London law firm Osbornes Law has appointed two new partners to lead its specialist children teams dealing with complex family matters from care proceedings to child abduction.
Lauren Hall (pictured, left) joins from Russell Cooke as partner and head of international children and brings almost 15 years’ experience in the field. She specialises in international child abduction and is among only a small number of experts instructed to act in High Court cases by the government’s International Child Abduction and Contact Unit.
Maria Kitsiou (right), senior associate at Osbornes, is being promoted to partner and head of domestic children. She has more than 20 years’ experience in children’s law, regularly representing children and parents in care proceedings, and is an accredited member of the Law Society’s Children Panel.
Bridget Thompson, head of the family department at Osbornes, says: 'We are so pleased to welcome Lauren who is widely recognised and respected amongst her peers as a technically excellent and extremely dedicated practitioner. Her experience in child abduction, in particular, will bolster an already very busy team of lawyers in what is a complex area of children law.
'Likewise, we already know Maria’s credentials in the 20-plus years we have been fortunate to have her at Osbornes, and I know both her colleagues and contacts will be delighted to join us in celebrating her promotion to partner.'
Osbornes has one of the largest and most experienced family law teams in London and is consistently ranked as an industry leader by Chambers and The Legal 500, plus Tatler and Spears Advisory, which both publish lists of the leading legal experts for high-net-worth individuals.
Lauren, who is also a trained mediator and founder member of the Child Abduction Lawyers Association, says: 'I’m thrilled to have been given this fantastic opportunity to grow the practice in such a fascinating area of law, one in which you genuinely feel you are helping people and making a difference.'
Maria adds: 'I’m delighted to have joined the partnership and look forward to helping the firm build on its already excellent reputation for family law.'
