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Exploring the developing landscape for resolving family disputes out of court

This event was on June 21, 2017.

Changes to the legislation around pre-action procedures, funding cuts resulting in large court lists, and lengthy delays for final hearings, means that parties to family disputes are seriously considering options for resolution out of court. Choosing from the various alternatives requires a good understanding of the different pathways, their strengths and pitfalls, and an ability to match individual needs to the best options for them at that time.

Join me, our experienced panel and my colleagues from the Mediation & Facilitative Special Interest Group of Resolutions Australia to discuss what these different choices might mean for your clients. We will consider location, cost, referral, legal and other support, process, and other factors that may assist in determining which of these options are more suitable for each case.

Need help REGISTERING >> Please contact the Resolution Institute office on (02) 9251 3366.

About our presenters

About the Chair

Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 8.58.42 pmNussen Ainsworth is a legal academic and mediator. He is an LIV accredited specialist in mediation, NMAS accredited mediator and a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. He is a lecturer and is the coordinator of the ADR unit at the College of Law and Justice, Victoria University. Prior to becoming an academic, Nussen practised as a solicitor at a commercial law firm in Melbourne. He is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria’s ADR, Resolution Institute Mediation and the Magistrates’ Court Dispute Resolution Committees. He is currently completing his PhD on court-connected mediation at Monash University.

About the panel

Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 8.58.53 pmSusan Hamilton-Green is the Principal of Creative Family Law Solutions and has over 30 years experience in family law, becoming an Accredited Family Law Specialist in 1990. She is a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner under the National Mediator Accreditation Scheme and as a specialist in mediation by the Law Institute of Victoria. Susan is also a trained Arbitrator with AIFLAM and trained as a Conflict Coach. Susan is also an adjunct Lecturer with the College of Law since 2011 and provides supervision and training to family dispute resolution practitioners and junior lawyers.

Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 8.59.04 pmBelle Lane is a Barrister at the Victorian and Western Australian Bars and is also a Solicitor in Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Belle practises in all areas of the family law and de facto jurisdictions, including pre-trial applications, trials, mediations, arbitrations, advice and paperwork. Belle is a Nationally Accredited Mediator since 2007, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner, Collaborative Practitioner and arbitrator. She is the Victorian Representative for the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators.

Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 8.59.14 pmMarguerite Picard is the Director of MELCA and is a Melbourne-based accredited Family Law Specialist, a collaborative lawyer and a mediator who specialises in helping couples divorce without going to Court. Marguerite established the Melbourne Collaborative Alliance, a collaborative practice with a holistic approach to divorce that utilises the adjunct services of a psychologist and a financial planner.

Screen Shot 2017-06-13 at 8.59.24 pmEd Shackell is Practice Development Specialist-Family Law for Relationships Australia Victoria. He worked as a family lawyer for Victoria Legal Aid before turning to family mediation. He has been working as an FDRP for over 20 years and is a registered FDR practitioner with the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department. Ed has extensive experience, supervises senior FDR practitioners and provides group supervision in FDR for all programmes run by RAV. He delivers training for the Graduate Diploma of FDR run by Relationships Australia Victoria, is involved in their current pilot project in elder mediation, and facilitates the Lawyers Panel maintained by RAV.

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