Melanie is ranked in Doyle’s Guide 2026 as a leading children law solicitor in Manchester.
Melanie qualified in 2009 and has worked exclusively in the law relating to children since qualification, including arrangements for children after separation, Special Guardianship orders for family and non-family members, adoption and child welfare issues involving social services. She represents parents and a wide range of other family members including grandparents and siblings.
Melanie has particular experience of representing parents and carers where there are allegations of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, mental health difficulties and substance misuse and has also represented several clients who lack litigation capacity and require the intervention of the Official Solicitor to act on their behalf.
Melanie also has considerable experience in cases requiring Family Law Act injunctions, for example Non-Molestation Orders and Occupation Orders.
She has significant experience in dealing with cases involving neurodiversity in parents and in children, particularly autism, and her personal experiences as a parent of neurodiverse children are invaluable in providing an understanding and empathetic approach.
Melanie sits as a deputy district judge in family and civil law on a part time basis and so has a ‘behind the scenes’ understanding of judicial attitudes and approaches, and how best to navigate the court process.
She is also a qualified arbitrator in relation to child arrangements and is happy to have a chat with instructing solicitors interested in using arbitration for their matter about how the process works.
