Karen Barham

Karen describes herself as a peacemaker and a deal broker. She joined Moore Barlow LLP in 2006 bringing considerable knowledge and experience as a family lawyer, having specialised in this area for over 35 years.

She practises exclusively as a mediator and parenting coordinator assisting couples and families when relationships break down. She grasps the issues quickly and has a high success rate. She is experienced in making arrangements for children and resolving financial aspects. Also qualified in Child Inclusive Mediation (CIM), she is qualified to meet separately with children and young people to ascertain their thoughts and views thereby giving them an opportunity to have a voice.

She has served on the boards of the Family Mediation Council and Resolution and continue to sit on Resolution’s Dispute Resolution Committee. In 2016 she was awarded the Resolution John Cornwell award ‘in recognition of outstanding work to support separating families’. In 2023 she was honoured to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Surrey Law Society, having been its Family Lawyer of the Year in 2021.

Many families can be assisted to find solutions in out-of-court processes including mediation, collaborative law, early neutral evaluation, private FDRs, arbitration and parenting coordination. Accordingly, she pioneered The Surrey Initiative following which she was invited to join the Family Solutions Group and the Family Procedure Rule Committee Working Group tasked with strengthening non-court dispute resolution. She is delighted to have contributed to the change of the Family Procedure Rules of April 2024.

She is divorced with a son in his mid-twenties. Football is my big passion. She is involved in grassroots youth football as Child Welfare Officer at Milford Pumas Youth FC and follow QPR and England home and away.