Family Justice Council — other past events
April 2025
The Family Justice Council (FJC) held a Recruitment Information Webinar on 2 April. The 45-minute webinar enabled prospective applicants to hear more about the exciting work of the FJC and what it is like to be a member.
The event was hosted by Mr Justice Keehan, Deputy Chair of the FJC, who was joined by the current Legal Adviser and Magistrate members of the Council, Bernadette MacQueen and Natalia Schiffrin, alongside ex-officio member for Cafcass, Barry Tilzey. Members shared a little about their experience on the Council followed by a Q&A session with attendees on the Council and the recruitment process. Around 80 people attended the webinar, including some that went on to apply in to join the Council.
October 2024
The Family Justice Council held an Experts Symposium in Cardiff on 16 October 2024. The event was hosted by the Chair of the FJC and President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, along with Mr Justice David Williams, Chair of the FJC Experts in the Family Justice System Committee. This was a hybrid event with stakeholders attending in person and online.
This was the third event of its kind which provided a forum for those working in the family justice system to engage with medical experts. The aims involved demystifying the work done in the family justice system, including improving and understanding the way the Suspected Inflicted Head Injury Service Pilot (SIHIS) is working. A wider aim was to encourage more medical experts to engage in court proceedings.
The event was well attended by members of the judiciary, medical professionals, medical students, legal practitioners, social workers and allied professions.
November 2022
The Family Justice Council hosted a Webinar on Wednesday 16 November 2022 entitled ‘How hot IS the water? Tips for dipping a toe into Family Court work as an expert witness’.
It was chaired by Mr Justice Nick Francis. The speakers Dr Mair and Dr Alison discussed their own personal journeys into expert witness work, reflecting on some of the changes and challenges that they have observed over the years.
Watch the livestream recording of the event.
You can see the PowerPoint slides for the event.
The biographies for the speakers, Dr Alison White and Dr Mair Edwards, can also be downloaded (PDF).
October 2022
The Family Justice Council held its Experts Committee Symposium: The Long and Winding Road on 12 October 2022 at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
The event was hosted by Mr Justice Williams and Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division gave the opening address. The aim of the symposium was to provide both an opportunity to undertake training in subjects of interest to experts, would-be experts and legal professionals but also to review progress in implementing the 22 recommendations of the President’s working group report and to chart a way forward to continue that process.
Watch the live stream presentations from Mr Justice Williams, the President and other conference speakers.
May 2021
Experts and the Family Justice System: Widening the Pool
The Experts Sub-Committee held its inaugural event on 25 March 2021