William Horwood

William practises predominantly in the field of public law child care. He acts on behalf of local authorities, parents, children, and extended family members. He is regularly instructed in cases involving serious physical or sexual abuse of children. William also has a significant international element to his practice, and regularly acts in cases involving the placement of children outside the United Kingdom. William has an interest in the developing law in relation to forced marriage and the validity of marriages entered into outside the United Kingdom, in both the public law and private law context. He has recently published an article in Family Law on this topic.

Reported cases include: Tousi v Gaydukova [2024] EWCA Civ 203 (Court of Appeal), [2023] EWHC 404 (Fam) (High Court); A Local Authority v The Mother and others [2022] EWHC 3043 (Fam); M (Children: Applications by Email) [2021] EWCA Civ 806; AV (A Child) (Expert Report) [2020] EWCA Civ 346; K, T and U (Placement of Children with Kinship Carers Abroad) [2019] EWFC 59.

William was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 2016 and joined St Philips Chambers in 2017. He undertakes a significant amount of work on a pro bono basis, and in 2023 was the winner of the Birmingham Law Society Pro Bono Award. In 2024, he was shortlisted for Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year at the Bar Pro Bono Awards.