Abida Huda

Practice

Prior to coming to the Bar, Abida was employed in the voluntary sector. She worked at the Central London Law Centre as a Housing and Welfare Benefits Advisor, at the Roehampton and Putney Law Centre as a Housing Advisor and at the Refugee Unit (now known as the Refugee Legal Centre). She was one of the first groups of asylum counsellors in what was then an emerging field of immigration law. She also contributed to the voluntary sector in other ways, in particular holding various positions such as joint treasurer of the Tower Hamlets Law Centre and Chair of the Jagonari Asian Women's Resource Centre.

Abida's practice at the Bar has consolidated her voluntary sector experience, so that from 1992 to 2000, she practised immigration, housing and family law. In 2000 she joined 1 Pump Court and decided to specialise solely in family.

Abida covers all areas of private children law, parents and guardians in public law care proceedings, domestic violence and personal protection, wardship and nullity. She is particularly interested in areas of overlap between immigration and family law and issues of Islamic personal laws/ family law; she has previously conducted seminars in both these areas. She has also undertaken nullity cases arising from forced marriages.

She is trained in direct access.

Pro-bono and Community Work

Her work both in the Voluntary sector and at the Bar has very much focused on the rights of the individual, commitment to the publicly funded client and accessibility to the law for minority and disadvantaged clients.

Languages

Bengali