Deborah Piccos

Practice Areas

Deborah represents children in a wide variety of public law and adoption cases. She is a specialist in care proceedings including cases concerned with issues of radicalisation; fabricated and induced illness, non-accidental injuries; serious sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect. She is also experienced in cases involving contact with children in care, assessment applications, finding of fact hearings, placements abroad and cases with international jurisdiction issues.

Deborah undertakes her own advocacy in all levels of courts and is a Higher Rights Advocate in Civil Law. Deborah is a band 2 lawyer in Chamber and Partners. Deborah is noted in in the current Legal 500 directory as a key lawyer at TV Edwards LLP.

Deborah was the Chair of SAHCA – The Solicitors’ Association of Higher Courts Advocates from 2020-2022 and remains a member of the committee. Deborah was a finalist in the Legal Aid Practitioners’ Group’s family legal aid lawyer of the year for 2022 and 2017. Deborah also sits as a Deputy District Judge.

Area of specialism:

- Public law children.

Career

Deborah qualified as a solicitor in December 2001 and specialises in public law children matters and undertakes her own advocacy in all of her cases.

Professional Memberships

Accreditations:

- The Law Society Children Law accreditation and higher rights of audience (civil). Vulnerable witness training accreditation obtained.

Memberships:

- Chair of the Solicitor’s Association of Higher Courts Advocates (SAHCA) 2020 – 2022 and current committee member.

- Association of Lawyers for Children.

- Member of the East London Family Court Local Family Justice Board.

- London Children’s Lawyers Group.

- Lesbian & Gay Lawyers Association.

- NSPCC.

- Associate member of the National Association of Guardians ad Litem and Reporting Officers (NAGALRO).

- Barnet, East London and Central Family Court User Groups.

Work Highlights

- Re MP (Fact-Finding Hearing: Care Proceedings) [2013] EWHC 2062 (Fam).

- Re MP (Fact-finding Hearing: Care Proceedings: Art 15) [2013] EWHC 2063 (Fam), [2014] 1 FLR 702.

- London Borough of Barnet v The Father & Anor [2014] EWFC B144 (11 July 2014).

- London-Borough of Newham v KA Mother Ors [2016] EWFC B11 (4 March 2016).

- Re SL Permission to Vaccinate [2017] EWHC 125 (Fam) (30 January 2017).

- Re J, G And H (Children: Supervision Orders) [2021] EWHC 884 (Fam) (29 March 2021).

- Re A, B, C, D, E & F (Fabricated and induced illness) [2022] EWFC 63 (24 March 2022).