June Venters KC

Founder and Managing Partner, June Venters KC.

June Venters KC became the first woman solicitor Queen's Counsel in 2006. This was in recognition of her advocacy skills and experience throughout her career of appearing in all Courts in both Family and Criminal cases. She currently remains one of a few Women Solicitors to have achieved this highly regarded status and places her at the forefront of her profession and a leader in her field.

Whilst throughout June's career she has chosen to specialise in the field of Social Justice and has been a passionate supporter for Access to Justice and a crusader for the vulnerable in society. Whether her clients are legally aided or privately funded, she is known for her commitment, dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. 'She sets extremely high standards' [Chambers 2008].

As a demonstration of her true commitment and faced with the increasing decline of legal aid, she has set up two Pro Bono Clinics from local GP's surgery in Warlingham and Caterham, Surrey.

June is the Senior Partner of Venters Solicitors which she commenced in 1991 and proudly leads a skilled and equally committed team.

June sits as a Recorder in the Crown Court, Civil Court and County Court.

As well as a practising Solicitor KC, June is also a trained Family Mediator, Civil Mediator and Children Arbitrator. She welcomes the opportunity for disputes to be resolved, where appropriate, in mediation, believing that an agreement is always favourable to something that is imposed. However, she recognises that mediation is a complimentary service and does not eradicate the need for legal advice and on occasions, representation.

June has written articles on both the law and mediation and is a contributor to a family law publication.

June's enthusiasm for her chosen career is unbounded.

June is ranked as a Recommended Lawyer in the UK Legal 500, 2024, 2025 and 2026 rankings. The directory states:

“June Venters KC is extremely experienced as a legal adviser and as an advocate and appears in some of the most complex cases in the Family Courts.”

"June Venters is a very experienced silk and a strong leader of her team of fee earners. The firm is one of the few where the client can obtain skilled, experienced advice on the family law and the criminal law consequences of their circumstances.

"June Venters KC leads the ‘strong’ team at Venters Solicitors. The team is efficient, proactive and dynamic. They stand out in their field in respect of understanding the needs of the client. They understand the priorities and expectations of the local authority that they represent. Venters communicates clearly and often and understand that this is vital for the maintenance of a good relationship.’

Qualifications

1984 Qualified as Solicitor

[2006] Appointed Queen's Counsel

[2000] Recorder of the Crown, Family & County Court

[1998] Assistant Recorder Crown Court

[1999] Solicitor Advocate Higher Courts, (All Proceedings).

Member of the Children Panel.

Resolution Accredited Specialist (Child Abduction, Domestic Abuse and Preparing and Presenting Cases in Court - Children)

Criminal Duty Solicitor (Police Stations And Courts).

[2007] Civil Mediation

[2007] Family Mediation

[2008] Law Society Accredited Family Mediation

[2009] LADR Trainer

[2010] Professional Practice Consultant

[2017] Children Arbitrator

Appointments

Since inception - Law Society Children Panel Solicitor

Since inception - Law Society Criminal Litigation

1999 - Solicitor Advocate Higher Courts, (All Proceedings)

2009 - Family Mediator's Association : Family Mediator

2009 - Law Society Excellence award: Best Woman Solicitor Managing a Legal Aid Practice (AWS)

2010 - Resolution Accredited Specialist in Domestic Abuse and Children's Advocacy

2011 - Resolution Accredited Specialist in International Child Abduction

2017 - Institute of Chartered Arbitrators: Children Arbitration

Family Mediation Council Accreditation

Association of Lawyers for Children

London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association

International Bar Association

Member of the Family Mediation Helpline

Recommended Lawyer Legal 500 2024, 2025, 2026

Notable Cases

RE: CA and Ors (Children of Unregulated Sperm Donor) (14th May 2025)

Re: ELISABETH (COMPOSITE HEARING: SHAM PRENATAL TESTING) (3rd May 2024)

RE: A B and C (Fact-finding Gonorrhoea) 2023 EWCA Civ 437

Specialist family law barrister, June Venters KC, representing the Father in medically complex care proceedings, has succeeded in the Court of Appeal (7th March 2023) in having an earlier judgment set aside and for the case to be re-heard by a newly allocated Judge.

RE: CLB v SLB [2021] EWHC 891 (Fam) (02 March 2021)

RE: E (Abduction: Article 13b Deferred Return Order) [2019] EWHC 256 (Fam) (13 February 2019)

RE: A [2018] EWCA 2381 Civ

Appeal of Child Abduction proceedings, when child returns to member state, against UK order.

D (A child : parental alienation) [2018] EWFC B64 (19 October 2018)

This private law Children Act application relates to a teenage boy, D. D is aged 13. On 23rd November 2016 his mother applied to the court to vary a residence order, originally made in 2008, and for a child arrangements order providing that D should live with her. The father immediately responded by issuing an application for a specific issue order seeking the return of D to his care. D is a party to these proceedings and a children’s guardian (‘the guardian’) has been appointed for him. The applications come before me now for a finding of fact hearing. This is my judgment relating to fact finding issues. In the light of those ‘typical behaviours’ displayed by D, I am satisfied on the simple balance of probability that D has become alienated from his father.

R (Children) [2018] EWCA Civ 198

On 16th February the Court of Appeal handed down R (Children) [2018] EWCA Civ 198 a judgment arising out of an appeal hearing heard on 6th December 2017. The father appealed against numerous findings made against him at a fact finding hearing including that he had "used unreasonable force and unlawfully killed the mother". By the time the fact-finding hearing took place, the father had been acquitted of murder in the Criminal Courts. The judgment deals with the issue of the extent to which, if at all, the Family Court should use elements of criminal law in fact finding hearings within Care Proceedings. The judgment also deals with Article 6 'right to a fair trial'. The Court of Appeal set aside the lower court's judgment in its entirety and the matter was ordered to be re-tried by a different High Court Judge.

Re: R [Central Criminal Court] 2017

Successfully representing a young man charged with numerous sexual offences and achieving an acquittal

Re P and Q (Children: Care Proceedings: [2015] EWFC 26 (Fam)

June Venters Q C represented the Father in a case in the High Court where the Judge found the Mother and her Partner had conducted horrific physical and psychological abuse of two young children, in the Hampstead area of North London. Father was entirely exonerated and children were subsequently placed in his long term care.

Re: B Crown Court 2014

Representing celebrity's brother in a high profile sexual offences case and achieving acquittal

Guildford Crown Court 2012

A young man of good character faced almost a year of waiting for his trial to come before the Crown Court for an alleged assault on a taxi driver. As a result of instructing June Venters QC, and following representations which she made to the Crown Prosecution Service they were faced with no alternative but to drop all charges not only against him but his co-defendants too. Not only had this young man not committed the offences charged but the charges should never have been brought.

Re N (Placement Order: Alternative option to Adoption) Court of Appeal 25.03.13

The Court of Appeal set aside a Placement Order in care proceedings which had been made pursuant to Section 52(1)(b) Adoption and Children Act 2002 because the Judge had failed to consider whether the welfare throughout the child's life required adoption at a time when the court was aware the maternal grandmother wished to care for the child which necessitated further investigation.

Re: F 2013 Derby Family Court

June Venters QC successfully represented a Mother who was on the verge of being sent to prison for failing to comply with a contact order. The Mother's case was that the Father was violent and a risk to the children but her difficulty had been when represented previously by a different legal team she had agreed not to pursue a fact finding hearing against the Father and, therefore, no court had ever determined the issue of his violence. June Venters QC managed to persuade the court to re-open the previous proceedings [albeit they were some 4 years earlier]. A Fact Finding hearing was held and the Mother was completed vindicated. The Father was found to be violent and a risk to his children and the children were no longer compelled to see him.

T v T [2010] EWCA Civ 136

Appeal by the mother of two children and her civil partner against a shared residence order made in favour of the mother and the children's father. Appellants sought the substitution of a joint residence order in their favour with contact to the father.

In considering the appeal the court of appeal considered the hypothetical situation of the mother's death. It was agreed, that in such a situation, there would be nothing to prevent the father asserting that the children should come to live with him full time. In these circumstances, the judge considered that a residence order in favour of all three adults would serve the children's interests better, although she noted she would not have reached this conclusion had the father not indicated his agreement to this solution prior to the hearing.

Re W (Shared Residence Order) [2009] EWCA Civ 370

Whilst sitting as a Recorder, decision upheld on appeal for a shared residence order:
"Such an order emphasises the fact that both parents are equal in the eyes of the law and that they have equal duties and responsibilities as parents. The order can have the additional advantage of conveying the court's message that neither parent is in control and that the court expects parents to co-operate with each other for the benefit of their children."

Non-accidental injury care proceedings

Representing parents in non-accidental injury care proceedings involving their 5 day old baby. Achieving a re-opening of a finding against them and following a re-trial proceedings dismissed. Parents both exonerated.

Representing a soldier who had just returned from Afghanistan and who was then accused of having deliberately injured his baby. Following a trial, Father was exonerated

Representing Mother who was accused of having seriously injured her new born baby whilst in hospital following his birth. During the course of the trial and after successfully applying to join a fellow patient as an intervener, mother was entirely exonerated and the “intervenor patient” was found to have injured the baby as a result of jealously. She had three children and lived in a tenement block and she and her family were financially struggling whereas this mother was financially secure with a happy family.

In addition to above, June regularly represents clients and children involved in numerous care proceedings involving non accidental injuries, factitious illness by proxy and other aspects of physical and sexual abuse, as well as emotional harm and neglect

Examples of historic “high profile” cases:

Victoria Climbié

Representing the social worker and achieving complete vindication of her. Her failings were found to have been directly attributable to a lack of appropriate supervision and being required to manage an excessive caseload beyond her ability and experience

Damilola Taylor

Achieving acquittal of one defendant wrongly accused of the murder

Dome Robbery

Representing a defendant charged with what was described as “the largest and most audacious attempted robbery ever committed within the UK”

Euston Murder

Representing one of two defendants charged with murder and achieving a verdict of manslaughter

Dual qualified Solicitor & Barrister. The first woman solicitor QC in the UK. An award-winning and pioneering lawyer who champions equality and access to justice for all.