Tanya Zabihi

Call 1988
Email tanya.zabihi@3pb.co.uk
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Family

Tanya has over 22 years of experience working in the field of children and family law and is regularly instructed by local authorities, parents, guardians and adopters.
Her specialisms include:

• Care Proceedings
• Care proceedings with an educational element
• Special educational needs tribunals
• Residence and Contact
• Adoption
• Emergency Procedures
• Child Abduction and Jurisdictional issues
• Financial Provision for Children

Before moving to the independent Bar, Tanya was an employed advocate at a leading County Council in Greater London and also in private practice, headed the Children Team at a legal 500 rated firm. As well as acting as a solicitor advocate for parents, local authorities and children in private and public law proceedings, she was also instructed as a Legal Adviser to the Adoption Panel, the Area Child Protection Committee and undertook the training of social workers and multi-disciplinary professionals in all aspects of child protection and court work. Tanya also took part in numerous Part 8 Enquiries as the legal adviser. This background has given her practice a unique edge in Children related cases.

Tanya returned to The Bar in 2005 and now specializes in Public law children matters – representing local authorities, parents and children, cases involving sexual abuse, severe neglect, Factitious illness, Human Rights Issues, non-accidental injury (“baby-shaking cases”), including child death and mental health issues;

Notable care cases:

Representation of local authorities in the following types of cases:

Children caught up in a paedophile ring

Children being used in child pornography, working closely with the police

Severe inter-generational sexual abuse of multiple children

Severe neglect and emotional harm leading to mental and psychological impairment

Starvation of child

Factitious illness leading to near death of a child

death of a child through multiple catastrophic injuries

mother sexually abusing her child

severe systematic violence in family with use of weapons

Representation of parents in the following types of cases:

Representation of a father who had murdered his wife

Representation of a mother accused of causing 2nd degree burns to a toddler’s face

Representation of foster parents fighting the LA’s plan to adopt the child placed with them

Representation of mother (through OS) with severe learning disabilities involving issues of NAI, incest, and neglect

Tanya also has acted for numerous teenage mothers, and on behalf of the guardian for a number of teenagers.

Tanya is recommended by the Legal 500 Directory 2011 who wrote "Tanya Zabihi has a flourishing childcare practice and is ‘always willing to fight her client’s corner however difficult that may be’."

Tanya now regularly trains social workers, solicitors and other multi-disciplinary professionals in matters of Child Protection.