Who? Reena Saini, principal solicitor, Chase Morgan Solicitors, Moreton-in-Marsh, Wolverhampton.
Why is she in the news? Her firm represented ‘John’, who embarked on legal proceedings to ascertain the whereabouts of his two children he thought he had and parental responsibility. In a High Court judgment published last week, Mrs Justice Judd concluded, in what she described as ‘the most extraordinary case’, that ‘Jane’ fabricated the pregnancies and the children.
Thoughts on the case: ‘This has been one of the most extraordinary and, at times, heartbreaking cases I have worked on. At the centre of it is a father who believed he had children out there. He wanted what most parents would want: to find his children, to know them and to have the opportunity to be part of their lives. Instead, he found himself questioning whether what he had been told about something so fundamental was true at all.
‘It is very easy to read the headlines and be fascinated by the unusual facts. But when you sit opposite the person living through it, it feels very different. There is a real human cost to believing you have a child and wanting a relationship with that child, only to discover the deception found by the court.
‘My team and I have worked incredibly hard alongside our client, and I am very proud of them.’
Law firm Dawson Cornwell, which represented ‘Jane’, said: ‘The case demonstrates both the increasingly important role of digital evidence in family proceedings and the need to approach people with complex histories with care, compassion and dignity. As appeal proceedings are contemplated, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the substance of the case.’
Dealing with the media: ‘Dealing with this level of interest has all been quite new to me. These are family proceedings and there are children involved, so you have to be careful. There are proper limits on what we can discuss publicly, particularly while proceedings continue.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘I was the first in my family to go to university. My parents always taught me the importance of independence and having a strong sense of justice. Becoming a solicitor seemed to bring those things together.’
Career high: ‘My father was an entrepreneur in textiles and other businesses and was a real grafter. I grew up watching how hard he worked. Building my own business has been incredibly rewarding. But genuinely, seeing how proud my father is of what I have achieved means more to me than any of it.’
