Private Children Law

Chairperson

HH Stephen Wildblood KC

Stephen Wildblood KC, Editor-in-Chief of Family Law Week, was the Designated Family Judge for the Bristol area for ten years before stepping down in November 2023. He practiced at the Family bar for 27 years, the last 8 ½ in silk. Stephen has extensive experience in all areas of family law, with particular expertise in public law children cases, including care proceedings and local authority matters.  He has written in over 20 legal textbooks on issues of family law and often lectures on the full range of family issues. He continues to sit, part-time, in the Family and High Courts.

Keynote Speaker

Dame Nicole Jacobs

Dame Nicole Jacobs was appointed as the first Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales in 2019 and has dedicated her career to supporting victims and survivors, with nearly 30 years’ experience in domestic abuse services, policy and intervention.

Professor Jo Delahunty KC

Professor Jo Delahunty KC, a barrister at 4PB, specializes in contentious and highly complex cases at High Court level and above involving children. Jo also specialises in complex private law proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse and coercive, controlling behaviour, physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect of a child or alleged parental/partner abuse).

Denise Gilling KC

Denise Gilling KC, a barrister at 1GC | Family Law, is a Family Law practitioner specialising in the law relating to children with a particular focus on complex public and private law children cases appearing in all levels of court including the High Court and Court of Appeal. She also specialises in adoption (including inter-country adoption), Wardship/inherent jurisdiction and Court of Protection matters.

Edward Lamb KC

Edward Lamb KC, is a barrister at Deka Chambers. His practice includes the most important private children cases with complex cross jurisdictional issues, inflicted non-accidental catastrophic injury on children, and clinical negligence/PI cases involving life-long disability, lack of capacity and birth injury. His expertise in these areas frequently places Edward in important and complex cases that involve multi-jurisdictional issues that span these specialisms.

Emily James KC

Emily James KC, a barrister at 1GC | Family Law,  is a specialist family law silk who acts in a wide range of complex and sensitive cases relating to private and public law children. She appears routinely in the High Court and has acted in a number of very significant cases in the Court of Appeal.

Emily is Directory Ranked and has a loyal following of excellent solicitors, many of whom are top ranked, with whom she works closely.

Alex Verdan KC

Alex Verdan KC, Head of Children team at Stewarts specialises in complex and serious children cases, in particular those involving intractable child arrangements disputes, serious emotional abuse and relocations.

Alex has been in practice for over 35 years and in that time has built up extensive experience in all types of children cases both in the UK and globally.

Dr Jaime Craig

Dr Jaime Craig is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Chair of the Association of Clinical Psychologists (ACP-UK). He has over 23 years’ experience as an expert witness in the Family Courts (assessing children and adults) – and leads ACP-UK’s Expert Witness Network. He was lead author of the Family Justice Council (FJC)/ British Psychological Society guidance on the use of Psychologists as Expert witnesses in the family courts (updated 2023)  and contributed to similar guidelines for Paediatrician experts in his previous role as a member of the Family Justice Council.

Edward Flood

Edward Flood, a barrister at 1GC | Family Law acts for parents in disputes over children arrangements including where children live and with whom they spend time. He is also experienced in cases involving private law children applications with an international element.

Ian McArdle

Ian McArdle, a barrister at Atlantic Chambers, was admitted as a Solicitor in 2010 and practised in Liverpool in both family and crime, going on to secure membership to the Law Society’s Children Panel. Ian has also worked in a niche, award-winning practice specialising in all aspects of children law, with a particular focus on complex cases in which he represented local authorities, parents, children and other family members. Ian is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate in Legal Practice focusing his research on parental alienation within the Family Justice System.

Max Konarek

Max Konarek, a Partner and Joint Head of the Family & Childcare Department at GT Stewart Solicitors, is a specialist family law solicitor dealing with complex child protection cases involving Non-Accidental Injuries & Fabricated or Induced Illness [FII].

Max deals with a case load solely in Child Protection, Care and Family Law matters, specialising in areas including Public Law Proceedings, Special Guardianship Order Applications, Placement Order and Adoption Order Applications, Secure Accommodation Applications, Deprivation of Liberty Applications (children), Recovery Order Applications, Cases where parents are involved with Social Services, Applications under the Court’s Inherent Jurisdiction & Wardship Applications;

Jude Eyre

Jude Eyre is the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory‘s Associate Director for Strategy and Delivery, supporting the strategic development of the team’s work across the board and leading their work on private law proceedings and separating families.

Jude joins Nuffield FJO  from the NSPCC where, as Head of the Strategy Unit, she was responsible for organisational strategy development and delivery. She also led a team that specialised in innovation. She supported the development of the NSPCC’s London Infant Family Team, and also worked on the development of Together for Childhood, a local partnership-led approach to preventing child abuse in Grimsby, Glasgow, Stoke and Plymouth. Jude is a barrister by training and was called to the bar in 2008. Prior to working at the NSPCC she practiced as a barrister for six years and specialised in the law relating to children, including Public and Private law proceedings. For the past six years she has been a member of the Legal Group and Advisory Committee for CoramBAAF, a charity focussing on fostering and adoption.

Laura Coyle

Laura Coyle, a Partner at Freemans Solicitors, is a specialist international family law and public law practitioner.

She is one of the few Children’s Panel members to practice both areas of law at the highest level and appears regularly in the High Court and Court of Appeal on both international and public law matters.

Sophie Chapman

Sophie Chapman, a Partner at Stewarts  advises clients on all aspects of family law, with a particular focus on financial issues arising on divorce and the arrangements for children after parents separate. Sophie has a leading practice in children cases, advising clients in respect of the arrangements for children following separation, disputes in relation to key decisions affecting children (to include parentage, the exercise of parental responsibility, schooling, change of name) and applications by one parent to relocate abroad.