Mariam El-Sobky

Mariam (Mia) was called to the Bar in 2001 and practises in the areas of family, civil law, crime and immigration.

Family law – Children

Mia’s current practice focuses almost exclusively on Family Law with an emphasis on disputes involving child arrangements. She can be instructed to deal with disputes involving but not limited to contact and residence, prohibited steps and specific issue orders.

Mia also has extensive experience of cases involving allegations of domestic violence and substance abuse with heavy social services and CAFCASS involvement; and is frequently instructed to represent clients in fact-finding hearings. Mia’s experience of criminal practice lends itself well to this area; she is a forthright and robust court advocate who can be relied upon to fight her client’s corner in contested hearings.

Mia’s private law family practice involves the following areas:

• Child Arrangement Orders
• Prohibited Steps Order
• Specific Issue Order
• Enforcement Applications
• Local Authority involvement
• Allegations of domestic violence
• Allegations of substance abuse
• Allegations of child abuse
• Parental alienation
• Parental responsibility
• Non-molestation orders
• Occupation orders
• Shared Residence Orders
• Breach Allegations

In addition to these areas, Mia is experienced when it comes to advising and representing clients in relation to injunctive proceedings such as applications for non-molestation orders and occupation orders. Mia represents both applicants and respondents throughout these proceedings from ex parte (without notice) applications to final hearing.

Civil law

Mia’s civil law practice involves advising and representing clients on a variety of proceedings in the county court and various tribunals all the way to the High Court. Her experience of civil cases includes but is not limited to:

• Contractual disputes (all forms of Breach of Contract)
• Debt recovery
• Consumer Credit Act matters
• Sale of Goods disputes
• Insolvency and bankruptcy
• Possession and repossession claims
• Employment law
• Court of Protection
• Mental health
• Flight Delays
• Licensing
• Credit Hire Disputes
• Road Traffic Insurance claims on Quantum
• Personal Injury (including cosmetic injury from non-RTA matters)

Mia can be instructed to advise in writing, in conference or over the telephone. She also undertakes drafting work and can be instructed to prepare applications, correspondence, draft orders, witness statements and various written submissions including skeleton arguments.

Crime

Mariam spent 12 years from 2002 working for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in London in a senior litigative and frontline criminal role. She ended her career there as a Senior Crown Prosecutor on the Central London Crown Court team. She therefore has a wide and varied experience of a full range of criminal matters. Mia can Defend just as expertly, and has represented clients in the Crown, Magistrates and Youth courts across the UK. She was instructed in some high-profile cases during the May Day riots in London in 2001 and 2002. Mia has a high level of expertise in all manner of criminal proceedings including those involving charges of violence (including sexual violence), Public Order (including violent disorder), offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, Drugs (possession, importation / exportation and supply), Fraud, Harassment (including stalking), and motoring offences.

Immigration

Following on from her experience with the United Nations, Mia did a fair amount of Immigration work in London in the early years of her practice dealing with cases under (but not limited to) the Immigration Acts of 1971 & 1988, the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993, and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. She represented clients in the First Tier of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in London and the Tribunal’s Upper Tier. The Human Rights Act 1998 makes the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) justiciable in the courts of the United Kingdom, including the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Since the HRA came into force in October 2000 much of Mia’s practice at this time was based around the interpretation of this legislation especially in regards to its application to English Law; in particular Articles 1-14 and the Protocols to the European Convention on Human Rights.

She has done a great deal of voluntary work, including for the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture where she dealt with victims of the Sri Lankan Civil War, namely members and associates of the LTTE (the Tamil Tigers) for their separatist actions against the then government.  In Egypt she worked with local orphanages and to this day has a special interest in the rights of children. As a student in Newcastle she assisted extensively with the influx of refugees from the former Republic of Yugoslavia, including people who were tortured in Serb-run detention camps; later visiting the ICTY in the Hague to observe in person the trial of War Criminal Goran Yelisic.

Background

Prior to being called to the Bar, Mariam worked in private client and international law in Egypt for a year and then spent 6 months with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in London, dealing mainly with Asylum law which is the subject of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees; in accordance with which Contracting States accept an obligation to grant asylum to persons who can show that if they are returned to their countries of origin they face a reasonable degree of likelihood of risk of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.

Mariam has a particular interest in women’s rights, equal opportunities in the workplace (especially workplace bullying and discrimination due to pregnancy), equal pay and sexual harassment at work (against both sexes). She has a strong civil liberties / human rights background, and is a long-standing member of Amnesty International, Fathers for Justice, the Society of Black Lawyers, and MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians). Mia avidly supports ActionAid who champion the basic human rights of underprivileged women and girls around the world. Mia will take on pro bono work for the right client. She graduated in Law in Newcastle, did her Bar exams in Bristol and has a Master’s degree in Law from Kingston University. She spent 3 years living in Saudi Arabia and is fluent in Arabic.