Christopher is instructed to act on behalf of parents and children in the most complex of private law disputes, often involving alleged intractable hostility and/or serious allegations of parental abuse. He has extensive experience of litigation concerning the proposed permanent international relocation of children.

Christopher regularly appears on behalf of local authorities, parents and children’s guardians in cases involving complex expert medical evidence and/or disputed scientific evidence. He also has a particular interest in public law cases which have an interface with immigration or international issues.

Recent cases of note

Re JC (A minor) 2020-2021

Christopher Miller (leading Madeleine Whelan) was instructed on behalf of a child and his Children’s Guardian in a 7 week fact-finding hearing. The child had suffered a highly unusual and catastrophic pattern of injuries. The Court received evidence from experts from a broad range of disciplines (including two surgeons who specialised in different fields).  The outcome stage of proceedings was also highly complex, involving consideration of whether or not the child (who had significant additional needs arising from his experiences) should be placed out of the jurisdiction at this stage or whether a ‘contingent’ care plan for placement abroad should be put in place.

Re JH (A child) March 2018

Christopher Miller represented the father of a child who had suffered significant intra-cranial and spinal bleeding linked with hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage and retinal haemorrhages. There was a consensus between 6 experts at an experts’ meeting that the child’s presentation was most likely as a result of an inflicted shaking or impact type injury. However, the parents’ team were able to identify features of the pathology which indicated that it was just as likely to have been caused by a combination of birth processes, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and a spinal abnormality. The local authority withdrew the case half way through the fact-finding hearing and the child was returned to the parents’ care shortly thereafter.

Re A (Children) [2020] EWCA Civ 448

Court of Appeal confirms the test for disclosure of material in care proceedings to the police to further investigations into criminal offences.

Christopher regularly represents high net worth clients and appears in cases that involve issues such as foreign assets, trusts, nuptial agreements, linked POCA proceedings and complex business assets.

Recent cases of note

L v L October 2018

Matrimonial finance case involving a British Virgin Islands Trust owned by a Hong Kong Trustee. Complex issues involving the tax consequences of de-enveloping part or all of the trust in addition to whether or not the trust was a sham and, if not a sham, whether or not it was a nuptial settlement capable of being varied.

McN c McN and B v McN March 2017

Christopher represented the majority ultimate owner (through various offshore legal entities) of an oil brokerage company in actions brought against him under schedule 1 of CA 1989 by the mother of his youngest child and matrimonial finance proceedings brought by his ex-wife at a time when the multi-million dollar sale of his oil brokerage company in tranches was pending. Complex issues arose concerning the balancing of risk arising from aggressive taxation planning, currency fluctuation and contingent pricing of tranches of the company depending on future performance.

Christopher has been interested in the international movement of children and the conflict of laws from the outset of his career. He has represented clients in reported cases concerning the Hague Convention (abduction of children), Brussels II Revised (when in force) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations at both High Court and Court of Appeal level.