Family Law

Family Law Awards judges meeting, from left, FLR Editor Rebecca Bailey-Harris, Resolution Chair David Allison, ALC Co-Chair Alan Bean, CFLQ Editor Gillian Douglas, CFLQ Editor Jane Fortin, Family Law Publisher Greg Woodgate, Family Law and IFL journals Editor Elizabeth Walsh, FLR Editor Nigel Lowe, FLR Editor Caroline Bridge, and FLBA Chair Stephen Cobb QC.

Jordan Publishing is delighted to announce the short-list of nominees for the Family Law Awards 2011. The Family Law Awards judges met in London on Tuesday (pictured) to discuss the nominations and approve the short-list.

The ceremony will take place at the Hilton Park Lane on 18 October 2011.

All nominees were nominated online by the family law community. The short-list of six of the awards have been selected from the nominations by the judging panel, while the short-list for the two other awards were voted for by the family law community.

The judging panel was made up of the heads of the three family law practitioners' associations, the Family Law Bar Association, Resolution and the Association of Lawyers for Children, along with Family Law editors and publishing executives. Judges were not allowed to vote for their own firm or chambers or for any of their colleagues.

We were overwhelmed with the positive response from the family law community. Almost a thousand people voted in the two awards open to the family law community to decide. In the six categories decided by the judging panel, we were delighted by the number of nominations we received from across the country. They revealed the amazing, and often unpaid, work many family lawyers are doing to help their clients.

We hope the Family Law Awards go some way to provide encouragement to family lawyers and recognise their commitment, hard work and outstanding achievements.

The short-listed nominees are (in alphabetical order):

FAMILY LAW SOLICITOR OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE, Dawson Cornwell 
• William Longrigg, Charles Russell
• Vanessa Priddis, Michelmores
• Jane Simpson, Manches

FAMILY LAW BARRISTER OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• Deborah Eaton QC, 1 King's Bench Walk
• Teertha Gupta, 4 Paper Buildings
• Richard Todd QC, 1 Hare Court
• Jeremy Weston QC, St Ives Chambers

FAMILY LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• Bindmans
• Family Law in Partnership
• Hartnell Chanot
• Michelmores LLP

FAMILY LAW CHAMBERS OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• 29 Bedford Row
• 1 Hare Court
• 4 Paper Buildings
• St Ives Chambers

MOST INNOVATIVE FAMILY LAWYER OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• Roger Bamber, Mills & Reeve
• Kim Beatson, Anthony Gold solicitors
• Lucy Reed, St John's Chambers
• Jonathan West, Prolegal

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO THE FIELD OF FAMILY LAW AWARD:

• District Judge Nicholas Crichton, Judiciary
• Stephen Cobb QC, 1 Garden Court Chambers
• Stephen Migdal, Domestic Abuse Support Service of Bristol Institute of Legal Practice
• James Pirrie, Family Law in Partnership solicitors

Short-listed nominees in the family law community awards:

FAMILY LAW ADR PRACTITIONER OF THE YEAR AWARD:

• Stephen Anderson, Birketts
• Kim Beatson, Anthony Gold solicitors
• Gillian Bishop, Family Law in Partnership solicitors
• Denise Ingamells, TV Edwards solicitors

FAMILY LAW READERS' COMMENTARY AWARD:

• Nick Brown, St Philip's Chambers
• David Hodson, The International Family Law Group
• Lisa Parkinson, Family Mediator, Trainer and Vice-President of the Family Mediators Association
• Professor Rebecca Probert, University of Warwick

If you wish to attend the awards ceremony, tickets can be purchased from our website for just £50 each. Discounts for multiple tickets are also available, please call us on 0117 918 1295 for further information quoting promotion code R324. Alternatively pay only £25 when also purchasing a ticket for the Family Law Conference 2011 which immediately precedes the awards ceremony: familylawtraining.co.uk/flc.

We would like to congratulate all the short-listed nominees and thank everyone who submitted a nomination and voted.