Association of Lawyers for Children

Association of Lawyers for Children
Name	Association of Lawyers for Children
Formation	1970s
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	London
Region served	United Kingdom
Membership	Solicitors, Barristers, Advocates

Association of Lawyers for Children is a specialist professional association based in London that represents legal practitioners working with children and young people in private and public law proceedings. It engages with stakeholders across the Children Act 1989, Family Law Act 1996, and Human Rights Act 1998 frameworks to influence case law, statutory reform, and professional standards. The organisation collaborates with courts, statutory agencies, charities, and academic institutions to improve legal practice affecting children in care, protection, and family disputes.

History

The organisation emerged in the context of reform debates that followed the passage of the Children Act 1989 and wider shifts in British family law practice in the 1970s and 1980s, intersecting with campaigns by National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Barnardo's, and child welfare advocates active around the Waterhouse Inquiry. Early founders included practitioners who had argued cases in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, represented children in proceedings before the High Court of Justice, and engaged with reforms prompted by landmark judgments such as Re G (Children) and Re L (Care Order: Implementation). Over successive decades the association responded to procedural changes implemented by reforms linked to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 and guidance issued by the President of the Family Division.

Mission and Objectives

The association's central aim is to promote high-quality legal representation for children in proceedings under statutes such as the Children Act 1989 and under human rights jurisprudence derived from the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights. Objectives include fostering professional competence among practitioners who appear before the Family Court of England and Wales, influencing policy at ministries including the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom) and the Department for Education (United Kingdom), and supporting access to justice through partnerships with organisations like Justice (legal charity) and The Law Society of England and Wales.

Membership and Structure

Membership comprises solicitors, barristers, and advocates who specialise in children's law, including members called to the Bar of England and Wales, solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and legal academics from universities such as University College London, King's College London, and the University of Oxford. Governance is typically overseen by an elected committee including a chair, treasurer, and subcommittee chairs; those officials liaise with judicial office-holders such as the President of the Family Division and with professional bodies including the Bar Council and the Law Society. Regional networks reflect work connected to courts in jurisdictions such as the Royal Courts of Justice and local authority areas like Manchester and Bristol.

Services and Activities

The organisation provides case consultation, specialist practice papers, and ethical guidance used by practitioners preparing applications under provisions in the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and contested hearings influenced by precedent from courts including the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It organises specialist lists for complex applications, contributes to protocol development used alongside guidance from the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, and offers peer supervision models adopted in some chambers and firms that represent children in contested matters arising from statutory referrals from bodies such as Ofsted.

Training and Professional Development

Regular training events address skills and substantive law, covering topics shaped by rulings from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and by statutory instruments issued by the Privy Council and UK ministries. Courses and seminars are run in collaboration with academic partners like the Institute of Education, University of London and professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and the College of Social Work; they include advocacy workshops modelled on practitioners' work before judges such as those sitting at the Family Court and appellate judges in the Supreme Court. The association also accredits specialist training for those seeking recognition in areas related to public law children work and contributes to continuing professional development requirements set by the Bar Standards Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Advocacy and Policy Work

The association submits responses to government consultations and provides expert evidence to parliamentary committees such as the Justice Select Committee and the Education Select Committee. It has intervened in strategically important litigation and parliamentary inquiries linked to child protection and looked-after children policies discussed in contexts involving stakeholders like Children's Rights Alliance for England and Action for Children. Policy engagement covers intersectional matters involving mental health services represented by agencies like the National Health Service (England) and safeguarding frameworks influenced by reports from inquiries such as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Publications and Resources

Members produce practice notes, briefing papers, and case summaries compiled into collections used by practitioners and courts; these materials reference decisions from courts including the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, and statutory updates tied to instruments like the Family Procedure Rule Committee orders. The association issues newsletters, online guidance, and annotated bibliographies that cite scholarship from journals published by institutions such as Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press and reports from charities like Coram and The Children's Society.

Category:Legal organisations based in the United Kingdom