Tozers have built an excellent reputation for representing parents and others in Court proceedings or in pre-proceedings brought by Social Services. Tozers have one of the largest local teams dedicated to working on cases relating to children.
Tozers in Newton Abbot also has the distinction of having five members of its team as solicitors on the Law Society’s Children Panel. Children law accreditation is a recognised quality standard for practitioners representing children and their parents in proceedings.
By securing accreditation, it demonstrates that the team members have:-
- Personally conducted cases and represented parties in children proceedings;
- Carried out advocacy for clients;
- A thorough awareness of ethical issues that can arise in children cases;
- An up-to-date knowledge of guidance, legislation, case law and practice developments;
- The ability to work directly with children to explore their competence and understand their wishes and feelings.
With five solicitors on the Children Panel - Tony Wood, Mark Williams, Louise Barber, Gail Salway, and Eleanor Symons - they have, between them, 133 combined years of experience in cases relating to children. Their knowledge and experience, supported by other team members, are such that the care team at Tozers is well-placed to manage cases and securing the best outcomes for the client.
The law in relation to care proceedings is particularly challenging and by utilising the services of Tozers and its Children Panel solicitors, clients can be reassured that they will be working with a team who not only will be compassionate in their approach, but robust in challenging Social Services.
For any person involved with Social Services in pre-proceedings (PLO) or Court applications, the Local Authority will provide a list of Children Panel solicitors. It needs to be emphasised that those solicitors are completely independent of Social Services and, unlike some solicitors firms, Tozers refuse to act for any Local Authority’s Social Services team when they have needed to outsource. Tozers are proud to be independent of Social Services to ensure their ability to put the client’s case first and above any other considerations.
If Social Services are involved relating to your children, then we would recommend contacting our team at the earliest opportunity so that we can be on board to support your case.
Contact Mark Williams, Children Panel Solicitor and Partner on 01626 207020.
