Gareth Bishop

Gareth Bishop is part of our Family Law team based within the Poundbury office. He has worked at Battens for 14 years and is a member of the Law Society Children Law Scheme. He specialises in cases when acting for children either through their CAFCASS Guardian or where they are able to instruct a solicitor directly, often dealing with the most serious allegations of physical harm and sexual abuse.

Gareth qualified as a solicitor in September 2012 following completion of his training contract at Battens. Gareth dedicates all of his time to Family Law, specialising in cases involving children.

Gareth is regularly instructed to act in relation to Emergency Protection Orders, Care / Supervision Orders, Placement Orders and Adoption Orders. Over the past 10 years he has built a solid reputation as being a leading solicitor in the Dorset area acting for CAFCASS on behalf of children in cases dealing with the most serious allegations of significant physical harm (non-accidental injury) and sexual abuse.

Being recognised by the Law Society Children Law Scheme means that Gareth is often instructed by older children directly when they are no longer able to remain living at home with their family and are subject to applications for Secure Accommodation Orders or Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding restrictions. He has been commended for his personable and realistic approach when acting for children directly to ensure that they feel involved in the process and that their voice is heard in court.

An example of a case that Gareth has worked on is representing a grandparent in 2 sets of public law proceedings where the Local Authority sought to remove a child from the care of their family. Concerns related to parental mental health and alcohol misuse, and not the care being provided to the child by their grandparent. In both sets of proceedings managing to oppose the Local Authority application for the child to be removed from the care of their family and placed in foster care and in the second set of proceedings securing a Special Guardianship Order to the grandparent.

Gareth works closely with a range of professionals and experts to ensure the best outcomes for each of his clients and is regularly commended for his dedication to his clients and his expertise when faced with the most challenging of situations.