Children and Ancillary Relief

Daisy Hughes practises in all areas of family law, including public and private law children work and financial matters. 

Following completion of pupillage at Coram Chambers in October 2000 and prior to taking up tenancy in chambers, Daisy spent a term as Judicial Assistant to the then President of the Family Division, Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss.  In 2003, as the recipient of a Pegasus Scholarship, she spent three months working at a specialist family law firm in Sydney, Australia. 

Children Work

 Private Law

Daisy has a particular interest in intractable contact cases in which the child is separately represented.  She is also experienced in cases with a mental health aspect and in which allegations of sexual abuse are made.

Public Law

Daisy is experienced in representing local authorities, parents and children at all stages of care and adoption proceedings, including the first interim care hearing, applications for a s38(6) direction and applications for discharge of a care order.  She was junior counsel for the local authority in Re U (Care Proceedings: Criminal Conviction: Refusal to Give Evidence) [2006] EWHC 372 (Fam) in which a number of interesting and unusual points arose regarding treatment of the father’s criminal conviction for the murder of his baby daughter.  An appeal against conviction was pending and the father refused to give evidence in the care proceedings on the advice of his criminal counsel.

 Financial Cases 

Daisy represents clients in applications for ancillary relief, applications pursuant to Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 and TOLATA applications.  She is experienced in cases involving fairly modest assets where a creative solution is often required to achieve a “fair” result. She is particularly aware of the need in all cases for sound advice at the earliest stage to avoid the stress and expense of protracted litigation.