7 Harrington Street

Family

Door Tenant at 7 Harrington Street Chambers

Areas of Practice

Court of Protection

Divorce & Financial Remedy

Family (Public Law, Private law & International)

Mediation (Family)

Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2012 with over 20 years experience in the field of family law. Taryn was appointed a Recorder in 2008 and hears both private and public law family cases. Her practice encompasses all courts but she has an extensive practice in High Court public children matters. Taryn is also a trained Family Mediator and Public Access accredited barrister since 2010, which allows her to take instructions direct from members of the public.

Taryn’s particular expertise is in contentious and highly complex cases which involve allegations of severe child abuse including fabricated and induced illness, serious sexual abuse, poisoning including case of hypernatraemia and hyponatraemia, catastophic brain injury cases (TRIAD/NAHI/Shaken baby allegations), fractures, burn injuries, failure to thrive and death.

Taryn’s expertise also covers all aspects of adoption law and private law, particularly child abduction / removal from the jurisdiction/ internal relocation cases, paternity disputes, cases involving transsexual issues, same sex parenting, findings of fact in relation to sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse within the private law arena and also complex cases involving issues such as the disclosure of HIV status and/or HIV testing and treatment of both adults and children.

Taryn also undertakes Court of Protection work and has most recently been involved in a case that is considering the issue of enforced medical treatment for a child.

Taryn has been regularly involved in cases that have required child witnesses to provide oral evidence to the court and is therefore au fait both with representing children and cross examining children within this context.

Taryn is known for her formidable cross examination and her ability to ‘pull together’ the evidence in the most complex and unwieldy cases and cut through complex medical evidence.

Taryn has been instructed in some high profile cases which have attracted national press attention and have required contra mundum press injunctions to be obtained from the court.

– Successfully representing two sisters who had been subjected to years of sexual abuse by their father, undectected by all professional agencies, despite enduring 19 pregnancies between them. The children who had been removed were successfully returned and Press injunctions were sought and successfully obtained.

– Sucessfully representing a father against whom the LA sought findings that he had murdered an elderly neighbour.

– Successfully representing a young mother, who became pregnant whilst on day release from prison, whilst serving a term of imprisonment for a murder she committed as a child, mother successfully retained the care of her child.

Taryn appears on behalf of local authorities, parents & step-parents, extended family members including grandparents, foster parents, interveners and guardians-ad-litem and often represents parents with mental health problems, severly learning- disabled parents and child parents.

Taryn previously served on the Lincoln Women’s Refuge Committee.

Notable Cases

BMBC v H [2013] – Case involved the likely cause of and the various possible means of transmission of a sexually transmitted disease in a child.

Re A [2013] – Case involving the HIV testing and possible forced medical treatment of a child.

NLCC v OL [2013] – Successfully secured findings that the mother had fabricated and induced illness in her child who already suffered with complex health problems thereby creating a highly confused and complex picture to professionals.

BMBC v Coates [2013] – Successfully achieved the return of the child to the mother’s care following conviction of the F for causing the death of the elder child.

NLCC v H [2012] Court of Appeal – Successfully secured findings and then successfully defended an appeal in respect of those findings that the mother had both induced and fabricated illness in her young child by injecting lactulose into the feeding tubes and additionally that she was interferring and damaging medical equipment.

KHCC v B. Reported as Re L (children) [2011] EWCA Civ 1075 – Successfully securing findings that the mother had caused the deaths of two of her chidren whilst also fabricating and inducing illness in them prior to their deaths. A lengthy and complex case which involved detailed genetic and medical evidence. The medical evidence alone took some 5 weeks to hear.

NELCC v T [2011] – Led by Judith Rowe QC. Successfully representing the father

SCC v P – Successfully representing two sisters in care and press injunction proceedings.

SCC v S – Successfully representing a M accussed of inducing and fabricating illness in her young child and achieving the rehabilitation of the child to M’s care.

KHCC v L [2010] – Successfully securing findings against several family members invovled in a paedophile ring. One member then being convicted of a ‘cold case’ that had remained unsolved for some 20 years, but was ultimatley detected following the criminal investigation that arose as a result of care proceedings.

DMBC v H [2009] – Led by Frances Oldham QC for the father. The LA unsuccessfully sought findings in care proceedings that the father had been involved in and caused the death of another adult. The court declined to make the findings and contact between the father and his children was secured.

NS-H v KHCC [2008] EWCA Civ 493 – Led on appeal and at the rehearing by Stephen Cobb QC. Successfully securing findings in the original proceedings that the child had suffered profound psychological maltreatment at the hands of the mother causing the child to fail to thrive. The parents brought the matter back before the court when the child had not been placed for adoption. The Court of Appeal determined that the court should be asked to consider the circumstances afresh. The conclusion of the re-trial was that the child had suffered profound psycholocial maltreatment in the care of the mother and there were no family members with whom the child could be placed. The child was subsquently successfully adopted.

H v B [2008] Court of Appeal – Respondent to an appeal concerning findings of fact made by a circuit judge that the father had attempted to murder the mother by poisoning. Thereafter representing the mother in the rehearing.

LCC V R [2007] – Successfully representing the mother of 5 children, 4 of whom were removed (one of the children in fact being a vulnerable adult) from the parents care on the basis that doctors beleived that the mother was poisoning one of the children wiht epilepsy drugs (Colbazam). Involved complex genetic and medical evidence. Successfully secured the return of all 4 children.

Re; WSP v Hull City Council [2006] EWCA Civ 981 – Representing the child who had suffered serious physical injury, including brain damage, whilst in the fathers care. The Court of Appeal dismissed the fathers appeal to instruct further medical experts, however they allowed the cross appeal in relation to disclosure of the fathers medical records.

CL v ERYC, MB and BL [2006] EWCA Civ 49 – Led on Appeal by Stephen Cobb QC. Involved the serious physical injury of a baby and collusion between the parents. The Court of Appeal stated that in a split hearing the LA must define exactly the findings it is inviting the court to make. Once findings of fact are made any further assessments that are necessary can be timetabled.

CMBC v A [2004] – Led by Frances Oldham QC. Representing a mother with learning difficulties who had had two of her children die whilst in her care. Case involved  complex medical evidence which included burn injury evidence.

ERYC v G [2003] – Successfully secured findings against an aunt that she had been involved in salt poisoning her niece ‘hypernatraemia’

KHCC v T [2003] – Led by Frances Oldham QC successfully represented F in respect of findings being sought that he may have been involved in the death of his baby son.

ERYC v K [2002] Successfully securing findings that the mother had almost caused the death of her son by means of ‘hyponatraemia’.

Appointments & Professional Memberships

Joint Head of Chambers (Since January 2011)

Queens Counsel (2012)

Recorder (2008)

Master of the Bench – Inner Temple (July 2012)

ADRg trained Family Mediator (2012)

Public Access Accredited (2010)

NEC Advocacy Trainer (2008)

A Member of Temple North Womens Forum’ Steering Group

North Eastern Circuit Management Committee Since 2005

FLBA Regional Committee Member

FLBA National Commitee Member since 2005

Elected to Bar Council 2005 – 2007, 2008- 2010. 2010 – 2013

Public Affiars Committee 2005 – 2011

Education and Training Committee 2005 – 2008

Bar Conference Organisating Committee 2006

Legal Services Committee 2008 – 2011

Renumeration Committee 2010

Bar Conference Chair 2011

Bar Council Member Services Board 2012 – current

Bar Council General Management Committee 2011 – current

Bar Council Social Mobility Committee Chair 2012 – current

Training for the Bar Committee Vice – Chair 2012 – current

Registered on the “speak up for others – A career at the Bar” initative run by the Bar Council since 2004

Family Law Bar Association

North Eastern Cirucit

Association of Women Barristers

Call: 1992 QC: 2012 Recorder: 2008