About
Alice joined Chambers in October 2022 after the successful completion of her pupillage under the supervision of Nick O’Brien, Greg Williams and Sarah Branson.
She is building a busy practice is all areas of family law, including public and private children as well as financial remedy proceedings.
Experience
Alice read Law at the London School of Economics and then undertook an LLM at the University of Cambridge. She subsequently completed the BPTC, for which she was awarded Student of the Year for her results.
Prior to commencing pupillage, Alice worked as a paralegal assisting with matrimonial finance and private children matters. She was also a Judicial Assistant to Mr Justice MacDonald at the High Court (Family Division), where she gained experience in a wide range of family matters, particularly international private children cases. This built on Alice’s time as a legal caseworker at the AIRE Centre, an NGO specialising in European and human rights law. While there, she assisted with and drafted third party interventions in cases before domestic and international courts.
Alice also volunteered at the Personal Support Unit (now Support Through Court) and taught advocacy and debating to secondary school and sixth form students through Griffin LAW.
Practice areas
Public Law Children
Private Law Children
Finance and Private Client
Court of Protection
International Family Law
Publications
Case summary by Alice Thornton Re H (A Child: s.38(6) Assessment) [2023] EWHC 1083 (Fam)
‘The Impact of Brexit on Migrant Children’s Rights: Taking Responsibility without Solidarity’ in Mark Klaassen and others (eds) ‘Safeguarding Children’s Rights in Immigration Law’ (January 2020)
‘All Actions Concerning Children’ [2018] Family Law 1400
Education and Professional Memberships
Education
LLB, London School of Economics
LLM, University of Cambridge
BPTC (Outstanding), University of Law
Professional Memberships
Family Law Bar Association
Resolution
Awards
Student of the Year (University of Law for BPTC results)
Lord Justice Holker Award (BPTC scholarship, Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn)
Advocacy Award (BPTC scholarship, University of Law)
E.M. Burnett Prize (Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge for LLM results)
Languages
German
