Robin Powell

Profile

Robin Powell came to the Bar after a successful career in Local Authority Social Services where he worked in child protection and mental health. With this experience, he has built a practice in public law child care representing both local authorities and parents and specialising in cases where there are issues of learning disability, mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction and allegations of serious sexual abuse and physical injury.

He has broadened his family practice to include divorce and financial relief, in particular freezing injunctions and interim protection of matrimonial assets and child maintenance under Schedule 1 of the Children Act, and the Child Support Act, Community Care.

His practice in the Court of Protection includes deprivation of liberty, appointment and removal of deputies, Statutory Wills, provision of funding and accommodation.

His experience in private law children matters includes abduction and wrongful removal and emergency remedies under the Family Law Act 1996.

In Personal Injury he accepts instructions in a wide range of personal injury work including serious injury arising from assault and road traffic accidents, historic sexual abuse and claims for psychiatric injury. He has a particular interest in workplace injury arising out of manual handling and repetitive tasks.

His experience in Medical Law has led him to accept invitations to join the Ethics Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the Management Council of the Lincoln Clinic of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.

He has combined his expertise in Employment and Medical law to represent medical professions at General Medical Council (GMC) disciplinary hearings and on appeal to the High Court and he is a member of the Ethics and Conduct Screening Committee of the British Psychotherapy Council.

Experience

• Public law child care in cases of allegations of serious head injury, sexual abuse, mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction
• Ancillary relief, emergency remedies, worldwide freezing injunctions, financial claims under Schedule 1 of the Children Act. 
• Private law Children Act proceedings, Family Law Act proceedings.
• Trusts of Land and Inheritance Act claims.
• Possession claims.
• GMC disciplinary hearings.
• Arbitration, International Construction Law.

Significant Cases

Re GR (Children) & others [2010] EWCA Civ 871
Unsuccessful appeal by Local Authority from Recorder's order refusing interim care orders in relation to the two youngest (of four) children where the Recorder had granted interim care orders in relation to the older children.

Publications

Expert Evidence in Children Act Proceedings; The Protocol, The Convention And Common Law Rights, Family Law 2006 (Jordan)
 
The Dilemmas in the Medical Treatment of Children Facing Inevitable Death, 2007 Archives of Disease of Childhood (BMJ)

In the media

17.06.08 Solicitor's Journal published an article from Robin, entitled 'Estoppel in Possession Claims against Third Parties' which examines changes in the law related to repossession of property occupied by a third party.

Memberships

Member, Family Law Bar Association
Member, Administrative Law Bar Association
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, TECBar
Member, APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers)
Member, ACAL (Association of Child Abuse Lawyers)

Qualifications

BA, LLM (Kings, London)

Appointments

Member, Ethics Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

Member, Management Council of the Lincoln Centre for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy