Family Law

Sima has a strong family practice in representing clients in Children Act matters and frequently acts in private children cases involving relation cases, safeguarding issues, including allegations of physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. She represents both Mothers and Fathers as well as grandparents. Most of her cases include elements of domestic abuse perpetrated upon parents and children. She regularly appears in Finding of Fact and Final hearings in matters involving complex legal and factual issues. Sima also attends first hearings and directions hearings in order to case manage her client’s case properly so that she seeks the right case management orders for her client’s at the outset. This is essential for proper case planning.

Sima also regularly acts in Family Law Act applications such as non-molestations orders and occupation order, including directions hearings and contested final hearings, on behalf of both applicants and respondents. She prepares urgent applications such as injunctions/protective orders for clients and then presents them on an urgent basis to the Court ensuring that the best possible case has been presented for her client. Equally Sima represents respondents at urgent return hearings to ensure that her client’s do not have unnecessary orders placed against them.

Sima has also been instructed internationally on child abduction cases and in the safe return of children. This is a complex area of the law and usually requires High Court proceedings. Careful planning is required in this area of law and Sima has worked on international cases in, USA, China Pakistan, UAE, Latvia and India. Given her background in both Immigration, Asylum and Human rights law, Sima is well equipped with the legal principles that apply to such cases in both areas of the law placing her at a unique advantage.

Sima specialises in engaging in all areas of divorce and financial remedy applications and represents both applicants and respondents in FDA (Fist Hearings) hearings, Financial Dispute Resolution hearings and Final Hearings. She has dealt with a range of cases including high net worth divorces. She deals frequently and confidently with financial-remedies cases involving high-value assets, complex business structures, family trusts, and assets outside of the jurisdiction and frequently deals with cases involving multiple parties and interveners and cases involving complex issues of conduct. In addition to financial remedies cases, Sima regularly undertakes cases relating to non-matrimonial finances such as TOLATA applications, cohabitation cases, civil-partnership issues, and Schedule-1 claims.

She is a strong advocate and her submissions are often referred to as forceful and persuasive. She gives realistic and practical advice from the outset but it not afraid to face a challenge. She has extensive experience of proceedings at all levels up to the Court of Appeal with leading Counsel.

Sima is also often instructed on cases where there are key features of immigration issues in Children cases. This is because she is also an Immigration & Human Rights practitioner therefore has robust knowledge of the Home Office applications systems and the law surrounding the granting of visas. There is usually an interplay of Article 6 and Article 8 rights in these kinds of cases. Sima represents clients who are overstayers in the UK seeking to exercise their parental responsibilities and seeking contact with children. Equally Sima represents those clients who feel that the Children Act proceedings have only been instigated by a parent to advance their immigration status. Either way, these types of cases are sensitive and require a unique and specialist skill set which Sima through her years experience has plenty of.