The 2021 Baroness Butler-Sloss Annual Family Law Lecture given by Baroness Hale of Richmond

Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE PC FBA, former President of the Supreme Court gave the 2021 GW4 Family Regulation and Society Network and Exeter Law School Baroness Butler-Sloss Annual Family Law Lecture on the topical subject of “Family Law in a Crisis".

Our speaker, Lady Hale, was herself an eminent Family Law academic before being appointed a Law Commissioner in 2004, where she was the principal architect of what became the Children Act 1989. She subsequently took up a judicial career which led to her being appointed the first female Law Lord in 2004 and culminated in her appointment as the first woman President of the Supreme Court in 2017.

Her chosen topic attracted a wide-ranging audience from all over the country and was enjoyed by students, academics and practitioners working in the field of family justice. Her lecture was introduced by Lady Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, herself the first female Lord Justice of Appeal.

Lecture Abstract

In these uncertain and strange times, Family Law has been asked to adapt its role and processes in the current crisis. However, it is an area of law that routinely deals with crises and both this area of law and the wider family justice system have often had to face challenges of their own. Drawing on the rich knowledge and experience of the speaker, this lecture will explore the theme of crisis in the context of the evolving role of family law today.

You can view the lecture here.