Legal Support For Families
Navigating pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood can raise all kinds of questions — about your rights, your options, and how the system works. Whether you need straightforward information or want to speak to someone who specialises in family and maternity law, this page is a starting point.
Legal questions can feel daunting, but knowing your rights is empowering. Our partner firms are experienced in the areas of law that matter most to families — from understanding your maternity rights at work, to navigating the complaints process, to family law matters that arise around pregnancy and birth. They’re here to help you understand your situation, whatever it may be.
Areas where legal advice can help
These are just some of the situations where speaking to a specialist can make a real difference.
| Maternity rights at work
Understanding your rights around maternity leave, pay, redundancy, and returning to work — including what your employer is and isn’t allowed to do. |
Consent & informed decision-making
Every parent has the right to be fully informed and to consent to — or decline — any aspect of their care. A solicitor can help you understand what this means in practice. |
| Making a formal complaint
If you have concerns about your care, there is a proper process for raising them. Legal advice can help you understand how to do this effectively and what to expect. |
Pregnancy & baby loss
There are legal processes involved in pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and neonatal death that families are often unprepared for. Specialist support can help you navigate these with care. |
| Family law & parental rights
Questions around parental responsibility, birth registration, separation during or after pregnancy, and child arrangements — all areas where early advice can really help. |
SEND & education rights
As your child grows, understanding their rights to education and support — including EHCPs and school placements — is something specialist family law solicitors can guide you through. |
Our Legal Partners
All of our partnered firms are listed equally. MAMA Academy does not recommend one over another. All are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Slater and Gordon Lawyers | Family law · Maternity rights · Medical law · Nationwide
One of the UK’s largest claimant law firms, Slater and Gordon offer accessible legal advice across a broad range of areas, for families: from ma
ternity employment rights and family law matters to negligence through medical treatment and care. Their specialist and approachable team explain complex legal circumstances in plain English. Regulated by the SRA.
Tel: 0330 041 5869 Web: slatergordon.co.uk
Laura Preston
Contact: Laura Preston, Principal Lawyer Email:LJPreston@slatergordon.co.uk Location: Offices nationwide
Free initial consultation available
I’m a principal lawyer (partner) and team leader in Slater and Gordon’s medical negligence department in London. There are seven members to my team, and I’m responsible for their supervision and training in addition to running my own caseload. I also assist the head of department as a deputy and help with strategy, operational planning and growth.
I specialise in cases involving all aspects of medical negligence, including birth injuries for mother and baby (Cerebral Palsy, Group B Strep, Erbs’ Palsy, vaginal tears), spinal injury, surgical injury, orthopaedic injury, missed or delayed diagnosis, failure to treat and fatal accident cases including inquests. I represent injured patients and their families and have focused solely on this practice area since 2008.
I’m regularly asked to comment as a medical negligence expert for the media on high profile cases I’m working on.
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Fletchers Solicitors | Family law · Maternity rights · Medical law · Nationwide
When something goes wrong during pregnancy, birth or postnatal care, families need more than legal expertise – they need clarity, support and someone they can trust.
Fletchers Solicitors are one of the UK’s leading specialists in medical negligence and serious injury law, helping families understand what happened, access the support they need and move forward with confidence. Combining legal expertise with practical rehabilitation and wellbeing support, their specialist team is there for families through the moments that matter most. Named as a leading medical negligence specialist in 2026 by The Times. Regulated by the SRA.
Tel:07714138680 Web: fletcherssolicitors.co.uk
Denise Stephens
Contact: Denise Stephens, Partner & Head of Birth Injury Email:denisestephens@fs.co.uk Location: Offices nationwide
Free initial consultation available
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Bond Turner Solicitors | Injury Claims · Specialist Legal Services · Medical Negligence · Nationwide
Specialist medical negligence lawyers with a shared focus on women’s health, maternity care and improving outcomes for families.
We work with families who have experienced problems during pregnancy, birth or postnatal care, helping them to understand what has happened and whether their care fell below an acceptable standard. We know that these experiences are often life-changing, and our role is to guide people through the process in a way that is clear, supportive and realistic.
Our work sits across both maternity care and wider women’s health, reflecting how closely these areas are connected in practice.
We focus on cases where things have gone wrong during maternity care or in women’s healthcare, including:
- Birth injury (including cerebral palsy and brain injury)
- Stillbirth, neonatal death and avoidable baby loss
- Maternal injury during pregnancy, labour and postnatal care
- Delays in diagnosis or treatment affecting mothers and babies
- Wrongful birth claims
- Failures in antenatal, labour and postnatal care
We act for families in complex and often sensitive cases, helping them to understand what has happened, whether their care fell below an acceptable standard, and what options are available.
For many families, it’s not just about compensation—it’s about being heard, understanding what went wrong and making sure that learning comes from their experience. We are always happy to speak with families or organisations who are unsure whether we can help.
Tel:0800 2343234 Web: Leading Negligence Claims Solicitors | Bond Turner
John Doyle
Contact: John Doyle, Commercial Director of Medical Negligence, Solicitor Email: jdoyle@bondturner.com
Free initial consultation available
John leads the team and provides oversight on complex and sensitive cases. He works closely with us to ensure a consistent, high-quality approach, both in how cases are handled and in how clients are supported throughout.
Kelly Withers
Contact: Kelly Withers, Principal Lawyer Email: kwithers@bondturner.com
Free initial consultation available
Kelly is a Principal Lawyer specialising in women’s health and birth injury claims. She is closely involved in the day-to-day running of our work in this area and is a key point of contact for clients and partner organisations.
Her work focuses not only on birth injury and maternity care, but also on a wider range of issues affecting women’s health and maternal wellbeing. In particular, she has experience in cases involving acute deterioration and delayed diagnosis in pregnancy and the postnatal period, including serious conditions such as stroke, meningitis and complications arising from diabetes. She also has expertise in cases involving the identification and management of maternal and neonatal infection, including Group B Streptococcus (GBS), as well as spinal and back injuries arising in the context of pregnancy and childbirth.
Kelly combines significant experience in complex litigation with a deep understanding of how these conditions can affect women before, during and after pregnancy, and the lasting impact on both mothers and their families.
Kelly’s focus is not just on the legal issues, but on ensuring clients feel informed, supported and listened to throughout. Alongside her casework, she leads on supervision, training and the development of best practice, and works collaboratively with organisations to support learning and improvements in patient safety.
Carla Duprey
Contact: Carla Duprey, Senior Solicitor Email:cduprey@bondturner.com
Free initial consultation available
Carla is a highly experienced Senior Solicitor specialising in complex birth injury and wrongful birth claims. She manages a substantial caseload of serious and high-value cases and has secured a number of significant settlements for clients, including multi-million pound outcomes.
She is known for her thorough, strategic and highly responsive approach, and for building strong, trusted relationships with her clients. Carla works closely with families throughout their claims, ensuring they feel supported, informed and confident at every stage of what can often be a very difficult process.
Carla is also involved in wider work around patient safety and accountability, including representing families affected by the events at the Countess of Chester Hospital and contributing to the Thirlwall Inquiry. In addition, she plays an active role in training, mentoring and sharing learning more widely through education, outreach and collaboration with partner organisations.