The 2011 Interdisciplinary Conference held at Dartington Hall assembled a uniquely qualified group of contributors, drawn from the many professions involved in the work of the family justice system. This book brings together their papers and is essential reading for all those involved in the family law field.

Thanks to Bridget McCrum for use of 'Sleeping Bird' 2006 at the entrance to Dartington Hall.

To view an extract of Dear David: A Memo to the Norgrove Committee from the Dartington Conference 2011  click here

Edited by the Rt Hon Lord Justice Thorpe and William Tyzack Barrister, Queen Elizabeth Building, Temple, London

To view the full contents of Dear David: A Memo to the Norgrove Committee from the Dartington Conference 2011  click here

CONTRIBUTORS

FOREWORD

PLENARY 1
PRIVATE LAW: A CHANGE FROM CONFRONTATION TO MEDIATION 1

• Playing safe? The Family Justice Review and the Management of Risk in Private Law
  Cases
  Professor Liz Trinder
• A Brave New World for Family Justice? Opportunities and Challenges for Reforms in
  Private Law Cases
  Emeritus Professor Janet Walker OBE

PLENARY 2
HEARING THE VOICE OF THE CHILD IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LAW
PROCEEDINGS

• ABE Interviews, Children’s Testimony and Hearing the Voice of the Child in Family
  Cases: Are we Barking up the Right Tree?
  Professor Penny Cooper
• Hearing the Voice of the Child
  Christine Renouf and Mary Mullin

PLENARY 3
(1) REFORM OF THE FAMILY COURT AND (2) LEGAL AID REFORM

• Reform of the Family Court: Delivering a Unified System; Specialist Judiciary;
  Allocation; Judicial Continuity; Role of Lay Magistrates; Role of the President in a
  Single Family Court
  Sir Nicholas Wall
• The Single Family Court
  Lord Justice Andrew McFarlane
  Legal Aid Reform and the Family Justice Review
  Katherine Gieve

PLENARY 4
THE FUTURE OF THE FAMILY JUSTICE COUNCIL

• Panel Debate: The Future of the Family Justice Council
  Lord Justice Mathew Thorpe, John Coughlan, Dr Heather Payne, Nick Goodwin

PLENARY 5
PUBLIC LAW: REFORMING CARE PROCEEDINGS

• Reforming Care Proceedings – A Socio-legal Perspective
  Professor Judith Masson
• Reforming Care Proceedings: a Judicial Perspective. The Challenge of Changing the
  Approach of Practitioners and the Judiciary
  Her Honour Judge Lesley Newton

PLENARY 6
PUBLIC LAW: (1) THE MUNRO REVIEW AND (2) ACHIEVING PERMANENCE

• The Munro Review of Child Protection: Final Report – A Child-centred System
  Professor Eileen Munro
• Routes to Permanence: Achieving Stability and a ‘Sense of Permanence’ for Children
  who may need Out-of-home Care
  Emeritus Professor June Thoburn CBE

PLENARY 7
(1) PRE-PROCEEDINGS PROCESSES IN PUBLIC LAW AND (2) USERS’
EXPERIENCES OF THE FAMILY JUSTICE SYSTEM

• Pre-proceedings Processes in Children’s Social Care
  Dr Jonathan Dickens
• Families’ Experiences of the Family Justice System
  Cathy Ashley
• My Experience at FDAC
  Jackie

PLENARY 8
CONFERENCE ACTION POINTS AND RESOLUTIONS

• Conference Resolutions

The 2011 Dartington Conference proved as felicitous in its planning and delivery as any of its predecessors.

The choice of the conference topic was hardly debated. The Norgrove Review is of fundamental importance to the future of the Family Justice System and of all us who work there. The Family Justice Council had fully engaged in the consultation process. The Interim Report had been widely welcomed. The anticipated delivery of the final report fitted perfectly with our Dartington dates. The Planning Committee accordingly built a programme on a concrete foundation.

Of course, when all seemed so secure, fate intervened. The delivery date was advanced, with the consequences that David Norgrove himself was obliged to withdraw and the opportunity to feed our recommendations into the final stage of consultation lost.

Before we had time to despair, fate’s wheel turned again. Publication was deferred to early November and Lord Justice McFarlane assured us both that he would be with us and that our debates and conclusions would be considered by the Norgrove Committee in the late stages of their deliberations.

Providence went further and showered us with golden days. The Hall and gardens were at their most beautiful and the working groups deserted their allotted rooms for open air.

We must be grateful to many but I single out Alison Russell in the planning committee, Tessa in our administration and William Tyzack our rapporteur.

The Rt Hon Lord Justice Thorpe
October 2011