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Child Care Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Pleased to Announce Appointment of New Family & Childcare Directors (18 November 2015)

Date: 18/11/2015
Duncan Lewis, Child Care Solicitors, Duncan Lewis Pleased to Announce Appointment of New Family & Childcare Directors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors are extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Tashvinder Reel and Abbid Majeed as Directors in the firm’s Family & Childcare Department.

Joining the firm in November 2015 as Directors in the Duncan Lewis Family & Childcare department, Tashvinder Reel and Abbid Majeed will be respectively based in the firm’s West London Shepherds Bush and Bradford branches.

Headed by 20 Director Solicitors, and boasting over 45 Law Society Family & Childcare Panel Specialists, the Duncan Lewis Family & Childcare department are specialists in all aspects of family and private children law matters. Duncan Lewis’ Family and Childcare department is ranked by the Legal 500 clients guide and were winners of the 5th Annual 2015 Jordans Publishing Family Law Firm of the Year 2015 award. Duncan Lewis holds a niche practice in representing victims of domestic abuse and is significantly experienced in complex financial matrimonial matters (ancillary relief) relating to the breakdown of a marriage/relationship.

With a broad practice representing parents, family members and children through their children’s guardian in all children public law proceedings and conducting cases on behalf of the official solicitor, the Duncan Lewis’ Family & Childcare team are also specialists in high profile international child abduction cases, with an extensive practice in inherent jurisdiction/forum disputes, international relocation cases and wardship proceedings for the return of children and is none of only a small number of firms throughout the UK that are on the Lord Chancellor’s International Child Abduction & Contact Panel (ICACU), which is responsible for administering Hague Convention (Child Abduction) proceedings work in England. Since 2013, Duncan Lewis has an established Islamic & Sharia Law team which specialises in Islamic Divorce, Islamic Financial Settlement & Mehr Claims under English Law.

Joining the firm’s Shepherd Bush branch is Director Tashvinder Reel. Tashvinder (known as “Tish”) is a Director in the Duncan Lewis Family & Childcare department. Tish is experienced in all areas of family law including divorce, financial issues on marriage or relationship breakdown, domestic violence including injunctions, Forced Marriage, disputes between parents and grandparents concerning arrangement for children, childcare such are care or supervision proceedings, Emergency Protection orders and Secure Accommodation Orders, as well as international children cases such as Wardship or Abduction cases.

Tish has represented parents and children directly. She has dealt with complex cases including care cases involving foreign jurisdiction, non accidental cases where there has been complex medical evidence, cases where a child has died in the care of parents accused of being involved in the death, FGM cases, and cases where a child has been wrongfully removed abroad.

Tish was appointed to the Law Society’s Children Panel in 2012 and has been accredited by Resolution since 2011 as a specialist in representing parents in cases involving domestic violence, and where there are disputes concerning arrangements for the children following separation.

Tish has a history of working with and advising vulnerable members of the community including running free legal advice surgeries, evening and Saturday legal advice surgeries and advice surgeries for domestic violence agencies. She provides training and discussions with community groups around these issues as well as around the recent family Legal Aid changes.

Tish speaks Punjabi and has an understanding of Hindi and Urdu.

Joining the firm in the Bradford branch is Abbid Majeed. Abbid is a recognised as a Specialist Solicitor in children's law under the membership of the Law Society's Children Panel and currently undertakes all types of Family work. Abbid specialises in complex and protracted care cases on issues including serious non-accidental injury, severe sexual abuse (including historical allegations), fabricated or induced illness (FII), neglect and failure to protect from harm.

Abbid has represented parents with difficulties ranging from mental-health issues, chronic drugs and alcohol addiction to those with learning difficulties and disabilities. This has been before all tiers of the judiciary including Magistrates, District Judges, Circuit Judges and High Court Judges. A number of his cases have also appeared before the High Court of London. Abbid also represents parents at the pre proceedings stage at both Child Protection Conferences and PLO meetings. This allows him to assist in preventing Care Proceedings being issued through assisting clients in addressing concerns. Abbid has also represented parents in applying to discharge Care Orders and oppose applications for Adoption Orders.

Abbid also has a significant amount of experience in representing parents, as both Applicant and Respondent, in Private Children Law Act Proceedings. He has acted in complex proceedings involving local authorities as third parties and proceedings involving Part-16 guardians. He has represented parents, in intractable, protracted contact disputes, which have included issues of serious domestic violence, implacable hostility and sexual abuse. He has also represented parents in cases involving a risk of removal from the jurisdiction, internal relocation and temporary removal disputes. He has represented parents in applications relating to Child arrangement Order including enforcement proceedings, Prohibited Steps Order and Specific Issue Orders.

Abbid has represented parents in Family Law Act Proceedings as both Applicant and Respondent on applications, including on an ex parte basis, for Non-Molestation Orders, Occupation Orders and Forced Marriage Orders. He is very familiar with the law relating to Domestic Violence and is also extremely knowledgeable when it comes to cultural issues arising from family conflicts.

Abbid has practiced largely in the Yorkshire and surrounding Counties and undertakes the majority of his own advocacy. He is approachable and easy to engage with and is recognised by his clients as somebody who gives clear, direct and sensible advice. He in particular takes time to explain to his clients the issues and concerns in their case and the options available to them at every stage of the proceedings.

Prior to Joining Duncan Lewis, Abbid was the head of the family department of a busy city centre firm in Leeds. Along with undertaking family work Abbid also represented clients in criminal proceedings both in the Magistrate’s Court, the Crown Court and at the police station for which he is an accredited representative. He in particular, represented parents who had been arrested and charged for child related offences such as neglect, sexual abuse and assault. This experience has allowed Abbid to better represent and advise parents in Children Act Proceedings particularly when these proceedings are running concurrently to Criminal Proceedings.

Abbid can speak in both Urdu and Punjabi.


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