Lucy Reed KC > Chambers of Matthew White > Bristol, United Kingdom: England and Wales > Lawyer Profile
St John's Chambers Offices
St John's Chambers
101 VICTORIA STREET
BRISTOL
BS1 6PU
United Kingdom: England and Wales
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Lucy Reed KC
Work Department
Family
Position
Lucy is a family law specialist and has practiced in family law throughout her professional career. Her practice now encompasses the range of children work. She often acts in complex, multi-party or high conflict intractable private law disputes. In public law children cases she acts for parents, children, local authorities and extended family. Lucy has experience of handling cases involving suspected non-accidental injury and FGM/C, sexual abuse, neglect and domestic abuse, where there are parental mental health, learning disability or capacity issues, concerns around substance abuse and addiction, and involving children with special educational needs and disabilities / complex medical needs.
Lucy also has experience of international child abduction work including Hague Convention, and of wardship and international and contested adoption matters.
In addition, Lucy is experienced in cases involving Human Rights Act claims or issues relating to reporting restriction orders or publicity. Her practice also encompasses the range of injunctive work, including Pt IV Family Law Act and forced marriage.
Lucy is instructed at first instance in the Family Court and High Court and in appellate work. In appropriate cases Lucy will undertake family work via public access.
Other
Alongside her court practice Lucy writes and talks on family law and has particular interests in issues arising from the involvement of litigants in person in family cases, and in issues surrounding the publication of information arising from family proceedings and transparency.
Lucy is the author of ‘The Family Court without a Lawyer – A Handbook for Litigants in Person‘ (3rd edition 2017, Bath Publishing) and co author of Transparency in the Famliy Courts : Publicity and Privacy in Practice (2018, Bloomsbury Press).
Lucy is the chair of The Transparency Project. Lucy is involved with local initiatives to develop support for litigants in person, including the www.familycourtinfo.org.uk website.
Lucy has also produced a series of free self-help videos for Litigants in Person. The three videos are available to view for free on YouTube here or via the website accompanying the book (www.nofamilylawyer.co.uk).
Lucy is an Advocate panel member.
Career
Called 2002, Lincoln’s Inn; National Committee FLBA. Publications: Pink Tape family law blog, ‘Family Courts Without a Lawyer – A Handbook for Litigants in Person’ (4th Edition Bath Publishing 2022), Transparency in The Family Court: Publicity and Privacy in Practice (2018, Bloomsbury Press). Recorder 2022. Member of Justice Working Party on Improving Access to Justice for Separating Families.
Memberships
FLBA; ALC; Western Circuit.
Education
Inns of Court School of Law (2001 BVC); City University (2001 CPE/PGDip Law); Birkbeck, University of London (1998 MRes); Exeter University (1997 BA Hons).
Lawyer Rankings
Regional Bar > Western Circuit > Family and children law
(2023 Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Lucy Reed KC – St John’s Chambers ‘Lucy is completely unflappable. She always has a realistic, measured and well thought out approach. Organised and conscientious. Comfortably holds her own against silks. An outstanding advocate.’
St John’s Chambers is a ‘very strong family set‘, housing a team which ‘covers all aspects of family law‘. Christopher Sharp KC ‘is always first-rate‘, with an established track record in acting for guardians, local authorities and parents in serious cases of alleged child abuse, and complex financial remedy claims involving foreign pensions and assets. Judi Evans is ‘determined and unflappable‘, and is sought after for her expertise in cases involving child abduction and international relocation of children. The ‘tenacious‘ Lucy Reed KC recently represented a journalist before the Court of Appeal in a case concerning the publication of a fact-finding judgment and subsequent identification of the parents. Zoe Saunders heads up the family finance group, and is regularly instructed in cases involving cohabitation disputes.