Stephensons Present at the 'Unlocking the Mysteries of the Family Justice System' Conference

Mike Devlin, Managing Partner of the Family department at Stephensons Solicitors LLP was a speaker at the prestigious 'Unlocking the Mysteries of the Family Justice System' conference, held at Manchester's Lowry Hotel on the 21st September 2007. The conference was organised by the Greater Manchester Family Justice Council and was chaired by His Honour Judge Iain Hamilton. Attendance was by invitation only.

Other speakers at this event included Lord Justice Wall, an Appeal Court Judge and previously the Family Liason Judge for the North West Circuit and Dr Ian Tanner, the Regional Medical Officer for London who deputised for Sir Liam Donaldson the Chief Medical Officer.

The purpose of the conference was to encourage members of the medical, psychological, nursing and social work professions to become expert witnesses in family proceedings. Many expert witnesses and potential expert witnesses have been frightened off by the experience of Professor Sir Roy Meadow who was struck off the medical register following a complaint against him relating to evidence he gave at the trial of the late Sally Clark for the murder of her two sons.

Key points emphasised at the conference were as follows:

Acting as an expert witness is vitally important work to support the administration of Justice.
The risk of damage to reputation and livelihood was minimal provided that the existing robust procedures were followed.
The experience of working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary team was not only enjoyable but improved professional practice and understanding of both lawyers and experts.

Mike Devlin, who is an experienced speaker at such events, stated "I am delighted to have taken part in the conference. In addition to the distinguished list of speakers there was an impressive array of expert delegates with a huge amount to contribute to promoting and protecting the welfare of children. It is essential that this pool of expertise is available to the Family Justice System so that the Courts have access to the best possible expert opinions to inform the decision making process".

Mike made reference to the observations of Sir James Munby, a High Court Judge of the Family Division, who commented that since the abolition of the death penalty the most draconian step that any Court in England and Wales can take is the removal of a child from their parents. It is with this in mind that a consensus emerged during the conference that Courts must have access to the best expert evidence available.

Mike Devlin concluded that he believes that, "this conference was an important first step in encouraging expert witnesses to return to, or to consider becoming involved in the Family Justice System".