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Practice Areas: After 22 years at the Family Bar David has developed a practice concentrating on the international aspects of the movement of children, including child abduction, international relocation and contact, the enforcement of foreign orders and jurisdictional disputes. He also acts in public law with an international element in particular involving the placement of children abroad. In the last 2 years he has appeared in the first family case from England to be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (Mercredi-v-Chaffe) and the first child abduction case to be heard by the UK Supreme Court (Re E). His work in these two cases led to him being awarded the Chambers and Partners Family Junior of the Year award in October 2011. Cases include; Re E (UK Supreme Court), Mercredi-v-Chaffe (Court of Justice of the European Union) Re M( House of Lords: Hague: settlement/discretion), Re J (Court of Appeal: Judges seeing children) Re H-K (Court of Appeal: Habitual residence,) Re A (Hague: Article 15 application), Re L (Hague: conditional consent), Re C (Hague/Inherent Jurisdiction: Separate representation of children), BT-v-JRT (Hague: Conditional Acquiescence), Re E (Hague: Grave risk/settlement/child's objections), HA-v-MB (BIIR: Procedure under Art 11) Mubarak (High Court: representing children in ancillary relief) X-v-X (High Court; Ancillary relief: confiscation order), Re I (ECtHR: Breach of Art 8, 12 & 14).

Professional Memberships: Member of the PCC of the BSB. FLBA. Society of Labour Lawyers: Executive Committee.

Career: 1986-89 Legal Aid Board. Called 1990. Moved to 4 Paper Buildings in 2000.

Publications: David is the author of a blog: http://childabduction-dw.blogspot.com/ David is a Consultant Editor of the International Children Law Information Portal and a Contributing Author to Butterworth’s Family Law Service. David lectures and writes regularly. Recent lectures include talks on the 1996 Hague Convention to the Family Division Judges. He has had articles published in International Family Law, Family Law, New Law Journal and others.

Personal: Recreations: Vintage motorbikes, Mountain biking and history.