Profile

Deirdre Fottrell KC specialises in the law relating to children.

She is also a leading practitioner in the field of surrogacy and assisted reproduction cases and those in which issues of legal parentage arise. Deirdre sits as a Deputy High Court Judge. She has appeared at all levels of court in the UK including the Supreme Court and the Privy Council and has litigated cases before the European Court of Human Rights.

Deirdre has particular expertise as appellate counsel in all areas of children law and surrogacy and she has appeared in the Court of Appeal on over 30 occasions between 2018 and 2024.

She has broad experience in complex public law cases in which allegations of sexual abuse, or fatal injury arise and appears in these matters in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal.

Deirdre was a university lecturer before coming to the bar. She has taught and published in the area of children’s rights, European human rights and international law. She held academic posts at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London and the University of Essex. From 2002-2012 she was a visiting professor in human rights law at the School of International Affairs at Columbia University in New York. She has acted as a Council of Europe expert on the ECHR and in an advisory capacity to UNIFEM.

Directories

Leading silk who regularly acts on law-changing matters relating to surrogacy and broader fertility issues. She is recognised for her international expertise in child adoption, relocation and abduction matters, as is further noted for her strength in domestic child disputes involving cases of abuse and radicalisation.

“Deirdre probes all angles of a legal argument. She is pragmatic and always looking for a sensible solution to help her clients.”
Star Individual – Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Her advocacy is spot-on; she’s absolutely lethal in cross-examination and produces extremely convincing submissions. She obviously has the ear of the court.” Star Individual Chambers and Partners, 2024

“She’s a very considered advocate, whose submissions are both elegant and completely crushing.”
Star Individual – Chambers and Partners, 2024

“Deirdre has an incredible capacity to tread a path through litigation that is both sensitive to the issues but strategically robust. She reads the situation and has incisive judgement. A hands-on silk who has the respect of all her peers.”
Tier 2 – Legal 500, 2024

“She’s impressive, knows her stuff and is always very well prepared. You need to be on top of your game when clashing swords with her. She’s one of the most impressive children law barristers around.”
Star Individual – Chambers and Partners, 2023

“Deirdre Fottrell is one of a kind. She’s a go-to silk in London for children work. Her advocacy skills are world class and she’s a joy to work with.”
Star Individual – Chambers and Partners, 2023

“Deirdre is an intelligent, considered lawyer whose emotional intelligence and understanding of psychological drivers for her clients and opponents puts her into a league of her own. She is a strategic and analytical lawyer, who possesses an unparalleled understanding of the human mind, its strengths and frailties. She is a true team player.”
Tier 2 – Legal 500, 2023

“She is incredibly hardworking and has an acute and analytical mind. She works well with her instructing solicitor as a team member so there is a collaborative exchange of ideas and strategy.”
Tier 2 – Legal 500, 2022

“Deirdre is the whole package, and her academic ability and strategy ability are second to none.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019

“Her knowledge of surrogacy is encyclopaedic and she’s in a league of her own. She has a lot of gravitas, and if you’re having a meeting she owns the room.”
Chambers and Partners, 2019

“Gets to the nub of the issue so quickly.”
Legal 500, 2018/19

“Deirdre Fottrell has made her mark this year as a silk. She has an intricate knowledge of the most complex international and domestic law and she is a magnetic and powerful advocate.”
Chambers and Partners, 2017