The Private Law Children team at No5 Barristers Chambers is known for its excellence and expertise in all areas of private children law. The team of over 35 barristers covers all levels of experience from junior barristers to two King’s Counsel. Our members have experience at all levels of the Family Court and in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. With offices in Birmingham, London and Bristol our team is able to represent clients throughout the country.
The team cover all areas of private children law including child arrangements, international and internal relocation, child abduction, surrogacy, special guardianship, adoption and more.
The team and many of its individual members are consistently ranked by Chambers UK and by Legal 500.
We have a dedicated and experienced clerking team who provide responsive and efficient service. The clerking team work closely with solicitors to recommend the right counsel to the right client.
Solicitors choose No5’s Private Law Children team because of its ability to meet the needs of all clients from the most straightforward cases to the most complex. Our barristers provide specialist legal and practical advice to guide clients through any private children law dispute.
No5 provides advice and advocacy to clients at all stages of private children law proceedings.
At first instance, we provide representation in all types of hearings including first hearing dispute resolution appointments, dispute resolution appointments, finding of fact hearings and final hearings. The team also provides advice, drafting and advocacy in all types of appeals.
The team’s skilled cross-examination and persuasive oral submissions are supported by written documents of the highest quality.
Conferences can be arranged at all stages to allow clients to meet their barristers at the earliest opportunity and receive specialist advice on the way forward.
No5’s Private Law Children team also understands that for many clients court proceedings are the last resort. Our team are able to provide legal and tactical advice before proceedings are started or even contemplated. They advise on pre-proceedings steps and whether court or ADR is the best option for each client.
For some clients, alternative dispute resolution provides a better and quicker way of resolving their disputes. No5’s Private Children Law team includes 5 arbitrators (including Birmingham’s first qualified children’s law arbitrator), 2 mediators and a number early neutral evaluators. The team can also represent clients in arbitrations and mediations. No5’s state of the art offices are able to provide all of the facilities required for ADR.
The team represents parents, grandparents, other family members, and children (with or without a children’s guardian). All of our members are instructed by solicitors. We also have a number of Direct Access qualified barristers who are able to act directly for clients without a solicitor in appropriate cases.
Recognised Excellence
Our team and its members are consistently ranked for private children law in Chambers UK and the Legal 500.
No5 is ranked by Chambers UK in Band 1 for children law in the Midlands. “No5 Barristers’ Chambers, based in Birmingham, is a leading set for family matters. Its practitioners offer expertise across the full spectrum of matrimonial finance and children mandates. The advocates handle both private and public children matters, such as abduction and relocation, in addition to sensitive mandates concerning non-accidental injuries, sexual abuse and fabricated illnesses … The barristers regularly take on multi-jurisdictional as well as domestic mandates. A source notes that the set contains “first rate silks and excellent junior barristers in all the disciplines of family law.”
No5 is also ranked in Band 1 by the Legal 500 for children law and domestic abuse in the Midlands. “No5 Barristers’ Chambers boasts ‘an excellent range of counsel with formidable knowledge’”.
Many members of the Private Law Children team are ranked in Chambers UK and the Legal 500 for both the Midlands Bar and the London Bar.
Our team and its members are consistently ranked for private children law in Chambers UK and the Legal 500.
No5 is ranked by Chambers UK in Band 1 for children law in the Midlands. “No5 Barristers’ Chambers, based in Birmingham, is a leading set for family matters. Its practitioners offer expertise across the full spectrum of matrimonial finance and children mandates. The advocates handle both private and public children matters, such as abduction and relocation, in addition to sensitive mandates concerning non-accidental injuries, sexual abuse and fabricated illnesses … The barristers regularly take on multi-jurisdictional as well as domestic mandates. A source notes that the set contains “first rate silks and excellent junior barristers in all the disciplines of family law.”
No5 is also ranked in Band 1 by the Legal 500 for children law and domestic abuse in the Midlands. “No5 Barristers’ Chambers boasts ‘an excellent range of counsel with formidable knowledge’”.
Many members of the Private Law Children team are ranked in Chambers UK and the Legal 500 for both the Midlands Bar and the London Bar.
We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a full-day Private Children Law Conference on Thursday 3rd July 2025 at our Birmingham Chambers,…
No5’s Chris McWatters, Nisha Bambhra and Femi Ogunlende will consider the legal principles in costs applications in private law proceedings. They will discuss how those…
We are delighted to share that Baldip Singh has been elected a Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. This…