Children's hearings seminar

Morag is the convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Family Law Committee. She is a former reporter to the children’s hearing and is the retired director of the Scottish Child Law Centre. She is one of the annotators to the Children’s Hearings (Scotland)Act 2011, and is the author of a number of article for publications such as Green’s Family Law Bulletin. She is currently co-authoring the second edition of Child Abuse, Child Protection and the Law.

Julia is the Clinical Director with the Glasgow Infant and Family Team (GIFT), NSPCC .  GIFT is an infant mental health team which was established in 2012. GIFT provides relationship focussed assessment and intervention to young children who have recently been placed in foster care, and their birth families. GIFT then makes recommendations to Social Work and Children’s Hearings about whether the child can return safely to their parents’ care or whether adoption is indicated.
Julia is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Paediatric Neuropsychologist. Julia previously worked for 9 years with children and young people who were Looked After and Accommodated in a specialist CAMHS Service in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Prior to that, Julia worked in an Early Intervention Service for children and families in East Glasgow and in the Neurosciences Unit at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow. She has a longstanding interest in developing and providing effective early intervention for children and families who have experienced early adversity.

Alan has been a Senior Associate with MBS Solicitors since the firm’s establishment in August 2010. He has practised as a solicitor since qualifying in 2006. His primary areas of practise are family & child law, criminal law, reparation law. He has a particular interest in the area of Children’s Referrals. He is regularly appointed to act mostly for juveniles and parents for hearings at the Children’s Panels to Children’s Referral Proofs at the Sheriff Court. He has also written articles for the Journal of the Law Society of Scotland. Alan is also regularly instructed in respect of Panel Appeals at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and to the Sheriff Appeal Court. He regularly instructs and works closely with Counsel. In addition, he is regularly instructed in Permanence and Adoption actions in the Sheriff Court and in the Court of Session. Alan has also acted in cases ranging from Special Reasons/Exceptional Hardship Proofs in the Justice of the Peace Court, to Summary Trials in the Sheriff Court, right through to more complex Sheriff and Jury trials – all in his own right.