Chris Graves, Solicitor Advocate
Chris was admitted in 1973 and conducted his first magistrates court trial only days later. He has appeared in both magistrates court trials (criminal and family), county court trials and a host of tribunals. At one stage he was Colchester's only Court-Martial solicitor advocate and has represented many soldiers in trials lasting from one day to three weeks. He also successfully defended a soldier at General Court-Martial in Germany where a life sentence could have been imposed. He was a pioneer of Colchester's Duty Solicitor scheme and served on the Law Society's Working Party that wrote the rules for duty solicitor schemes nationally and negotiated the terms with the Lord Chancellor's Department.
From 1990 he has specialised in family law, appearing in ancillary relief trials for up to three days and numerous children cases across the region. As a Children Panel member, he has represented children, parents and relatives at FPC, County Court and High Court. He conducted a successful inter-country adoption trial in the High Court against specialist Counsel, and made local history with the first Essex Special Guardianship application and the first free-standing adoption placement order.
Chris also holds Resolution accreditation as a specialist in Children and Adoption law, one of only a dozen adoption specialists in the country. He has handled a variety of difficult adoption cases referred by various authorities. He is a member of BAAF (British Association for Adoption & Fostering) and has experience in complex fostering cases.
Other Solicitor Advocates: Nigel Humphreys | Yvonne Spencer