Our team

Tony Chaplin is a specialist in the area of children law, in particular, in cases where a local authority is involved (such as care proceedings) or a court has directed that a child has its own solicitor. He qualified in 1983 and initially worked for a local authority, advising and acting for a Social Services department. For more than the last 20 years, however, he has been in private practice, representing parents and children in court proceedings. He is a partner in the firm and a long-standing member of the Children Panel. His vast experience of being professionally involved in children cases in a number of different contexts has provided him with a breadth of knowledge that enables him to advocate expertly for all those he represents. Tony is the honorary legal adviser to the local branch of a national children's charity. 

James Welch also practises exclusively in children law, covering similar ground to Tony Chaplin. He qualified as a solicitor in 1985. For a number of years after that, he  combined acting in children cases with dealing with criminal law cases. For many years now, however, he has focused on representing parents and children in cases  which involve a local authority or in which a court has directed that the child has its own solicitor. He is regularly instructed in cases where very serious allegations of  abuse or neglect are made, as is Tony Chaplin, and he and Tony have a reputation, as a team, for offering expert legal representation in such cases. James is also a partner in the  firm and a long-standing member of the Children Panel.

Mark Tattersall's main area of practice is dealing with the financial issues arising from the breakdown of a marriage or cohabitation, although he also regularly deals with children cases relating to contact (what used to be called "access") and residence ("custody"). He qualified as a solicitor in 1986 and virtually throughout the period since then has practised exclusively in family law. He has for many years been a member of Resolution (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association). This is an organisation of family law specialists which adopts a non-confrontational approach to issues arising from relationship breakdown. He is a partner in the firm and a member of Resolution's Panel of Accredited Specialists, his specialisms being advocacy in financial provision cases and in children cases.

Julie McGovern's main area of practice is children cases, although she also regularly deals with wider family law issues, such as applications to courts in domestic violence cases. She is a litigation executive who has worked for more than 20 years in the area of family law and is consequently very experienced in dealing with all aspects of that area of law.