forced Marriage Protection Orders

• Complex emotional abuse cases, including parental alienation
• Chronic neglect
• Sexual abuse cases, including historical cases.
• Child trafficking and child sexual exploitation cases, including, across county lines
• Psychological, psychiatric and mental health issues
• Domestic violence
• Designated local authority issues

Private Children Law Proceedings

• Kelly is also experienced in applications for private Children Law orders, including:
• Forced Marriage Protection Orders
• Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders
• Child Abduction Orders
• Declaration of parentage orders
• Appointment/Discharge of a Guardian
• Applications for removal / to prevent removal from the jurisdiction
• Special Guardianship orders (freestanding and applications by family members for s.8 orders, to challenge the outcome of a Local Authority viability or connected persons assessment)
• Mirror Orders / applications for Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003 (BIIR) Article 39, 40 and 41 certificates / applications for registration, recognition or non-recognition of orders under the council regulation, the civil partnership (jurisdiction and recognition of judgments) regulations 2005, the marriage (same sex couples) (jurisdiction and recognition of judgments) regulations 2014 and the 1996 Hague convention

Administrative and Public Law - Judicial Review

Kelly has particular expertise in judicial review challenges against local authorities. She has over 10 years of experience of advising and representing local authorities in complex constitutional, administrative and human rights-related public law claims in respect of both children and adults.

Kelly also specialises in cases that involve a cross-over between the fields of social care and immigration and particularly in judicial review claims relating to age-disputed, unaccompanied, asylum-seeking children and challenges to local authority age assessments. Examples of recent cases include;

• Re X (Nicol J) Successful defence of application for permission to apply for Judicial Review of an Age Assessment
• Re X (Keyser J) Successful defence of application to set aside a judgment dismissing an application for permission to apply for Judicial Review of an Age Assessment.
• Re X (HHJ Jarman QC) Successful representations in response to an application for urgent interim relief in an application for permission to bring a judicial review claim in relation to an age assessment.

Additionally Kelly has:

• Provided advice that has been implemented on a national level, by the National Adoption Agency and the Welsh Government.
• Sat as Chair of the National Procurement Service Evaluators Panel, for the provision of Legal Services to Child Social Services.
• Sat on a number of working groups and task and finish groups in relation to: SGOs, FGM, FMPOs, CSE, NRPF and Age Assessments.
• An interest in writing articles. She recently published a case digest entitled: ‘Re D-S (Contact with Children in Care: Covid-19) [2020] EWCA Civ 1031 - Important case for local authorities and parents seeking contact with a child in care, during the COVID19 pandemic’.