Hilary Underwood

Hilary qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and has specialized in family law since then.  In 2003, she established her own niche family law practice based in Kent, although she takes cases and represents clients from all over the UK and frequently travels around the country to meet and represent them.

Although Hilary acts in cases dealing with all issues arising from family breakdown, she has a particular expertise within the field of complex children matters, parental alienation issues/emotional abuse of children/relational trauma and false allegations.  She seeks to encourage the resolution of disputes in a non-confrontational way by agreement wherever possible, ideally through non-court processes such as mediation and arbitration.

However, when this is sadly not possible, Hilary frequently appears in court on behalf of parents who are desperate to maintain a relationship with their alienated children who are unjustifiably rejecting them. She is passionate about seeing change in this incredibly difficult area of law in which parents so often feel let down by the family justice system and she is a member of the international Parental Alienation Study Group (PASG).

As a sole practitioner, Hilary is able to work flexibly and pragmatically in response to each individual client’s unique needs and is sensitive and empathetic to the complex emotional journey they have found themselves upon.  She is a firm believer that complex children matters sadly rarely ‘fix themselves’ over time.  Children need their parents to intervene and take steps to rescue them from the trauma they are suffering and Hilary is committed to walking with those parents every step of the way, hard as it can be.

Hilary is a member of the Law Society’s Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme and winner of the Women in Law Awards Advocacy Solicitor of the Year (UK) 2018 & 2019.  She was Chairwoman of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) 2012 – 2013 and Interim CEO of the Surrey Law Society 2018 – 2019.

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