Westgate Chambers

Family

Gerardine is a specialist family practitioner with 30 years of experience. She has practised in all areas of family law in courts across Kent, East Sussex and London. Over the past 12 years, her busy practice has been exclusively in relation to children, with the main focus on public law proceedings. She is widely instructed on behalf of parents, grandparents and other family members including competent children. She also represents children, through their children’s guardian, and adults who lack capacity, instructed by the Official Solicitor.

Care Proceedings

Gerardine’s practice encompasses care proceedings, adoption, special guardianship, deprivation of liberty and forced marriage.  Whilst practising in Kent, she dealt with a number of Eastern European cases, acting for parents.  She has wide experience of representing vulnerable adults including parents with learning difficulties and disabilities who require the assistance of an intermediary and other nationals who require the assistance of an interpreter.

Gerardine has extensive experience of dealing with cases of chronic neglect, domestic abuse, substance misuse, poor mental health, personality disorders, alleged non-accidental injury, sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse. She has also represented many parents whose children have special needs and a range of disabilities as well children who are subject to County Lines exploitation and other grooming. Many of these cases involve complex factual and medical evidence requiring expert opinion across a range of disciplines.

Family Law Bar Association Gray’s Inn

University of Kent, Canterbury: BA (Hons) PCL: CPE College of Law, London: BVC