About
Bianca Jackson is an intellectually rigorous and highly skilled advocate who practices both public and private children law. She is very experienced in dealing with complex issues and is committed to client care. Bianca has a particular expertise in “alternative families,” including surrogacy, assisted reproduction and transgender children/parents.
Experience
Bianca has developed an impressive and diverse children law practice. She is frequently instructed in complex public law proceedings involving allegations of serious harm to a child, including non-accidental injury, fabricated or induced illness, female genital mutilation, and physical and sexual abuse. She also has a particular proficiency in the law around adoption, adoption breakdown, and post-adoption contact. Bianca is adept at representing very vulnerable clients, such as those with significant learning disabilities, mental health challenges, and different communication styles/languages (including deaf parents). She is the co-author of Public Law: Contemporary Issues, which was published by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2018, and is the Deputy Editor of Family Law Week.
Bianca is the head of the Alternative Families Practice Group in chambers and has a recognised expertise in surrogacy law, assisted reproduction, and legal parenthood. She has acted in some of the most cutting-edge High Court cases in this complex area of law, and is often instructed to provide expert advice in proceedings. Bianca sits on the Ethics Board of Surrogacy UK, and is a member of the LGBT Family Law Institute and the Modern Parenting Network. She is highly knowledgeable about the medical science, case law, and the statutory provisions related to assisted reproduction, and has lectured and published numerous articles on the subject. Bianca also has a growing practice of proceedings involving children and parents who are transgender or gender non-binary.
Bianca has represents parents, step-parents, grandparents, carers, and children (thought their 16.4 Guardian) in contentious private law disputes. She is very experienced in dealing with cases involving intractable contact, parental alienation, and relocation disputes, especially where there is an international element. Understanding how stressful family court can be, Bianca is committed to providing pragmatic advice to her clients and to collaborating with them to find solutions.
Practice Areas
Public Law Children
Private Law Children
Alternative Families
International Family Law
Education and Professional Memberships
University of Cambridge, MA – Law 2015
City Law School (Inns of Court School of Law), LLM 2013
City Law School (Inns of Court School of Law), Bar Professional Training Course 2012
University of Cambridge, BA (Hons) – Law 2010
University of Oxford, D.Phil – English Language and Literature 2008
University of Sussex, MA – English Literature 2003
Reed College (US), BA – English Literature 2000
Middle Temple
Family Law Bar Association
Association of Lawyers for Children
Surrogacy UK
Family Law Institute
Modern Parenting Network
The Advocate (formerly the Bar Pro Bono Unit
Association of Jewish Lawyers
Rights of Women (Advisory Group)
Testimonials
“Bianca is a wonderful barrister… Her commitment, efficiency and professionalism combined with her personable and thorough approach, instilled confidence in me despite the terror I felt in the lead up to and during the proceedings. It’s very heartening to know that women like Bianca are so ably supporting children and mothers out there in these circumstances.” – lay client
Cases
E, A & N (Children- Domestic Violence) [2018] EWFC B91 (18 May 2018)
DM and LK [2016] EWHC 270 (Fam) (13 January 2016)
A & B (No 2 -Parental Order) [2015] EWHC 2080 (Fam) (17 July 2015)
A & B (No 1 -Fact finding judgment) [2015] EWHC 1059 (Fam) (20 April 2015)
Publications
Books
Public Law: Contemporary Issues (Bloomsbury: 2018) [co-authored with Alexander Laing]
Articles
‘“It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”: An overview of co-parenting and same-sex couples,’ Family Law (7 May 2019)
‘“Wait a Minute, Mr Postman”: Post-Adoption Contact after the Children and Families Act 2014,’ Family Law Week (21/09/2018)
‘“If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?”: The Harassment of Cafcass and Local Authority Workers in Family Law Proceedings,’ Family Law Week (15/11/2016)
‘Alternative Families and Child Arrangement Orders,’ (webinar), Family Law Week (23/10/2016)
‘Mending Rainbows: Domestic Violence in the LGBT Community/Communities,’ Family Law Week (09/03/2016) [co-authored with Lucinda Wicks]
‘Band-aids for bullet holes: pro bono legal services post-LASPO,’ Family Law (04 NOV 2016)
‘Personal Protection under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996,’ (webinar), Family Law Week (19/02/2016)
“Surrogacy: A Guide to the Current Law (Part 1)”, Family Law Week (24 January 2014)
“Surrogacy: A Guide to the Current Law (Part 2) – Issues Arising”, Family Law Week (30 January 2014)
