Child law hub

Our Child Law Hub provides information and resources the aim of which is to assist parents, prospective parents, grandparents, children, carers, local authorities and anyone involved in legal processes in Scotland that involve decisions being made about children's care or living arrangements.

It is enshrined in law in Scotland that the welfare any child is of paramount importance when decisions are made about them, equally important is the principle that children have a voice of their own. Our legal system provides children with the opportunity to express their views and decision makers, including parents, carers, local authorities and judges must take count of this in the decision-making process.

But child law is much more than practice and precedent. There can be few cases for parents which are of greater significance than those concerning the care of their children.

At Brodies, we negotiate, mediate and collaborate in all areas of child law. We litigate in cases which the dispute is genuinely intractable or where emergency protection is needed for a child or a parent. We are involved in securing the return of children abducted across international boundaries to their home states. We deal with adoptions and international adoptions. We secure parental orders for parents who have entered into surrogacy arrangements. We regularly support local authorities to secure child protection orders, permanence orders, authority to adopt and enforcement of orders made in the Court of Protection.

Our approach to child law is solution focused and seeks to minimise conflict. We engage with other experts such as psychologists and other mental health professionals, when required, to provide the best support to children involved in a case.

Our commitment to and expertise in child law mean that lawyers in our Child Law Hub are regularly instructed by the courts across Scotland to provide child welfare reports in contentious disputes. We are also frequently instructed by individuals and local authorities in adoption matters and on behalf of family members seeking to make applications for parental rights and responsibilities in relation to children who have been placed in their care.

Our work covers every aspect of Scottish child law including:

Get in touch with a member of our Family law team 

Our family solicitors and mediators are personable and approachable. Our objective is to resolve matters for you as efficiently as possible, so that we can get the best outcome for you and your family.