Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Family & Child Care

Arti is a Solicitor and Supervisor in the Child Care Department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. She qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and, over the last 25 years, has worked in a number of private practices across the Black Country, Staffordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, and Shropshire. She has represented clients in courts across these regions, as well as before the High Court and the Court of Appeal, including cases with international elements, and has instructed and worked alongside experienced barristers on a wide range of matters.

Throughout her career, Arti has represented parents and children, both directly and through their Children’s Guardians, in all aspects of public law proceedings. These include applications for care and supervision orders, emergency protection orders, placement for adoption orders, and adoption applications, as well as applications for contact with children in care, and applications to vary or discharge care or supervision orders and revoke placement for adoption orders. She is also experienced in Rule 16.4 proceedings.

Arti regularly advises and represents other family members, such as uncles, aunts, and grandparents, in relation to Special Guardianship Orders where they seek to care for children subject to proceedings. On occasion, she has also represented local authorities.

She has handled a wide variety of cases involving issues such as domestic violence, substance misuse, sexual abuse, and non-accidental injury. She has also represented parents and children with educational or mental health difficulties, and has acted in cases involving the Official Solicitor. Arti is also experienced in Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) proceedings, representing parents and children in cases deemed suitable for this process within care proceedings.

She recognises the particular challenges of this area of law, given the human emotions involved, the vulnerabilities of both parents and children, and the possibility of permanent separation. She is strongly committed to protecting human rights and strives to ensure her clients are fairly and justly represented, giving a voice to those who may not feel able to speak for themselves.

Arti speaks Hindi and Punjabi, enabling her to assist clients in these languages where appropriate.

Hindi and Punjabi

Member of the Law Society's Children Panel (Children Law Accreditation) since 2001