Milad Shojaei, instructed on a direct access basis, represented the father in a complex private children matter spanning 18 months and 13 hearings, culminating in a four-day fact-finding hearing.

The father faced an extensive schedule of serious allegations advanced by the mother, including allegations of rape, strangulation, controlling and coercive behaviour, and physical abuse of both the mother and the children. These allegations formed the basis of applications to restrict and ultimately terminate the father’s contact with his children.

Prior to the fact-finding hearing, Cafcass recommended the suspension of the father’s supervised contact pursuant to a section 16A risk assessment. That position was robustly opposed on the father’s behalf. Milad Shojaei successfully resisted the suspension of contact, ensuring that the father’s time with the children continued. This proved to be a critical turning point in the case, as the resulting contact reports captured evidence of the children’s presentation and the mother’s behaviours, which were ultimately relied upon at the fact-finding hearing.

Careful and sustained preparation was undertaken throughout, including detailed analysis of a substantial trial bundle exceeding 1,200 pages and the strategic use of the father’s contemporaneous records.

At the fact-finding hearing, through precise and controlled cross-examination, the mother’s account was rigorously tested. The court set aside all of the allegations made against the father, finding that no abuse was proved.

The court went on to make findings in support of the father’s case. It found that the mother was not justified in removing the children from the father’s care and in severing their relationship with him. The court further found that, by doing so, the mother had caused the children emotional harm.

In particular, the court found that the mother had acted to undermine and sever the children’s relationships with the father and the paternal family, had exposed them to derogatory comments and adult matters arising from the proceedings, and had led them to adopt and repeat her narrative. The children were found to have been given no emotional permission to engage positively with the father and, conversely, to have been given permission to be hostile towards him.

The court concluded that the mother’s conduct met the threshold for alienating behaviours, in that her actions had impacted the children and led them to resist engaging with the father. 

Following the findings, Milad Shojaei was further successful in resisting delay in the preparation of the Section 7 report by Cafcass and securing the instruction of an Independent Social Worker with specific expertise in reunification, to progress the case more effectively.

As a result, the direction of the proceedings has fundamentally shifted towards the children’s reunification with the father.

Please see below an extract from a Google review left by the client:

“I’m writing this as a father who has come through one of the most difficult periods of his life, and I cannot speak highly enough of Milad Shojaei of 33 Bedford Row. From the very beginning, Milad’s command of my case was exceptional. By the time of the four-day fact-finding hearing, he knew the 1,200-page bundle inside out and could recall critical details under pressure. Watching him cross-examine was remarkable - calm, precise, and highly effective - and under his questioning, the allegations unravelled. Milad ensured my contact with my children was never stopped, even in the face of the most serious allegations. That continuity has been an invaluable lifeline for both my children and me. As a result of his work, all 36 allegations made against me were found to be untrue, and the case has now turned towards reunification with my children. His expertise, dedication, and advocacy have been nothing short of exceptional.”

Milad was assisted by Brian Hudson of the Family Court Guide and is grateful for his excellent work in supporting and progressing this direct access case to a high standard.

Milad Shojaei specialises in private children proceedings involving serious allegations of domestic abuse and parental alienation. If you wish to instruct him on similar matters, please contact his clerks at clerks@33br.co.uk.