David Hodson on International Family Law: Australian Family Lawyers Conference 2010

The 14th Australian National Family Law Conference has just concluded in Canberra. It remains the world's foremost national conference for practising family lawyers and increasingly an important date in the calendar for international family lawyers.

It attracted over 750 delegates a good proportion of the specialist accredited family lawyers across Australia. One of its prime attractions is the combination of solicitors barristers judges mediators and all other professionals in the family justice system. Too many national conferences elsewhere in the world have segregation between the judiciary and practitioners sometimes solicitors and barristers certainly with mediators and other artificial barriers. Whatever our calling and status we are all crucial members of a vital service in our communities namely family resolution and family justice. The system breaks down when one part of the service is not fully engaged fairly remunerated and involved in reform and good practice. Australia has led the way for many years in bringing together...

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