Judith Trustman

Judith practises primarily in the field of public law care proceedings. She also regularly appears in private law cases where the children are represented by a Guardian, where a S37 report is involved, or where expert evidence is likely to be required by the court or there are unusual features to the case.

Judith has an established practice covering a broad spectrum of public law care cases involving physical and emotional abuse, neglect and sexual abuse. In care proceedings, she undertakes work for children through their Children’s Guardian, parents, grandparents, special guardians and other relatives. Judith has been involved in cases with the following particular features:

• Physical injury including fractures and bruising
• Head injuries
• Addiction
• Enduring mental illness
• Management of chronic serious illness in children
• Disputes relating to religious upbringing
• Adolescent children who are separately represented from the Guardian
• Clients with significant learning disabilities
• Disability in parents and children
• Sexual abuse
• Special guardianship

Judith has strong client-care skills and tries to bring to her practice empathy and compassion that will reassure the client. She recognises that the litigation process is distressing and stressful and will work very hard to ensure that the client feels confident and will take extra care of clients for whom the litigation process presents a particular challenge, or who are particularly anxious at court.

Judith has extensive experience representing Guardians in addition to her representation of parents, wider family members and Local Authorities. With professional clients, Judith will take great care to ensure that both the letter and the spirit of her instructions is conveyed, adapting her skills to the tenor of the instructions. Judith will provide prompt advice throughout the course of proceedings and likes to keep a close involvement with her cases between hearings.

Judith employs an objective approach to negotiations, and always endeavours to lead negotiations towards an effective outcome. She makes every effort to ensure that clients are empowered by a good understanding of their situation within the legal process. Judith is regarded as a skilled negotiator and is mindful of the need to narrow the issues for the court, avoiding unnecessary litigation.

Background

Judith brings to her a practice a wide and varied experience of other walks of life. She has travelled, lived and worked abroad and has worked for several organisations concerned with the welfare and education of children, including UNICEF in Copenhagen and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation in The Hague. Judith’s academic background includes a dissertation on marriage and divorce. She now combines a busy practice with her family life and life in Shropshire.  She is happy to see clients at solicitors’ offices in an around Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Notable Cases

S (A Child), Re [2013] EWCC B8 (Fam) (20 March 2013) ([2013] EW Misc 2 (CC), [2013] EWCC B8 (Fam); From England and Wales County Court (Family); 74 KB)

The child sustained bone fractures at the age of three months.  A second child in the family had a serious medical condition for which he had received prolonged medical care.  There were no criticisms of the family for the care provided to the older child over his life time.  The case centred upon complex medical evidence concerning Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency upon which Professor Stephen Nussey gave expert evidence.  The judge found that neither the parents nor the grandmother could be held responsible for the injuries and that the injuries were more likely to have a genuinely accidental cause, taking into account the evidence of Professor Nussey.

TM, Re [2013] EWHC 4103 (Fam) (17 December 2013)
([2013] EWHC 4103 (Fam); From England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions; 23 KB

The seven year-old child was born prematurely; she had cerebral palsy and a number of related medical and developmental complications. The judge found that it was unhesitatingly in the best interests of the child to undergo the proposed treatment on the basis of the evidence before the court.

London Borough of H v M & Anor [2006] EWHC 1907 (Fam) (27 July 2006) ([2006] EWHC 1907 (Fam); From England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions; 31 KB)

BCC v FZ & Ors [2012] EWHC 1154 (Fam) (03 April 2012)
([2012] EWHC 1154 (Fam); From England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions; 41 KB)

TF & Anor, Re [2008] EWHC 3467 (Fam) (17 October 2008) ([2008] EWHC 3467 (Fam); From England and Wales High Court (Family Division) Decisions; 44 KB)