Estelle Lear

Profile

Estelle’s practice encompasses both personal injury and family law.

Family law

Estelle has experience in all areas of family law and has appeared at all levels of court from the Family Proceedings Court to the High Court. 

Estelle’s family practice includes:

Financial provision 
On divorce, including complex businesses, trusts, third party claims against matrimonial property, bankruptcy, nuptial agreements, cases with an international element and enforcement proceedings.

Property disputes between cohabitees.

Financial provision for children of unmarried parents.

Civil partnerships.

Inheritance Act claims.

Private law children
Including residence, shared residence and contact, applications for leave to remove from the jurisdiction and other specific issue orders.

Experience of complex and intractable disputes, alleged domestic violence and fact-find hearings, and allegations of child abuse within the private law context.

Family Law Act cases
Including domestic violence and occupation of the home.

Child abduction
Including Convention and non-Convention abduction cases and applications for permanent leave to remove from the jurisdiction

Care proceedings 
Estelle has acted for Local Authorities, parents, family members and children in applications for care orders, supervision orders, special guardianship and adoption.

Personal injury

Estelle advises and represents Claimants and Defendants in a wide variety of personal injury claims.

Other information

Prior to coming to the Bar, Estelle gained experience in the field of legal costs, having worked for three years as a legal costs negotiator dealing predominately with multi-track cases.  In addition, Estelle worked for two local authorities where she specialised in care proceedings and gained extensive experience of advocacy from first hearing to final hearing.

Estelle regularly provides CPD accredited training for solicitors and is a contributor to the Chambers Family Team newsletter.

Estelle sits on the Bar Council Recruitment and Entry Committee.

Estelle is approved to accept instructions via Direct Public access.

Memberships

Family Law Bar Association

Denning Society (Lincoln’s Inn)

Qualifications

LLB Hons, First Class (Lancaster University) 

Bar Vocational Course, Very Competent (Nottingham Law School)

Lincoln's Inn: Hardwicke Scholar; Eastham Scholar