Frankie Shama

Private Children Law

Frankie is regularly instructed in complex private law cases concerning child arrangements and appears at all stages of proceedings including fact finding and final hearings. He regularly undertakes work involving allegations of domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour.

Frankie has particular experience in cases involving allegations of alienating behaviours having co-authored A Practical Guide to Parental Alienation in Private and Public Law Children Cases (Law Brief Publishing, 2022) with Sam King KC. He gives lectures and seminars on the subject and has been involved in several cases at fact finding and final hearing stage, including cases involving children represented by r.16.4 guardians and the challenging of expert evidence. He was led by Charles Hale KC on behalf of the father in the matter of Re C (‘Parental Alienation’: Instruction of Expert) [2023] EWHC 345 (Fam), an appeal before the President of the Family Division, in which the court gave essential guidance on the instruction of expert psychologists within disputes involving allegations of alienating behaviours.

Frankie has experience of relocation matters, including relocation within and outside of the jurisdiction. He recently represented a mother seeking permission to relocate to Germany in the matter of D v T [2023] EWFC 285, where he successfully cross-examined the Cafcass officer involved, and obtained an order granting permission for her to relocate with the children.

Frankie was led by Alex Verdan KC in the Court of Appeal in Re G (Children) (Supervised Contact) [2023] EWCA Civ 1453 where they successfully represented the mother in a case concerning whether the trial Judge had fallen into error in requiring the father to engage in a course of psychotherapy prior to the development of unsupervised contact.

Frankie also accepts instructions in matters concerning applications for non-molestation and occupation orders under the Family Law Act 1996.

International Children Law

Frankie appears in the High Court in child abduction matters pursuant to both the 1980 Hague Convention and the Inherent Jurisdiction. He also has experience of cases involving the recognition and enforcement of foreign orders under the 1996 Hague Convention. He undertakes work at all stages of proceedings, from urgent applications to contested multi-day final hearings.

He was led by Ruth Kirby KC in the matter of NT v HT [2021] EWHC 3231, representing the applicant maternal grandparents in a decision which involved consideration of inchoate rights of custody. He also has experience of summary return proceedings involving non-Hague Convention states having successfully represented the respondent mother in the matter of WX v YZ [2021] EWHC 3725, a case concerning an application for summary return of children to Dubai, where he was led by Alex Verdan KC.

Frankie was part of the team intervening on behalf of the International Academy of Family Lawyers’ (IAFL) in the appeal to the US Supreme Court in the case of Golan v Saada (No. 20-1034). He contributed to the written amicus brief for this appeal, which focused on the correct approach to Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention. He was also part of the team intervening on behalf of the IAFL in the seminal case of London Borough of Hackney v P & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 1213, where the Court of Appeal clarified the relevant date for determining habitual residence pursuant to Article 5 of the 1996 Hague Convention.

Family Finance

Frankie undertakes work in financial remedy proceedings at all stages of proceedings including FDAs, FDRs and final hearings. He has experience in claims under section 37 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and matters involving alleged disposition of property and other assets to defeat a claim.

Frankie further represents clients in proceedings brought under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989.

Frankie also has experience in contested divorce proceedings. He was Junior Counsel to Charles Hale KC in the matter of Boughajdim v Hayoukane [2022] EWHC 2673. He successfully represented the petitioner wife in a decision in which Mr Justice MacDonald considered the question of whether the petitioner’s divorce petition should be allowed to proceed in this jurisdiction, based on a marriage that has been recognised by the Moroccan court and registered in Morocco pursuant to legislation designed to provide retrospective recognition of marriage in that jurisdiction.

Public Children Law

Frankie undertakes work at all stages of public law proceedings. He represents the local authority, parents and guardians alike, and has experience in matters involving allegations of physical and sexual abuse within care proceedings.

He appeared un-led, successfully representing the local authority in the Court of Appeal in Re B (A Child) [2021] EWCA Civ 1221. This case considered whether the court had struck the correct balancing exercise in refusing to dispense with the requirement that a local authority give notice of care proceedings to a father who did not have parental responsibility for the subject child.

More recently, he appeared in Re C (A Child) (Ability to Instruct Solicitor) [2023] EWCA Civ 889, representing the mother in a successful appeal to the Court of Appeal against an order to join an severely alienated child to proceedings and allow them to instruct their own solicitor in circumstances where part of the judicial consideration had derived from evidence improperly gathered during a meeting between the Judge and child.

Surrogacy

Frankie represents applicants in applications for parental orders pursuant to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. As part of this work and his wider practice he has experience working with LGBT parents and families.

Training/Publications

A Practical Guide to Parental Alienation in Private and Public Law Children Cases (Law Brief Publishing, 2022)

‘The use of experts in private children family disputes involving allegations of parental alienation’, The Barrister (April 2023)