Zara accepts instructions in all public children matters. Zara has a thriving and varied practice, regularly appearing on behalf of local authorities, parents, children’s guardians and extended family members/relatives at all stages of hearings including contested interim hearings, finding of fact hearings, final hearings, case management hearings and issues resolution hearings.
Zara’s experience includes an array of complex matters well beyond her year of call, including non-accidental injuries suffered by children, chronic neglect, serious domestic abuse as well as drug and alcohol misuse. Zara further has significant experience in successfully dealing with the following types of matters that arise in public law proceedings:
- Contested removal applications;
- Contested part 25 applications;
- Applications to discharge care orders; and
- Contested applications for leave to oppose the making of an adoption order.
Within her practice in public children law matters, Zara has appeared up to the High Court level; in particular, Zara has experience of being a led junior, having recently been involved in a complex nine-day finding of fact hearing in the High Court.
As an advocate, Zara is confident, robust and fearless; she is well known for her meticulous attention to detail and her analytical approach. She further has a vast amount of experience in representing vulnerable clients, including those with cognitive functioning difficulties.
Qualifications
Bar Professional Training Course, Nottingham Law School, 2018
Master of Laws in International Law (LLM), University of Nottingham, 2016
Bachelor of Laws in Law (LLB Hons), University of Leicester, 2015
Scholarships
Nottingham Law School’s Dean’s Professional Scholarship for Academic Excellence, Nottingham Law School, 2017.
The University of Nottingham Masters Scholarship, University of Nottingham, 2015.
Chancellor’s Scholarship, University of Leicester, 2012.
Memberships
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
Family Law Bar Association
West Midlands Family Law Bar Association
Midlands Circuit
Recommendations
Legal 500 (2024): Tier 1: Rising Star: ‘Zara is extremely professional. She explains everything to the client brilliantly, and her advocacy is well-planned, clear, and concise.’
Privacy Notice
Click here to view the privacy notice for Zara Mahmood.
Relevant News and Articles
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To Fact-Find or not to Fact-Find: That is the question – Matthew Maynard and Zara Mahmood
Matthew Maynard and Zara Mahmood provide an analysis of H-W (Care Proceedings: Further Fact-Find Hearing) [2023] EWCA Civ 149. To view the article, please...
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“For every promise, there is a price to pay” Re-visiting the Doctrine of Proprietary Estoppel in Guest v Guest [2020] EWCA Civ 387
“The basic ingredients for proprietary estoppel are well known, and many property practitioners would feel comfortable in spotting an estoppel when it has arisen. However, there...
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