Olivia Magennis

Practice Areas

Olivia specialises in all aspects of family law as it relates to children.

In the private law field Olivia has extensive experience of complex child arrangements disputes involving implacable hostility/parental alienation, allegations of physical/emotional/sexual abuse, leave to remove applications and cases requiring the separate representation of children.

In the public law field, Olivia represents Local Authorities, parents, extended family members, foster carers, and children at all stages of care and adoption proceedings. Olivia has particular experience in cases involving complex and disputed medical evidence and serious allegations of physical, sexual or emotional harm. Olivia has considerable experience of the application of human rights law to children law cases, in particular claims for declarations and/or damages made against Local Authorities.

Olivia is increasingly instructed in cases involving children born through surrogacy arrangements; she has appeared in the High Court and Court of Appeal in such cases, including applications for parental orders, declarations of parentage and private law disputes arising out of surrogacy arrangements.

Career

• BA Hons, Law, Christ's College, Cambridge University

• BVC, Inns of Court School of Law (2004)

• MA, Cantab (2007)

• Bilingual Summer School in International Criminal Law, Leiden University,

Netherlands (2008)

• 2015: Recorder (Crime)

• 2021: Recorder (Family)

• 2021: MCIArb

Awards

• South-Eastern Circuit Advocacy Scholarship, Levin College of Law, University of Florida, US (2009)

• Pegasus Scholarship: Washington DC, USA (2010)

Professional Memberships

• Family Law Bar Association Committee Member (co-opted 2014, elected 2015)

• Midland Circuit

• South Eastern Circuit

• Association of Lawyers for Children

• Resolution

Languages Spoken

• French (conversational), Spanish (conversational), Russian (basic)