Nathaniel Garner
The quality of his written work is exceptional and he's incredibly intelligent. He's very easy to work with and very good on his feet.
Chambers and Partners (2025) - Family: Children (Band 3)
About
Nathaniel is a specialist family practitioner and accepts instructions in all areas of Family Law, with a particular emphasis on matters involving children. He is experienced in public and private children work and has a workload comprising of cases at all levels – from the relatively straightforward to those of the utmost seriousness and complexity.
Nathaniel prides himself on his personable and realistic approach. He is recognised in the Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 directories.
Areas of Expertise
Contact Nathaniel Garner
Accolades
Nathaniel Garner
Nathaniel is a gifted advocate. His lovely, confident and calm manner instills confidence, and he builds an exceptional rapport with lay clients.
Legal 500 (2025) - Family, Children and Domestic Abuse (Tier 4)
About
Nathaniel is a specialist family practitioner and accepts instructions in all areas of Family Law, with a particular emphasis on matters involving children. He is experienced in public and private children work and has a workload comprising of cases at all levels – from the relatively straightforward to those of the utmost seriousness and complexity.
Nathaniel prides himself on his personable and realistic approach. He is recognised in the Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 directories.
Nathaniel is a popular choice of solicitors in cases involving children. He is reliable, approachable and ‘goes the extra mile’ for his lay and professional clients.
In care proceedings, Nathaniel represents parents, local authorities, children and extended family members. He is particularly adept at representing vulnerable clients and has been instructed on numerous occasions through the Official Solicitor. As well as being instructed in interim hearings, finding of fact hearings and final hearings, Nathaniel’s practice also includes applications for secure accommodation orders, applications to discharge care orders and applications for leave to oppose adoption orders.
Nathaniel also acts on behalf of children, parents and extended family members in private law proceedings, including complex finding of fact hearings. He is happy to be instructed from the FHDRA hearing through to the DRA and if it proves necessary, the final hearing.
Nathaniel accepts instructions in applications under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996. He appears on behalf of applicants and respondents in applications for non-molestation and/or occupation orders.
In financial remedy proceedings, Nathaniel is instructed to appear in applications, First Appointments, FDRs, final hearings and appeal hearings.
Chambers and Partners (2025) - Family: Children (Band 3) - "The quality of his written work is exceptional and he's incredibly intelligent. He's very easy to work with and very good on his feet." "He is very well prepared, an excellent advocate, forensic and serious in court."
Legal 500 (2025) - Family, Children and Domestic Abuse (Tier 4) - "Nathaniel is a gifted advocate. His lovely, confident and calm manner instills confidence, and he builds an exceptional rapport with lay clients."
Legal 500 (2024) - Family, Children and Domestic Violence (Tier 4) - "He combines a calm, patient and reassuring presence with a fearsome intellect."
Legal 500 (2023) Child Law, Public and Private (Tier 4) "Nathaniel has a superb legal mind and is forensically astute."
Legal 500 (2022) Child Law, Public and Private (Tier 4) ‘Nathaniel is fastidious in his preparation and forensically astute. He has an exceptional ability as a lawyer and advocate.’
Legal 500 (2021) Child Law, Public and Private (Rising Star) "Has an admirable ability to see the wood for the trees. Is charismatic and gets on very well with the clients. Prepares each case as if it was his last. A young advocate with bags of knowledge and fight."
- Inner Temple
- Family Law Bar Association
Public Law Children
- A Local Authority v C (the child) [2024] EWFC 336 - Nathaniel (led by Martin Kingerley KC) represented the child in a case involving questions as to whether the case should proceed under care or wardship proceedings. Significant medical treatment issues and queries as to whether the statutory threshold could be satisfied.
- Re T [2022-2024] - salt poisoning of a child. Nathaniel (led by Jonathan Sampson KC at fact-find and solely instructed at the welfare stage) represented the Father against whom no findings were made. Children returned to the Father's care under supervision order (all other parties advocating for placement with the Father under a care order).
- Re C [2023-2024] - Nathaniel represented the Local Authority in a case where one parent had killed the other. Application made and granted to terminate the perpetrator parent's parental responsibility.
- Re B [2022-2023] - Nathaniel (acting alone) represented the Local Authority in a complex failure to thrive case. 14 day finding of fact hearing with numerous experts and medical witnesses.
- Re S [2022-2023] - Nathaniel (led by Penny Howe KC) represented the Father in a case involving allegations of significant physical and emotional abuse. Allegations levelled against the Father of being complicit in perpetration of FGM were not found to be proven.
- Re L [2021-2022] - Nathaniel (acting alone) represented a child whose older sibling had died. Allegations of shaking type mechanism causing death of older sibling. Findings made identifying a perpetrator in circumstances where the CG sought 'identification findings' and the Local Authority sought a 'pool finding'.
- Re Q [2020] - junior counsel for the child (led by Louise McCallum) in a High Court case arising out of the death of a baby with underlying brain and other congenital abnormalities who it was found had been shaken. A very complex medical picture required the instruction of numerous experts.
- Re Z [2020] - junior Local Authority counsel (led by Lorraine Cavanagh KC) in a case involving allegations of sexual abuse against a (then) child. It was necessary for the Local Authority to make an application for permission to apply to invoke the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court for an anticipatory declaration in respect of the lawfulness of informing the children of otherwise private information in respect of one of their parents.
- Y (A Child) [2019] EWCA Civ 2209 (12 December 2019) - a case concerning a dispute as to designation of a local authority. The Mother (represented by Nathaniel) was peripatetic and regularly moved with the child around different local authorities and to different jurisdictions prior to the issue of proceedings.
- Re P [2018-2019] - Local Authority counsel (led by John Myers at the finding of fact stage of proceedings and solely instructed at the welfare stage) in a High Court case involving the death of a baby. There was conflicting medical evidence relating to the likely circumstances of the child’s death.
- Re C [2019] - junior counsel for the intervenor (led by Penny Howe KC) in a High Court case involving numerous injuries that were inflicted on a child. The case involved complex medical evidence. The expert odontological evidence was successfully challenged and the intervenor was not identified as a perpetrator or included in the ‘pool of perpetrators’ for any of the injuries.
- Re B (A Child) [2017] EWFC B11 - Local Authority counsel in a case involving inflicted injuries to a young child.
Private Law Children
- Re C [2024] - representation of children in an intractable hostility case.
- Re B [2023] - representation of a mother alleged to have alienated the child against their father. No findings made.
- Re H (A Minor) (Child Arrangements: Section 91(14) Order) [2023] EWFC 89 (B) - representation of the child.
- Re W [2021-2023] - representation of a child in a case with international issues. Heard in the High Court.
- Re G [2021-2022] - representation of a competent child making allegations of sexual abuse against her father. Separation from CG. Findings sought made.
- Re B [2018-2019] - Nathaniel represented a father who was alleged to have sexually abused his two children, as well as his ex-partner. After a 4 day finding of fact hearing, the allegations made against Nathaniel’s client were found to be unproven. The children now live in the same household as their father.
Lack of secure accommodation - “blood on our hands” - Family Law, Lexis Nexis - 23.10.2017
Nathaniel regularly delivers lectures at Chambers’ events.
- BPTC - Very Competent - BPP Law School, Leeds (graded Outstanding in Family Law module)
- Law (LL.B) - First Class Honours - University of Leeds (ranked in top 2% of year group)