About
“Outstanding” barrister John Paul is highly regarded for his professionalism in cases with sensitive issues. An experienced and adept trial advocate, he is effective in presenting and pursuing his client’s case. John Paul is accessible and approachable and happy to advise both lay and professional clients. He particularly welcomes being consulted early in proceedings to guide clients through all stages of what is often a stressful and anxiety-provoking process. His strength is to identify the real issues and to focus on and highlight these avoiding becoming caught up in tactical distractions. John Paul’s calm, sensible and courteous but determined manner is widely regarded and appreciated by judges he appears before.
Experience
John Paul Cregan has practised exclusively in family law throughout his career spanning private law, public law and financial remedies.
Specialising in complex high conflict private law intractable disputes particularly involving child arrangements and relocation, John Paul is skilled in getting to grips with and handling cases where there is a complex history of previous proceedings, cross-allegations, parental alienation, hostility and obstruction.
He is frequently instructed by the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) and Rule 16.4 Guardians to represent children who are joined as parties in protracted private law proceedings which feature a range of contentious issues especially allegations of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Recent cases include:
- 11 day fact finding in a private law dispute where child joined as a party involving cross allegations of alienation and sexual abusive behaviours.
- 5 day fact finding hearing in a private law case involving cross-allegations made by the parents of physical abuse, parental alienation mental health issues.
- 6 day fact finding hearing in private law proceedings involving cross allegations of coercive controlling behaviour physical and emotional abuse and alienation.
- Successfully argued to reopen previous findings made in a private law matter within subsequent proceedings.
- 4 day final hearing representing grandparents seeking a child arrangements order in the face of implacable opposition from the mother.
- Frequently represents parents in private law cases where issues of mental health and or alcohol misuse raised to obstruct or impede time spent arrangements.
John Paul is also instructed in international child abduction matters.
John Paul’s work representing parents and children in public law proceedings includes serious cases involving complex physical and emotional issues. His wide experience enables him to manage voluminous papers, cut through significant police and medical disclosure and identify the core evidence required to present and make a successful case for his client.
He welcomes instructions for these cases through the Direct Access Scheme.
John Paul frequently speaks at conferences such as:
- Coram Conference 2023
- More recently delivered webinar on coercive and controlling behaviour to Gordon + Slater and Pennington Manches Cooper.
- He also regularly writes case summaries for Family Law Weekly
Practice Areas
Private Law Children
Finance and Private Client
Public Law Children
Education and Professional Memberships
BCL University College, Cork, Ireland
MA Text and Performance Studies, RADA, London
Called to the Irish Bar at King’s Inns, Dublin
Family Law Bar Association
Middle Temple
Testimonials
The client (a mother) and the client’s relative wrote to thank John Paul “for the very professional way you worked X’s case with its many delicate issues …thank you for your excellent work and strong efforts of achievement throughout the whole day and beyond usual court functioning time…“. The client’s relative noted that through John Paul’s efforts, the mother was allowed to continue to exercise her parental responsibility to her children through contact, contact that had been interrupted and sporadic for years until John Paul’s representation of the mother at court.
A solicitor who wrote to John Paul to thank him for his representation on behalf of a client seeking a private law order saying “the client was very happy and said you were outstanding”.
Cases
A Local Authority v EL & Ors [2022] EWFC 163 (23 November 2022)
R (no order for contact after findings of domestic abuse) [2020] EWFC B57 (03 December 2020)
T (A Child) [2019] EWFC B26 (06 May 2019)
S (wardship), Re [2016] EWFC B1 (06 January 2016)
Redbridge v S (article 15 transfer) [2015] EWFC B122 (17 July 2014)
P (A Child: Use of S.20 CA 1989) [2014] EWFC 775 (16 December 2014)