Our DR Day, spotlighting the need for non-court dispute resolution practice and collaboration, will take place on Friday 4 April 2025. Members will get to enjoy a special day, packed full of engaging content analysing the many methods of out of court dispute resolution.
Programme
9.15-10.00 Registration & networking
10.00-10.10 Welcome and Chairs’ Introduction, Elaine Richardson and Tristan Harvey
10.10-10.20 Address by The Hon Mr Justice Robert Peel
10.20-11.00 Keynote address: A New Era: A Vision of Family Law and NCDR 50 Years from Now, Barbara Mills KC
11.00-11.20 Break
11.20-12.00 Flexibility in Family Mediation, Dr Rachael Blakey
12.00-12.40 Hearing the Voice of the Child, Dr Angharad Rudkin & Penny Coombes
12.40-1.40 Lunch
1.40-2.20 Neutral Evaluation and Arbitration – A Flexible and Integrated Approach, Karin Walker, David Emmerson & Suzanne Kingston
2.20-3.00 Skills in NCDR, Angela Lake-Carroll
3.00-3.20 Break
3.20-4.20 Panel discussion – Ignoring the NCDR Amendments 12 Months On: Still “Unwise” and “Unfathomable”?, Nicholas Allen KC, Rhys Taylor, Karen Barham & Morgan Sirikanda
4.20 – 4.30 Chairs closing remarks
Speakers
Barbara Mills KC, Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales in 2025. Background is a family barrister, mediator, arbitrator and Deputy High Court Judge. I specialise in complex cases involving children often with domestic abuse and international elements
Keynote Address: Reimagining the resolution of family law disputes in the future.
Dr Rachael Blakey, Associate Professor at Warwick University School of Law
Flexibility in Family Mediation: This session will outline findings from a research project looking at the role and purpose of mediation in today’s family justice system. In particular, it will set out ways mediators are flexible whilst still maintaining a predominantly facilitative and neutral role.
Dr Angharad Rudkin, Clinical Psychologist and Director of Training at OnlyMums&Dads
Penny Coombes, Family consultant and parenting Practitioner/ Independent social worker, IRIS Brighton
Hearing the Voice of the Child: Angharad will summarise the research around the impact of divorce on children and how best to support these children. Penny will share some examples from her work and consider how/if hearing the voice of the child might differ between being instructed as a single joint expert to when feeding back on the children’s wishes and feelings within a dispute resolution process.
Karin Walker, Solicitor, Mediator, Collaborative Practitioner, Arbitrator, Trainer and Published Author, KGW Family Law
David Emmerson, Hybrid trained accredited mediator, Collaboratively trained, Higher Rights Advocate and Deputy District Judge, Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP
Suzanne Kingston, Consultant, Pennington Manches Cooper and Carey Olsen
Neutral Evaluation and Arbitration – A Flexible and Integrated Approach: A practical guide to how a hybrid style mediation, arbitration and neutral evaluation can be used to help solve non-court-based cases. Dealing with those who do not have representation , where there is an element of domestic abuse, particularly coercive and controlling behaviour or economic abuse. How can you utilise these options in a day to day setting. How is this applicable in collaborative cases.
Angela Lake-Carroll, Collaborative Practitioner, Accredited and Practising Family Mediator
Skills in NCDR
Nicholas Allen KC, Barrister and Arbitrator, 29 Bedford Row
Rhys Taylor, Barrister, Arbitrator and Mediator, 36 Family
Karen Barham, Consultant, Moore Barlow
Morgan Sirikanda, Barrister and Arbitrator, Queen Elizabeth Building
Ignoring the NCDR amendments 12 months on: still “unwise” and “unfathomable”?
