Year of Call
2021“I just wanted to thank you so much for your representation yesterday. I think you are an amazing young man and you are definitely in the right profession! You are kind, professional, articulate and [it's] a pleasure to be in your company. ”
Client
Biography
Reiss is a barrister specialising in family law, particularly proceedings involving children.
Reiss has experience of a very wide range of family law applications and hearings including public and private children law, financial dispute resolution and domestic abuse cases. He is empathetic and collaborative, but also firm when required and always willing to fight for his clients. He has received good feedback from judges, solicitors and clients on his written and oral advocacy. Recent feedback from a senior Judge was "Mr Morrison appeared in my court yesterday acting for a Local Authority. He had taken a thorough and diligent approach to his preparation of the case getting to me in good time an excellent document -which made my life much easier in a busy applications list." He has also had positive praise from a court legal adviser: "Thank you for your assistance. The court was impressed with your professionalism and conduct." In addition, opposing Counsel commented that "I thought he was well prepared, on top of the issues and handled various hiccups and interventions from the judge confidently. Whilst he was robust in protecting his client’s interests, he was also sensible and realistic in his approach, both with me and with the court."
Prior to coming to the Bar, Reiss worked as a paralegal at a large specialist family law firm where he gained legal experience across all areas of family law and developed his skills at dealing with clients in stressful and emotional circumstances. As a result, Reiss is keenly aware of the role of solicitors in family cases and the pressures involved, and is in a very good position to provide effective support.
Reiss has experience of advising clients on the law, their prospects and possible outcomes, and at representing them at all stages. He has negotiated successful resolutions to private children disputes and represented clients throughout the Public Law Outline (PLO) process. He receives excellent feedback from clients including "Our client’s feedback [was that] he was very happy with the representation made by Reiss yesterday".
Reiss has presented the law and procedures surrounding domestic abuse, Legal Aid and Family Court proceedings to those supporting victims of domestic abuse in the community, receiving positive feedback from attendees.
He is committed to pro bono work, and volunteered for the University of Nottingham Pro Bono Society, leading one of its Projects and ultimately being elected President in his final year. During a year abroad based in Texas, Reiss co-authored a report to the United Nations about the human rights implications of school shootings in the USA and worked on death row cases. He has also acted as a mentor to numerous law students.
Children law (public)
Reiss has a strong interest in public law children proceedings and has gained a lot of experience in this type of work. He has represented clients in hearings at all stages of the process up to and including final hearings. Reiss has represented local authorities, parents, and guardians, and accepts instructions from any party involved in care proceedings. He is involved in a number of cases which involve fact finding hearings, and is energised by the challenge of the advocacy involved.
Examples of his recent cases include being instructed by a mother in a 4-day final hearing and successfully persuading the court that an adoption order should not be made, but that there should be further assessment of his client; and acting for a father in a non-accidental injury case, successfully persuading the Court that it was not him who inflicted the injury. There was no finding against him including no finding that he failed to protect the eight-week old child. The Judge said the father was “exonerated”.
Recent feedback from a local authority client was: "Again, please accept my many thanks and appreciation for how well you conveyed the LA's position at the hearing and represented us. You had a very clear and thorough understanding of the case with little time to get up to speed with all of its intricacies, and conveyed this exceptionally well."
Recent feedback from a guardian client was: "Thank you for your hard work on this matter and keeping me informed of all the developments and updates throughout the day. I am really pleased matters have concluded for the subject children. I hope to work with you on other matters soon."
Children law (private)
Reiss has experience of a wide range of private children law hearings including First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointments/FHDRAs, Dispute Resolution Appointments, directions hearings, pre-trial reviews and final hearings. He has also represented clients in fact finding hearings.
Reiss has acted in several contested removal hearings and also in a case heard at the RCJ before the Presiding Judge for Wales which was a passport renewal application incorporating Polish law.
Domestic Abuse / Injunctions
Reiss has acted in many Non-Molestation Order and Occupation Order cases, both together and separately. He has a calm and empathetic manner and is a very good choice for these types of applications. He is often able to act on short notice and is very good at quickly discerning the most important aspects of the evidence in order to present applications effectively. Reiss has experience of acting in both interim applications, return dates and final hearings.
Instruct
To instruct Reiss, please contact Jay Dorton.
Education
- Law with American Law (LLB)(Hons) University of Nottingham. Reiss spent his 3rd year as a student attorney at the University of Texas working on pro bono cases.
- Bar Practice Course with a Masters in Pro Bono (Very Competent in the BPC and a Distinction in the Masters)
Memberships
- Family Law Bar Association
Prizes
- Azlan Shah Prize from University of Nottingham School of Law for outstanding contribution to the life, work and wellbeing of the School as a multicultural community
- Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program Award from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law for commitment to pro bono activities
- Pro Bono Achievement Award from the University of Nottingham School of Law
Notable Cases
Re A child (2024): 4 day final hearing in which Reiss represented a mother and successfully persuaded the court that an adoption order should not be made and that further assessments of his client should be carried out.