Malvika Jaganmohan

Overview

Malvika is a specialist family law practitioner, accepting instructions in respect of public and private law children matters, and applications under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996

Within her public law practice, Malvika acts for both local authorities and parents/carers, and she has appeared up to High Court level. Her caseload has spanned a range of complex issues, including non-accidental injuries suffered by children and children with high-level medical needs. Recently, she acted in a 6-day fact-finding hearing concerning non-accidental injuries to a child, successfully resisting findings that her client inflicted the injuries.

Malvika has a busy private law practice and has acted for parents and r. 16.4 Guardians. She has a particular interest in cases concerning serious allegations of domestic abuse which warrant complex fact-finding hearings; the international movement of children; private law matters with a public law dimension; forced marriage; and family law cases with overlapping immigration issues. Recently, she acted in the reported case of Re K (Forced Marriage Protection Orders; Abuse of Process) EWFC B94.

Alongside her day-to-day work, Malvika is very active in the wider legal community. She sits on Chambers’ Equality, Diversity and Wellbeing committee. She is particularly passionate about mental health and wellbeing amongst lawyers; she runs her own blog on the subject and she is a Champion for LawCare.

Malvika is vocal about access to justice and the lack of availability of legal aid to some of the most vulnerable members of society. She has been invited to give evidence to the Westminster Commission on the Sustainability of Legal Aid in the family legal aid session, chaired by Karen Buck MP, and she has spoken about access to justice in the family courts on BBC News.

Malvika is a panel member at Advocate (formerly The Bar Pro Bono Unit) and was nominated for Young Pro Bono Barrister of the Year in the Bar Pro Bono Awards 2020. She has been described by Advocate as a “future pro bono star of the Bar”.

She co-hosts a fortnightly family law podcast entitled ‘Professionally Embarrassing’ which was shortlisted for Family Law Commentator of the Year in the LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2021.

Malvika is part of the core group for The Transparency Project, a charity which explains and discusses family law cases in England and Wales with the aim of demystifying the family justice system.

She is also a founding member of Women in Family Law (WiFL) and helps to run a series of events for WiFL called ‘Welfare Wednesdays’ every month, exploring the big issues affecting the collective mental health of those working in the legal profession.

Malvika has co-authored a book entitled ‘A Practical Guide to Practice Direction 12J and Domestic Abuse in Private Law Children Proceedings’. The link to the book can be found by clicking here.

Qualifications

London School of Economics and Political Science, LLB Law (First Class Honours)

Sciences Po Paris, Campus de Menton (Exchange Programme)

Nottingham Trent University, LLM BPTC (Very Competent in BPTC; Distinction in LLM)

Memberships

Association of Lawyers for Children

Associate Member of Resolution

Family Law Bar Association

The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn

Young Legal Aid Lawyers

Awards/Scholarships

Herbert Smith Freehills Prize for Best Performance in Part I, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2014

Joint Winner, Mike Redmayne Prize for Law of Evidence, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2016

Slaughter and May Prize for best overall degree performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, 2016

Marchant Scholarship, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, 2016

Nottingham Law School Dean’s BPTC Scholarship for Academic Excellence, Nottingham Trent University, 2016

St Mary’s Family Law Second Prize, Nottingham Trent University, 2017

Hubert Greenland Scholarship, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, 2018

Publications

What does AA v BB tell us about the treatment of domestic abuse since Re H-N? August 2021. To read more click here.

Malvika Jaganmohan has written for Resolution’s ‘The Review’ on behalf of The Transparency Project. This piece warns against sidelining open justice and transparency in the family courts during COVID-19.  May 2020. To read more click here.

UPDATE: Z (A Child: committal proceeding) – a reminder that no one can be committed to prison without being named publicly. May 2020. To view client here.

Remote hearings: a gulf between lawyers and lay parties? March 2020. To view click here.

How technology almost thwarted the family courts again (Z (A Child: committal proceeding)). March 2020. To view click here.

“I hurt you because I love you” – what did TV’s Silent Witness get right and wrong about the treatment of domestic violence in the family courts? January 2020. To view click here.

No take-backs? The parents who changed their mind about adoption and the local authority who got it very, very wrong. October 2019. To view click here.

F (A Child: Fact-Finding Appeal) [2019] EWCA Civ 1244: what’s the difference between an expert witness and a witness with expertise? August 2019. To view click here.

The President’s Expert Witness Working Group Symposium: in which lawyers (for once) were not the loudest voices in the room. July 2019. To view click here.

Picking up the pieces post – LASPO. July 2019. To view click here.

Expert Witnesses: The Crisis in Family Courts. June 2019. To view click here.

Film Review: On the Basis of Sex. March 2019. To view click here.

‘In Your Defence: Stories of Life and Law’: An Interview with Sarah Langford. March 2019. To view click here.

Book Review: ‘Eve Was Shamed’ by Helen Kennedy QC. December 2018. To view click here.

Client Testimonials

“Our client contacted me at the end of last week to say how pleased he was with Malvika over the 2 day FH last week. I attended with counsel also and she was excellent. She knew the case inside out and was confident and compelling on her feet.” – representative from instructing solicitor’s firm.

“I can’t thank Malvika enough and I would highly recommend her services as professional, focussed and outcome-driven.” – pro bono client

Privacy Notice

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