Family Law

Family Law is becoming one of the most complex and ever-changing areas of law. Recent and upcoming changes to legislation need to be navigated carefully by Family Law practitioners in order to meet client expectations and continue to offer the most up to date advice.

Join our outstanding panel for this 4 Hour session designed to cover the most important areas of legislation and hopefully provide you with the most current and relevant practical guidance.

This session will cover the following 4 topics:

Laura McLean, Harper Macleod – Child Law and Child Welfare Reports

Child Welfare Reporters in Scotland are regularly appointed by the Scottish Courts to assist with ensuring that the children at the centre of disputes involving them can give their views on matters such as contact, residence and relocation. This session will explore how Child Welfare Reports are used in child law cases in Scotland and discuss recent examples of relevant case law.

Laura is accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in both family and child law. She advises clients on a broad range of family law issues, including divorce, financial provision on separation, pre-nuptial agreements, cohabitation, adoption and disputes relating to children. She has wide experience in complex and high-value cases and those with intersecting public law aspects. In situations where court action is necessary, she is an experienced litigator and regularly appears in the Sheriff Courts.

Dr Anne Woodhouse, Solution Psychology – Expert Reports in Family Law Cases

There are many types of expert witnesses that are called upon in family proceedings. Child Psychologists are one of the most common types of family law expert witnesses. These professionals can provide expert opinions on the mental health and well-being of a child in a family law case. They can also assess the impact of the family breakdown on the child and make recommendations for the child’s care, residence and contact arrangements.

Doctor Anne Woodhouse has worked as a Clinical Psychologist in Inverness, Highland, since 1999. She started working as a psychologist in the NHS in 1992, qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist in 1997, becoming a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in 2005 and then, in 2009, taking on the post of NHS Highland Lead Psychologist for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. She left the NHS in 2014 to concentrate on delivery of independent Clinical Psychology Services with Solution Psychology.

Karen Gibbons, Harper Macleod – Dealing with Discretion in Financial Provision Cases

Although the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 sets out clear principles that the Courts must apply when deciding the outcome of a claim for financial provision on divorce, Sheriffs and judges in Scotland have a wide discretion to decide what is fair when considering all the circumstances of a case. This session will look specifically at how that discretion has been used by the Courts and provide an analysis of recent case law.

Karen has extensive experience covering the spectrum of family law case types, including complex financial provision matters both in divorce (often including a cross-border element) and cohabitation cases. She regularly negotiates and assists clients in entering into separation agreements. In addition, She is regularly instructed to assist clients who wish to put in place pre or post nuptial and cohabitation agreements. She is a member of Consensus, IACP (the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals), CALM Scotland and the Family Law Association of Scotland (FLA). For many years she had a close involvement with the running of Scotland’s FLA as a committee member from 2008 to 2016 as well as in office bearing roles (Vice Chair 2012 to 2014 and Chair 2016).

Alexis Harper, Harper Macleod – Effectively Dealing with Business Assets

The question of how business assets are dealt with in the context of divorce can often be a complex issue for family lawyers. This session will explore some of the factors that must be considered, including determining whether parties’ business assets are in fact matrimonial property and instructing appropriate experts in terms of establishing the value of such assets.

Alexis deals with all aspects of family law including separation, divorce, child law matters including residence and contact disputes, claims upon the breakdown of a cohabitation, and the financial issues arising from the breakdown of a marriage, including maintenance, pension sharing, and the division of assets. She is experienced in advising in cases where there are business interests on divorce. Alexis has written articles for Scottish Business Insider, and the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland and has also delivered talks to the Law Society of Scotland, Royal Faculty of Procurators, local faculties, and the Legal Services Agency.

The event begins at 1pm. Delegate registration is open from 12:30pm.