Independent solicitor's first to prosecute children (5)
I believe the answer is:
issue
'children' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'independent solicitor's first to prosecute' is the wordplay.
'first' says to take the initial letters.
'to prosecute' becomes 'sue' (I've seen this before).
The initial letters of 'independent solicitors' is 'is'.
'is'+'sue'='ISSUE'
(Other definitions for issue that I've seen before include "Matter of debate" , "Important topic for offspring" , "one's children?" , "Outcome - discharge" , "Publish - put into circulation" .)