Free Seminar for Family Lawyers, Children’s Guardians and Related Professionals - Trauma Informed Practice in Family Law

This hybrid seminar will explore how to implement trauma informed care and representation for family lawyers.

Amanda Meusz, of the Garden Court Chambers Family Team, and Lucy Barnes, co-founder of Lawyers Who Care, alongside a team of experts will consider what is meant by trauma informed representation, the myths around trauma, the physiological aspects of trauma and how these impact on an individual’s ability to engage with professionals including their legal team and the court process. 

The seminar will include an interactive discussion, in which we can problem solve and share practical ideas on increasing participation and engagement for the most vulnerable clients. 

Amanda and Lucy look forward to sharing their passion for, and commitment to, providing trauma informed representation. 

Speakers

Amanda Weston KC, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Amanda is a leading public and administrative law silk. She co-authors Judicial Review: A Practical Guide (Lexis Nexis) and is a member of the ‘A’ Panel of preferred Counsel who act for the Equality & Human Rights Commission. Amanda has acted in hundreds of asylum and human rights appeals including in high-profile and sensitive cases and those involving extradition. Her cases include gender and sexuality cases, complex political and religious cases and appeals for children and vulnerable adults. Amanda also acts in cases in the Family Division, Administrative Court and appeal courts where the rights of children and young people are in play. 

Amanda Meusz, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Amanda's practice relates to all areas of the law relating to children, including serious non-accidental injury (NAI) cases, the death of a child, fabricated or induced illness (FII), child sexual abuse, medical treatment of children and deprivation of liberty (DoL) cases, as well as disputes relating to the provision of services to children and young people.  Amanda has considerable experience in representing parents and children who have been the victims of trauma, parents and children with mental health or neurodevelopmental difficulties and learning disabilities. Amanda has developed an innovative a trauma informed approach to representation of  vulnerable clients in proceedings and the aftermath of proceedings.

Lucy Barnes, CEO, Lawyers Who Care CIC
Lucy is a Future Pupil Barrister at East Anglian Chambers (commencing October 2024), a Middle Temple Scholar and a TEDx and Keynote Speaker. Lucy is a passionate advocate for care-experienced young people, having co-founded and is the CEO of Lawyers Who Care CIC. Lucy was recently recognised for her advocacy work for social mobility and was selected as one of the 100 faces of the Universities UK #100faces campaign, celebrating individuals who were the first in their families to go to university.

Rachel Braverman, NVR Practitioners Consortium
Rachel is Director of the NVR Practitioners Consortium and a fully accredited trainer of NVR. She trains parents and carers of children displaying behaviours of concern and practitioners working with families in NVR. She also works with adoptive parents, special guardians foster carers and those caring for children and young people with special needs.

Rachel is an expert by experience; she is a National Advisor to the Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and an adoption panel member for Family Futures CIC. Prior to training as a NVR facilitator, Rachel worked for 25 years in the voluntary advice sector as an advisor, trainer and CEO. She was also part of a team researching the link between financial difficulties and mental health crisis. The NVR Practitioners Consortium is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping parents and carers dealing with behaviours of concern and the professionals supporting them.

Dr Catherine O’Neill, Intermediary and Speech & Language Therapist /Art Psychological Therapist
Dr Catherine O’Neill has over 35 years’ experience working with children and adults with communication difficulties and mental health disorders. She is a specialist in Trauma Informed Practice and has researched at doctoral level, The Knowledge and Experience of Trauma Informed Practice in the Justice System. 

Catherine has worked with adults and children experiencing neurological conditions, i.e. strokes, MND, Paediatric Developmental Disorders, neurodiversity, and mental health disorders. She has worked with a range of mental health issues on acute wards and in day hospitals, working with PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis and schizophrenia. Qualifying as a Registered Intermediary in 2009, Catherine O’Neill has worked on many hundreds of cases.

Reserve your in-person or online ticket

Please fill in the form below to reserve your in-person or online ticket. In-person tickets are limited to the capacity of the venue. After you have completed the form, we will be back in touch to confirm your in-person place at this event.

If you have booked an online ticket, we will send joining details to everyone who has signed up on the day of the event. Please check your junk inbox if you have not received the link by Wednesday 4th September. If you have not received the link by 3pm on Wednesday 4th September, and it is not in your junk inbox, please email webinars@gclaw.co.uk.