Family Law

Family Law is inviting its readers to a free informal social evening in Bristol on Tuesday 24 May 2011.

The evening is being organised to allow family law practitioners to discuss the impact and effect of the recently introduced Family Procedure Rules, which came into force on the 6 April. At the event an experienced panel will provide their insights on the new rules and answer any of your questions in a Q&A session. Attendees will also be entitled to receive 1 CPD hour.

The panel will be chaired by Jordan Publishing's PSL, Hayley Trim, who has an in-depth knowledge of the new rules having recently written Family Law's update guidance, A practical roadmap to the new Family Procedure Rules.  

The four other members of the panel are:

• District Judge Julie Exton who sits at Bristol County Court and has been a speaker at Family Law Updates, is a contributor to Practical Civil Court Precedents, and a member of the New Law Journal 'Judicial Line' panel.

• Lisa Parkinson who is the author of the recently released book Family Mediation Appropriate Dispute Resolution in a new family justice system, published by Jordan Publishing. She is a family mediator and trainer, and a member of the Family Justice Council ADR Committee.

• Lucy Reed who is a family barrister at St John's Chambers with a particular specialism in children work. She writes the popular Pink Tape family law blog.

• Gareth Schofield who is a Partner and the head of the Family team at Clarke Willmott LLP.  He is a matrimonial specialist focussing solely in privately funded ancillary relief matters and complex cohabitation/unmarried family disputes. He is editor of Family Law's Debt and Insolvency on Family Breakdown (3rd Edition).

The event is being held in Toto's bar (pictured) overlooking the water front near the new Bristol Civil Justice Centre. There will be plenty of opportunity to chat with the speakers and other practitioners before and after the Q&A session.

Tickets for the evening are available for free on a first-come first-served basis. If you would like to submit a question for the panel to answer, please include this in the space provided when booking your ticket. For more information and to book your place, visit www.familylaw.co.uk/social.

Follow updates for the event on Twitter by using the hashtag: #familylawsocial.