Kim Lehal

I am a Partner in the Family department. I am an accredited specialist by the Law Society in international child abduction and children law. I advise on all aspects of children law.

I primarily practise in the following areas: international movement of children, proceedings under the inherent jurisdiction and wardship, proceedings under council regulation concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility, complex private law to determine who a child will live with and what contact they will have with the absent parent, forced marriage cases and complex care and adoption proceedings involving an international dimension.

I am interested in honour-based violence, FGM and representing abandoned spouses in foreign jurisdictions. I am a fluent speaker of Punjabi and Hindi and am proficient in Urdu.

I also have particular interest in assisted reproduction. I advise on complex international surrogacy arrangements and in complex parental order cases where there have been issues with domicile, consent or where nationality or immigration law have caused difficulties with family court applications in the UK.

I offer strategic practical advice in an attempt to resolve often complex family disputes. I am prepared to go the extra mile and pull out all the stops, with a strong level of understanding, support and empathy for my clients.

I am on the international child abduction and contact unit (ICACU) and Reunite panels of recommended lawyers. I am a founding member of the Child Abduction Lawyers Association and am currently the membership secretary for the same organisation.

I studied law at Birmingham University, graduating in 2006. I completed the Legal Practice Court at the College of Law Birmingham, gaining a distinction in Family law. I became an Associate in 2012. I was accredited by the Law Society and joined Brethertons in 2013.

Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family, seeing the world and trying to keep fit.

Experience and Accreditations

Notable cases I have been involved in:

1. CB v CB [2013] EWHC 2092 (Fam) (10 April 2013)
2. JEG v IS [2014] EWHC 287 (Fam) (13 February 2014)
3. Re B (A CHILD) (1980 HAGUE CONVENTION PROCEEDINGS) [2014] EWCA Civ 375
4. ED (A Child) 2014 EWHC 2731 (Fam)
5. R v R (Jurisdiction and Acquiescence) [2016] 1339 EWHC (Fam)
6. Y (Children) [2018] EWCA Civ 1208
7. Re S (A Child) [2018] EWCA Civ 1453
8. Re C (Children) (Abduction: Article 13(b)) [2018] EWCA Civ 2834
9. Uhd v McKay [2019] EWHC 1239 (Fam)
10. Re G (A Child) 2016 CA (Civ Div)
11. [2020] EWCA Civ 1185 Z (Recognition of Foreign Adoption: Refusal) (2020)
12. G (A Child: Child Abduction) [2020] EWCA Civ 1185 (2020)

• Qualified as a Solicitor in 2009
• Studied at the University of Birmingham, graduating in 2007
• Completed the Legal Practice Court at the College of Law Birmingham, gaining a Distinction in Family Law
• An accredited specialist by the Law Society Family Law Advanced panel in International Child Abduction and Children Law since 2013
• An accredited member of the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) specialist solicitors panel, the Reunite panel of recommended lawyers, a founding member of the Child Abduction Lawyers Association (CALA) and in 2018 appointed as the membership secretary for CALA
• Kim is a trained Special Educational Needs lawyer. Kim works closely with parents and young adults and assists them to obtain support from Local Authorities with their education
• A fluent speaker of Punjabi and Hindi and proficient in basic Urdu