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England - London • Private client
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Family: children

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Hanne & Co

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Hanne & Co’s children practice is led by Emma Baillie, Michele Brown, and Andrew Spearman, who joined as partner and head of the modern families team in November 2024 from Laytons LLP. Spearman specialises in surrogacy, fertility law, and same-sex family disputes, and often advises on overlapping criminal and care proceedings. Baillie focuses on private law children matters, including arrangements for children, schooling decisions, and securing protective orders for clients facing domestic abuse. Michele Brown leads on public law proceedings, while Rokeya Dangor has expertise representing parents and children in complex care proceedings, including cases involving radicalisation and non-accidental injury. Anna Gowen advises on private law disputes involving abuse, and James Dunn has experience with international child abduction and wardship.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Accolades

Client satisfaction

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Andrew Spearman himself truly sets the standard. Andrew feels less like a “service provider” and more like a strategic ally—someone who invests in your family’s long‑term wellbeing. I have already recommended him to other LGBTQ+ parents, and will continue to do so, confident that his integrity, warmth and expertise deliver exceptional results every time.’

  • ‘I’m utterly impressed by Andrew Spearman’s understanding of the legal complexity involved in my case and his excellent skills of making this understandable for me and meeting my needs. Andrew’s empathy and attention to details in combination with his processional approach and availability made me feel in good hands through the process. I would highly recommend him and his team at Hanne & Co and I am sincerely grateful for their exceptional work.’

  • ‘Hanne & Co were my first choice when deciding representation. Everyone I have either spoken to or worked closer with have been polite, kind, and helpful, but remained professional throughout my journey with them. I would recommend anyone to them if required, and I personally would use Hanne & Co anytime I need representation in the future.’

  • ‘With the arrival of Andrew Spearman and his team previously at Laytons, the family department at Hanne & Co now has an exceptionally strong field of expertise in the combined areas of child abduction and family creation and the area of overlap of international children cases and parental status across borders. It marks out Hanne & Co as offering a uniquely high level service in both child abduction and family creation cases and issues of international family law.’

  • ‘Andrew Spearman is a fantastic modern families lawyer. Andrew’s cases are always at the cutting edge of family law. He is often in the leading cases that push the boundaries of family life. He is the go-to person for complicated surrogacy cases.'

  • ‘Elinor Feeny is truly exceptional, with experience in a wide range of both financial remedies and children law matters. She provides calm and sensible advice in even the most heated of situations.'

Work highlights

Acting on a matter, referred to the European Court of Human Rights, in which a trans man has challenged his registration as the mother on the birth certificate of his trial.
Acting on a return order to a country in the Middle East being granted under English law, involving an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Acting on a case which led to one of the first parental orders granted in England for a surrogacy arrangement conducted in Mexico.

Practice head

Emma Baillie; Michele Brown; Andrew Spearman

Other key lawyers

Rokeya Dangor; Anna Gowen; James Dunn; Caroline Little; Elinor Feeny; Tash Fairweather; Sophie Sibley; Katherine Martyn; Claire Gardner