A pro-bono lawyer has been lauded for her efforts to keep a child with her 15-year-old mother.
Legal Aid SA awarded Tessa Gopal its lawyer of the year prize, civil category, following her success in a case in which she represented the teenager, whose mother, not she, gave consent for the baby to be adopted.
Section 230(3) of the Children's Act requires consent by a grandmother when the mother is a minor.
The grandmother supported the adoption of her grandchild by her employers, giving consent on behalf of her daughter.
The mother opposed the adoption and asked Legal Aid SA for help.
The Children's Court refused the adoption on the basis that the grandmother, although guardian of the mother, had no authority to grant permission for the adoption on her behalf.
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