A Practical Guide to Family Proceedings: Blomfield and Brooks

Christopher Simmonds has been a Family Circuit Judge since the 3rd April 2018 now sitting at Bournemouth. He was originally a District Judge appointed in 2010. He sat in the Principal Registry of the Family Division until his transfer to the Western Circuit in November 2015. His is the Lead Regional Judge for the Court of Protection (South West), a former Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission and former Course Directors at the Judicial College (Family). Before being appointed he was a Solicitor and Partner in the firm of Davis Simmonds & Donaghey specialising in Public Law Proceedings and a member of the Children Panel. He has written numerous articles on family law to include section 38(6) Applications and Secure Accommodation Orders.

Alexander Laing is a barrister practising at Coram Chambers. Alex specialises in children and finance law, particularly cases with an international element. He is the current Family Law Awards: Junior Barrister of the Year (2020), which is the top category under QC, having been the only member of the Family Bar ever twice to have won the Family Law Awards: Young Barrister of the Year (2018 and 2016). Alex is the only lawyer to appear in the four UK Supreme Court cases about family law over the past two years, including the current Family Law Awards: Case of the Year (2020). He is the only 'Rising Star' at the UK bar for both finance and children in Legal 500, 2021 and was the most junior family barrister to be ranked in Chambers and Partners, 2020.

Sophie Hill is a barrister at Coram Chambers specialising in Financial Remedies work, Private Law Children matters, and Family Law Act cases. She has particular expertise in cases involving high net worth, complex ownership, businesses, foreign assets, jurisdictional issues and conduct issues. Sophie has always acted for parents, grandparents and guardians in private law children matters applying Practice Direction 12J involving features of parental alienation, domestic abuse and coercive control, and sexual abuse, dealing with Fact-findings and Final Hearings on a very regular basis. Sophie has experience of vulnerable clients, applying PD3AA and of working with intermediaries and BSL and SSL interpreters.


Edward Bennett is a barrister at Harcourt Chambers. Edward is a highly respected advocate with a growing reputation in family and court of protection work, particularly focusing on international disputes concerning children or vulnerable adults, or complex and sensitive issues such as serious medical treatment. He sits on the editorial board of the International Family Law Journal and was its General Editor from 2015 - 2020. In 2015, he was named Young Family Law Barrister of the Year at the Jordans (now Lexis Nexis) Family Law Awards.
Edward previously trained as a solicitor in the London and Prague offices of Allen & Overy. On qualification, he spent a year as the Judicial Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Lloyd in the Court of Appeal and a further year as Legal Adviser to the Head of International Family Justice for England & Wales, the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Thorpe.