News

Duncan Lewis is delighted to welcome back returning childcare director Mindy Chall Mehat, who not only brings with her 15 years’ experience but key members of her team from her previous firm.

Mindy joins a legal 500 tier 1 ranked family and childcare team in the South East, with dedicated offices in Milton Keynes, Harrow and Luton.

As a team director, she will be based at the company's Milton Keynes office, along with Chartered Legal Executive Melissa Tibbenham, and solicitor Charlene Seaton, who all join from Cartwright King Solicitors.

Admitted as a solicitor in 2010, Mindy first worked for Duncan Lewis Solicitors from 2018-2020, when she left to spread her wings elsewhere.

Mindy primarily specialises in childcare matters and has a wealth of expertise in handling complex cases with international elements.

A member of the Law Society's Children Panel, she is passionate about working with and assisting vulnerable people and, like Duncan Lewis, is committed to ensuring her clients have a voice and get supported through the entire legal process.



She says: “I really enjoyed my time at Duncan Lewis and after spending some time working elsewhere, and building on my previous experience, I have decided it is the right time to return. It is a great company to work for and has a fantastic team, with a great culture. It feels like it is the perfect fit for me. I particularly like the flexibility the company offers, the diversity of the team and I can’t wait to touch base with my old colleagues and meet the new people who have joined in the time since I left.”

Chartered Legal Executive Melissa Tibbenham also joins the team, bringing her extensive experience background in public law childcare matters, gained from working at a local authority for more than 20 years. She also has experience of private law matters such as special guardianship orders and matters where a court orders a Section 37 or Section 7 reports.

Solicitor Charlene Seaton also has 15 years’ experience in family law, having qualified as a solicitor in 2011, also joining the team this month.

Charlene has wide-ranging experience in the full range of family and childcare matters, including applications for child arrangements orders, specific issue orders, prohibited steps orders, non-molestation proceedings, divorce proceedings and financial relief proceedings and care proceedings.

To contact Mindy and her team for advice in regard to any childcare matter email MindyCm@duncanlewis.com or telephone on 020 7014 7381.

The Milton Keynes family team is part of our large and highly experienced family team, which is noted in the Legal 500 directory for the quality of its solicitors and specialism in representing victims of domestic violence, handling complex divorce matters and securing financial settlement following the breakdown of a marriage.

The practice handles a full range of family law matters from divorce matters and financial settlements to pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements. The team is particularly skilled at navigating cases of parental conflict involving elements of domestic abuse and parental alienation.

Shazia Rana is also a director of childcare based in the Milton Keynes office who frequently represents parents, children and family members in private children law cases including prohibited steps order, specific issue orders as well as special guardianship orders.

Duncan Lewis is an award-winning Times Top 200 law firm, ranked as Top Tier by both the Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 directories in a number of fields. The company represents clients in more than 25 practice areas.

The company employs over 550 personnel, including 150 family and childcare solicitors, trainee solicitors and caseworkers, and 19 directors. It is able to deliver the highest quality legal services in over 60 languages, through 14 key offices UK-wide, including a head office in the City of London, thanks to the diversity of its staff, for which it has been recently been shortlisted for the Diversity and Inclusion award at the Modern Law awards 2023.

It is gold accredited by Investors in People, which recognises the supportive environment provided to staff at Duncan Lewis.