Family Law

Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar in 1977 and practiced in chambers in Birmingham until 1993 when he moved to specialist family law chambers in London. He appeared at all levels of court including the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. He was appointed as a QC in 1998. In April 2005 he was appointed to the High Court, Family Division and was for 5 years the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland Circuit. He has recently been a member of the Government ‘Family Justice Review’ Panel. In July 2011 he was appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal and now sits full time in the Court of Appeal in London.

Together with the late David Hershman he is the co-author of a loose-leaf legal text entitled Hershman and McFarlane: Children: Law and Practice. In addition he has contributed to other publications and lectured throughout the UK and abroad.

He has been a trustee of YoungMinds (the national young person’s mental health charity). He is Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter. He has been a native of Herefordshire and Worcestershire for over 20 years.

Emma joined Garden Court Chambers in October 2016 following completion of her pupillage under the supervision of Mark Symes and James Scobie QC She gained valuable advocacy experience in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts, as well at the First-tier and Upper Tribunal.

She is keen to pursue a broad public law and human rights practice, building on her experience as a legal specialist in the House of Commons and her time at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland, as well as developing her existing immigration practice. Her background in international law assists in making well-supported human rights based arguments, particularly in international protection cases.

During pupillage, she assisted Mark Symes in Khaled v Secretary of State No 1 [2016] EWHC 857 (Admin), a judicial review test case challenging Dublin III removals to Bulgaria. The case raised complex public law and human rights arguments about reception conditions on return, non-refoulement and unlawful detention.

She regularly appears in the Asylum and Immigration Chamber and has experience representing vulnerable clients, including unaccompanied minors, victims of domestic and sexual violence, and former immigration detainees.

Emma welcomes pro bono instructions.