Sian Furmedge

Sian is a Solicitor with over 16 years’ experience specialising in cases involving children and the Local Authority.

Sian qualified as a Solicitor in 2007 and became a member of the Law Society Children Panel in 2011. Sian has worked in North Wales, Liverpool, a Legal 500 firm in Cheshire, Chester and Warrington before returning to North Wales and joining Edward Hughes in 2015.

Sian advises and represents clients in relation to the Public Law Outline (PLO) process, which is instigated by a Local Authority who hold regular meetings with parents to address certain concerns about the level of care being given to children. Sian attends PLO meetings with parents and provides advice and guidance during the process.

Sian also advises and represents clients in relation to Care Proceedings, which is where a Local Authority is concerned about a child and involves applying for a Care Order which means the Local Authority will share parental responsibility for the child, or if their concerns aren’t as great, they may apply for a Supervision Order. Concerns can be raised by Social Services, medical ie GP or health visitors, school/nursery providers etc. Sian will represent parents as parties in the case, and also in some cases grandparents, other family members or partners of the parent etc as either parties or intervenors in the proceedings. If proceedings start on an urgent basis the Local Authority can apply to the Court for an Emergency Protection Order (EPO) or if it’s on a weekend the police can remove children from a family by way of a Police Protection Order (PPO) for 72 hours.

During the proceedings assessments will be undertaken and Sian will advise parents throughout this process and represent her clients at court. At the end of the proceedings the Court will determine at a final hearing, once all assessments have been concluded and each party has filed statements setting out their case, and also possibly hearing evidence at a contested final hearing where the child/ren should live. The aim is for these proceedings to take 26 weeks. During the proceedings a Local Authority may apply for a Placement Order, for a child to be placed outside of the family which if granted may ultimately results in a child being placed for adoption.

During proceedings, Sian can deal with a number of issues on behalf of clients, as follows:

• Arranging for DNA tests to be undertaken to confirm if a parent is the biological parent of the child subject to proceedings
• Arranging for drug and alcohol tests to be undertaken to report on what substances are being used by a parent
• Instructing an expert such as a paediatrician, radiologist, psychologist, psychiatrist etc and asking relevant questions of them and review their reports and findings
• The preparation of a statement for proceedings, drafted in a way that meets the Court’s requirements but succinctly sets out the position of her client.
• Attending Court hearings to represent the interests of her client.

Sian understands that issues in relation to a person’s child are of the utmost importance and are extremely emotive and stressful. Sian prides herself on handling cases thoroughly and sensitively, maintaining child focus at all times and striving to ensure that the best outcome is achieved for her client and the children involved.

Outside of work Sian enjoys spending time with her children, family and friends, eating out and going for walks with her dogs, which usually involves running after them when they run off!