Shanika is team leader partner at Stowe Family Law, where she specialises in complex child matters, private adoptions, domestic abuse cases and high net worth/complicated financial matters.
Having joined Leeds Law Society in 2019, Shanika has focused on the family court, improving wellbeing in the profession and visibility of ethnically diverse role models in the sector. She assisted in organising and hosting the landmark Diversity and Inclusion Conference in 2020 and 2021.
Shanika sits on the West Yorkshire Family Justice Board and acts as a liaison for the board and the Leeds Law Society membership to strengthen ties with the judiciary, court staff and family practitioners/professionals with a view to improving the experience of those working within and going through the Family court. She also regularly assists with arranging training events for practitioners presented by the judiciary.
Shanika’s focus for her presidential year (June 2023 to May 2024) has been to “improve visibility of diverse role models in the profession, retain and increase diverse representation in the sector and promote Leeds as a centre of excellence”. She is the first ethnic minority practitioner to hold the prestigious office of president and is determined to make the most of her presidency.
She won Rising Star of the Year at the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2020 and Family Law Associate of the Year at the National LexisNexis Awards in 2022. Therefore, she knows first-hand the importance of the Yorkshire Legal Awards.
