Artis Kakonge

Artis is a family law practitioner with a specialist interest in care and adoption proceedings, having spent the past few years in local government as a senior childcare advocate at Suffolk County Council, LB Barking & Dagenham, LB Islington and LB Brent.

She represented children's services at all levels of court in complex cases involving non-accidental injury, FGM, child trafficking, gang criminality and sexual abuse. She has also managed her own caseload of care proceedings providing her with an in-depth understanding of the PLO and the workings of children's services.

She has provided training to local authorities on care proceedings with crossover immigration issues, foreign kinship assessments and deprivation of liberty. Artis's return to Chambers after her sabbatical in local government was reported by Public Law Today.

Her private work covers: child arrangements (contact and residence); specific issue orders (name change, medical treatment, religion and schooling); adoption and special guardianship applications; domestic violence injunctions; same-sex couples and co-habiting couples; financial matters and disputes; leave to remove from the jurisdiction and international child abduction.

Artis completed the children's panel course in 2014.

Artis's practice covers mental capacity issues, best interests determinations, applications for deprivation of liberty, lasting powers of attorney and deputyship orders.

Artis accepts instructions in Fitness to Practise and Disciplinary proceedings before the Nursing and Midwifery council, General Pharmaceutical Council and the HCPTS.

Artis has done consultancy work and written research reports and papers for national and international organisations on topics such as international criminal law, gender-specific violence, sentencing policy, elimination of discrimination against women, and protection of intellectual property rights with particular emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa.