Shirley Wignall

Shirley is a solicitor with 30 years' experience in all aspects of family law, but her particular expertise is in matters involving children law. She represents children and adults in court proceedings including care proceedings/social services involvement, special guardianship orders, private law proceedings relating to disputes as to child arrangements (who a child should live with and how often a parent/family member should see them) and adoption cases. She also deals with children cases involving radicalisation, FGM, trafficking, forced marriage and cases with an international jurisdiction element as well as cases involving the removal of children from the UK.

She has been a member of the Children Panel since 2002. This accreditation allows her to represent children and young people in public and private law proceedings via their Children's Guardian from Cafcass and they work together to secure the best outcome for the children and promote their welfare. Shirley also represents older children/young people separately from their Children's Guardian in cases where they are competent to provide direct instructions about their wishes and feelings.Shirley has extensive advocacy experience and attends courts throughout the North West representing her clients, appearing before Magistrates, District Judges, Circuit Judges and High Court Judges of the Family Division. She is a member of Resolution, Child Concern and the Association of Lawyers for Children. She is also a Legal 500 Recommended Lawyer.

Shirley is the trainee solicitor supervisor for the family department. She is passionate about nurturing and developing staff on their journey from paralegal to qualified solicitor, and is proud to have overseen the career progression of several members of the Forbes team, both within the family team and across the firm as a whole.