Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture
About Bridget Lindley MBE
The Family Justice Council hosts a series of annual lectures to commemorate the life and work of Bridget Lindley MBE, who served with distinction as a member of the Family Justice Council and as the Family Rights Group’s Principal Legal Adviser and Deputy Chief Executive.
Bridget, sadly, died on 2 March 2016, at home in Cambridge. The inaugural lecture took place in March 2017.
After qualifying as a solicitor in 1986 and undertaking legal aid work at Darlington and Parkinson in London, Bridget joined the Family Rights Group in 1988. She was appointed to the Family Justice Council in December 2007 as the Parent and Relatives’ representative. While on the Council, she founded and chaired its Parent and Relatives sub-group, involving parents and kinship carers in the Council’s work.
Bridget served with distinction on the Council for more than six years. She brought great energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the role. Bridget was held in high regard by very many people and hugely respected for her tireless championing of the cause of parents, and members of the wider family, caught up in the public law system.
2025: ‘Inclusive Justice: Race, Culture and the Family Courts’ (HHJ Khatun Sapnara)
The Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture (online), was given by Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara, Designated Family Judge. The lecture, entitled ‘Inclusive Justice: Race, Culture and the Family Courts’, took place on Wednesday 12 March 2025. Over 100 people attended the lecture online and 100 more in the room.
The online event was hosted as part of the Family Justice Council’s annual interdisciplinary conference, This year’s topic was ‘Diversity and Inclusion in the Family Justice System: Promoting Best Practice in Decision Making’. The event was hosted by Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division and Chair of the Family Justice Council.
The Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture, now in its eighth year, was set up to commemorate the life and work of Bridget Lindley OBE who died in 2016. Bridget served with distinction as a member of the Family Justice Council and as the Family Rights Group’s Principal Legal Adviser and Deputy Chief Executive.
We invite you to watch a recording of the lecture.
You can also download a transcript.
2024: ‘A light or a sound in the distance – finding a clearer way through private family law proceedings’ (Jacky Tiotto)
This year’s lecture was given by Jacky Tiotto, (Cafcass CEO), The title of the lecture is, ‘A light or a sound in the distance – finding a clearer way through private family law proceedings’.
This online event was hosted as part of the Family Justice Council’s annual interdisciplinary conference, which was being held in Birmingham on Tuesday 5 March 2024. This year’s topic was ‘Children and Young People: Promoting a Developmental Approach in the Family Justice System.
You can watch the recording of the lecture on YouTube via the link below.
2023: ‘Hidden in plain sight: trauma and the Family Court’ (Dr Sheena Webb)
The sixth Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture (online), was given by Dr Sheena Webb, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The lecture entitled ‘Hidden in plain sight: trauma and the Family Court’, took place on Wednesday 8 March 2023, 10-11am (online).
This year’s conference topic was ‘Trauma in the Family Justice System’. View the lecture references document.
You can watch the recording of the lecture via the link below.
2022: ‘Is it Time for Climate Change in the Family Justice System?’ (Helen Adams)
The fifth Briget Lindley Memorial Lecture was given by Helen Adam, Mediator and chair of the Family Solutions Working Group. The title of the lecture was, ‘Is it Time for Climate Change in the Family Justice System?’
The Family Justice Council annual conference was held after the Lecture and was hosted as an in-person event. The topic was ‘Private Law – a proportionate and safe approach’.
You can watch the recording of the lecture via the link below.
Clips from other conference speakers are also available here: Family Justice Council Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture and the annual Conference
2021: ‘What do we mean by a family?’ (Baroness Hale)
The Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture was given by Baroness Hale of Richmond, former President of the Supreme Court, who spoke about what we mean by a family now. She looked at the role of the law in family life and the changing landscape of the legal framework over the decades. The lecture culminated in an interesting discussion between Baroness Hale and Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division and Chair of the Family Justice Council.
In March 2021, the Family Justice Council held a series of online seminars on Adoption in the 21st Century, culminating in Baroness Hale’s Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture. The seminars explored adoption in England and Wales and wider, and looked at special guardianship orders, trends in adoption, tracing family members and contact with birth parents. They also considered the Wales Adoption Cohort Study on early placement success and heard the perspectives of both an adoptive parent and an adopted child. Speakers included Dr Brian Sloan, Judge Anni Højmark, John Simmonds, Professor Julie Selwyn, Dr Julie Doughty, Professor Beth Neil, Amanda Boorman, Lucy Reed and members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board.
A summary of all the events and video recordings of the seminars are available on this page.
You can also download a copy of the lecture.
2019: ‘Care Proceedings in England: the Case for Clear Blue Water’ (Isabelle Trowler)
The third Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture was given by Isabelle Trowler, Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. The transcript and podcast of the lecture “Care proceedings in England: The case for clear blue water” can be viewed through the link below.
The 2019 Family Justice Council conference examined the current threshold for state intervention, following 30 years of the Children Act. The conference speakers included Professor Karen Broadhurst, Professor Kate Morris and Stuart Gallimore (President of the ADCS) and the event included a demonstration of the MoJ PLATO (Public Law Applications to Order) tool.
The lecture and conference speakers’ presentations are available on this page.
2018: ‘How Information Technology and Modern Communication Systems Are Affecting Journalism and Family Law’ (Louise Tickle)
The second Bridget Lindley Annual Memorial Lecture was given by journalist Louise Tickle and looked at the impact of social media on the family justice system and family law journalism. It was followed by a panel discussion and Q & A session.
A transcript of the lecture is available to download.
2017: ‘Holding the risk – The balance between child protection and the right to family life’ (Lord Justice McFarlane)
The Inaugural Bridget Lindley Annual Memorial Lecture was given by Lord Justice McFarlane and was followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
A copy of the lecture is available to download.
A full transcript of the event and Q&A is also available.
To download the podcast, click on this link and find ‘Download Options’ on the right of the page. Choose which file type you want (we recommend the “VBR mp3”) and right-click on that. In the menu that appears, click “Save Link As”, which will allow you to save the file to your device.