Association of Lawyers for Children: Dates for the diary

Practitioners may wish to add the following three Association of Lawyers for Children (ALC) function dates to their dairies:

ALC Annual Conference 2008
The 2008 ALC Conference will take place between the 13 to 15 November 2008 at the De Vere Hotel in Southampton. Planning for the Conference programme is under way and full details will be published later in the year.

The Hershman / Levy Memorial Lecture 2008
The 2008 Hershman / Levy Memorial Lecture will be held in Birmingham on Thursday 26 June 2008. This year's lecture will be given by Lord Justice Hughes. The lecture will take place at St Philips Chambers in Birmingham. Places are limited and early booking is advised. The booking forms will be sent out in early April. For advanced booking please contact admin@alc.org.uk.

The ALC David Hershman Newcomer of the Year Award
The time has come again to consider your nominations for the ALC David Hershman Newcomer of the Year Award. The award is designed to encourage young practitioners to enter and remain in the field of child law at a time when only some 15 of the 1500 members of the Children Panel are under 30 years of age.

The eligibility criteria for the award are as follows:

• Nominees must be solicitors, barristers, trainees or students.
• Nominees must have been working in the field of child law for less than 5 years.
• The person proposing the nominee must feel that he/she has made a contribution to good practice, facilitating children's voices or the development of the field of child law.

Forms for nomination will be sent out to ALC members with the flyers for the Hershman / Levy Memorial Lecture in early April. If anybody wishes to make a nomination prior to that date, they should e-mail their nomination, which must received by close of business on 13 June 2008, to amacdonald@st-philips.co.uk including the following details:

• 250 to 1000 words identifying the nominee's relevant achievements and/or characteristics.
• Full contact details for the nominee and the person proposing them.
• Confirmation that the nominee has been working in the field of child law for 5 years of less.