Speakers

HHJ Melissa Barlow

Melissa Barlow read English at Exeter in the 1980s. She worked in various non law jobs before taking what was then called the ‘conversion course’ and ‘bar finals’. Melissa practiced at the Bar from 1991 in London, Exeter and Bristol. She had a mixed criminal, civil and family practice, moving to specialise in family. Melissa became a Recorder in 2015 and a Circuit Judge in 2020.

Melissa is the legal chair for the South West on the Regional committee charged with helping to deliver the recommendations of the FJC report in experts in the family courts.4 children and a dog, the latter to ensure that at least someone is always pleased to see her when she gets home.

Helen Brander

Helen Brander is a barrister called in 2002. She has historically enjoyed a general common law practice, having done some civil and criminal work as a pupil and junior tenant, before an ancillary relief brief appeared in her pigeon hole, and family became her thing. For many years she did public and private children law, before focussing her practice in 2016. She now works from Pump Court Chambers in London.

She was formally a mentor and is now an advocacy trainer with Lincolns Inn. In 2017 she became an arbitrator dealing with private law children matters under the IFLA scheme and is a strong proponent of arbitration and its benefits. She sits as a private FDR evaluator. In 2022 she was appointed a deputy district judge and will begin sitting in civil and family work in 2023.

Jo Delahunty KC

Jo is one of the UK’s leading family barristers, specialising in child protection law. She rose to prominence, and has won multiple industry awards, for her work in contentious cases involving complex medical evidence and catastrophic injuries/ death of a child, child sex abuse, FII, DA , CCB. Jo is a committed legal aid practitioner. She is outspoken about issues that affect the reputation of the profession such as abuse of power by Bench or Bar, mental health stressors and the lack of social diversity and equal progression in careers of women and men and women of colour at the Bar.

Awarded the inaugural Chambers & Partners Award 2021 for her ‘Outstanding Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion’ 2021. Called 1986, Queen's Counsel 2006, Recorder 2009, Bencher Middle Temple 2011. Gresham Professor of Law 2016 to 2020, Emeritus Gresham Professor of Law 2020+ and awarded a Fellowship in recognition of her contribution to the reputation and reach of the College. Advocate for Bridging the Bar. Patron Asstn Women Barristers.

Tara Dunne

Tara Dunne is the Legal Associate for OurFamilyWizard. She graduated from the University of Exeter having obtained Bachelor of Laws with Honours in Law. Tara went on to receive an Outstanding in the Barrister Training Course before obtaining the role as a Paralegal in a Family Law firm in London where she managed a consistently busy caseload autonomously, with a focus on complex private law children matters. To broaden her advocacy experience, Tara became a County Court Advocate, presenting oral submissions in court on a range of Civil Law matters.Tara is delighted to have returned to the Family Law arena to introduce Family Law Practitioners around the country to OurFamilyWizard’s co-parent communication platform. Tara works with Courts, Chambers, Firms, CAFCASS, Mediators, Organisations and Charities to help parents with their communication.

Michelle Heeley KC

Michelle is currently the Leader of the Midland Circuit, a role she has held since October 2021. Michelle was called in 2001 and began pupillage at No 5 Chambers, Birmingham. She practised initially in a number of areas, including family, but her heart was always in crime and since 2004 she has practised exclusively in that area. She became a Recorder in 2012, took Silk in 2017 and continues to practice from No 5. Her work involves prosecuting and defending at the highest level, including murders, rapes and drug dealing. She is a lead trainer for the roll out of Vulnerable Witness Advocacy training and has trained the FLBA, the Northern Irish Bar as well as prosecutors from The Hague.

Michelle juggles practice with two young children, 6 chickens and a needy bulldog.

Mark Leeson

Partner and Head of Family Law.

Mark joined Brachers in May 2012 and has practiced in the field of family law since qualifying in 1990. Mark is a solicitor specialising in family law. Mark is named as a leading individual in family law in Chambers 2018.In 1995 Mark trained as a mediator and was accredited by the Family Mediators Association (FMA). In the late 1990s, he was a trainer on the mediation foundation courses run by the FMA and maintains a strong interest in mediation.Mark undertook the training to work as a collaborative family lawyer in 2007 and believes strongly in providing clients with a range of options through dispute resolution.Mark is ranked in the Chambers UK 2023 legal directory for Family Law in Kent. He was also named as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ in the Legal 500 2023 directory.

Mark specialises in Family:

Divorce
Financial proceedings
Civil Partnership dissolution
Children Act proceedings
Cohabitation agreements
Collaborative process
Mediation

Hannah Markham

Hannah is a formidable silk renowned for her role in leading and appellate cases, often those which tackle ground-breaking areas of law. Since taking silk Hannah has balanced complex private law cases, international children law cases and appellate work with the most serious of public law (care) cases.

Known for her work in cases involving serious allegations of sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional harm, she is also highly regarded in her work in medical cases: non accidental injury, shaken baby syndrome and cases involving mental health issues. She impresses with her good reasoning both in and outside court and is said to have the ‘ear’ of the court.

Hannah is Chair of the FLBA and remains the Chair of Women in Family Law, an association she brought together for all women who practice in Family law. Hannah is also a part of the President’s Working Group reviewing changes in Public law, was part of the sub-committee reviewing guidance for Special Guardianship orders and currently reviewing the ambit and scope of supervision orders. She was also the Chair of a commission reviewing Child Poverty in Milton Keynes. Hannah was awarded Chamber & Partners Family Silk of the year in 2020 and in the same year was also named as Lexis Nexis Family Silk of the year 2020.

Andrew McFarlane

Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar in 1977 and practiced in chambers in Birmingham until 1993 when he moved to specialist family law chambers in London. He appeared at all levels of court including the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. He was appointed as a QC in 1998. In April 2005 he was appointed to the High Court, Family Division and was for 5 years the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland Circuit. He was the legal member of the Government ‘Family Justice Review’ Panel. In July 2011 he was appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting full time in the Court of Appeal. On the 28th July 2018 Sir Andrew succeeded Sir James Munby as President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice.

Together with the late David Hershman he is the co-author of a loose-leaf legal text book entitled “Children: Law and Practice”. In addition, he has contributed to other publications and lectured throughout the UK and abroad.

Sir Andrew has been a trustee of YoungMinds (the national young person’s mental health charity) and is Patron of HOPE Family Centre (Bromyard). In addition to being Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter, Sir Andrew was Chairman of the Church of England Clergy Discipline Commission and President of Clergy Discipline Tribunals for 5 years until 2019. He has been a native of Herefordshire and Worcestershire for over 35 years.

Nav Mirza

Nav is the founder of Dads Unlimited and a single dad. He wanted to make life easier for Dads in his situation, and provide the advice, support and community he never had. He didn’t want anyone to have to go through what he had to. Nav brings to Dads Unlimited his vision, his values and a wealth of experience from having been previously called to the Bar; helped set up the Independent Police Complaints Commission; Senior positions from the NHS Chief Executive programme, as well as a host of strategic, tactical and operational roles from across Central Government, including the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Home Office.

The Hon. Mr Justice Newton

Having completed pupillage at Jo Jackson’s set in 1982 Roderick moved to East Anglian Chambers and established a busy practice across the region. He became Head of Chambers in 1998, being made a Recorder the same year until appointment as a Circuit Judge in 2005. He was appointed DFJ for Essex in 2008, Suffolk in 2009, and Cambridge and Peterborough in 2010. He was a family tutor at the Judicial College between 2009 and 2018. In 2014 he was promoted to the High Court, and became FDLJ for East Anglia in 2016, sitting regularly at each court centre.

Polly Morgan

Polly is the author of the 900-page textbook Morgan's Family Law (Oxford University Press 2021) and contributes the chapter on financial remedies to Lamont's Family Law (2nd edn Oxford University Press 2022), among other publications. She is a trustee of the Transparency Project and cases editor of the Financial Remedies Journal, where she manages a team of barristers summarising all published cases of use to financial remedies practitioners.

An associate professor at UEA Law School, Polly is also Director of the multi award-winning UEA Law Clinic. A solicitor and law firm co-founder, she now practises exclusively in the free family law advice clinic of Norfolk Community Law Service. She runs the Norfolk Family Court Information website which provides guidance for people representing themselves in family court.

Lucy Reed

Lucy is a senior junior child law specialist practising from St John’s Chambers (Bristol) and 36 Family. Her practice encompasses both public and private law children work. Lucy is the author of The Family Court Without a Lawyer - A Handbook for Litigants in Person (4th Edn 2022, Bath Publishing) and co-author of Transparency in the Family Court - Publicity and Privacy in Practice (2018, Bloomsbury Professional Press - 2nd edn forthcoming). Lucy is a longstanding “legal blogger”, and has been writing about family law and life at the family bar since the outset of her career, through her blog Pink Tape and elsewhere. She founded and chairs The Transparency Project, whose aims are to “make family justice clearer”. Lucy is the ‘legal blogging’ member of the President of the Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group. Having been appointed as a Deputy District Judge in 2013, Lucy was appointed Recorder in 2022. Lucy tweets as @familoo.

Keith Rix

Keith Rix’s involvement in the forensic field began in the 1960’s when he lived in hostels in London with ex-offenders and assessed prisoners for hostel admission. Whilst a senior lecturer in psychiatry in Leeds he became a visiting consultant psychiatrist at HM Prison, Leeds, and established the Leeds Magistrates’ Court Mental Health Assessment and Diversion Scheme and the city’s forensic psychiatry service. He has provided expert evidence to courts and tribunals for almost 40 years, including on a pro bono basis in capital cases in the Caribbean and Africa. He is the editor of A Handbook for Trainee Psychiatrists and co-editor of Rix’s Expert Psychiatric Evidence. He is Visiting Professor of Medical Jurisprudence, University of Chester, Honorary Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Lead and Expert Witness Lead, Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians.

HHJ Spinks

Called to the Bar 1997. In practice at Fenners Chambers, Cambridge until 2018. Practised almost entirely in family (what was ancillary relief and private children). 2015: DDJ; 2018: DJ; 2021: CJ (sit in Cambridge doing family and a little civil).

Deputy lead judge for the FRC in Eastern Region (NES BCH).

Judicial co-chair of Eastern Region sub-committee of FJC Working Group on Experts