Events

Expatriate Law are hosting an international family law conference in Dubai on 3rd and 4th May 2018. The conference is timed to coincide with the UK bank holiday weekend, so that delegates can spend a few additional days in Dubai after the conference.

The conference is aimed at lawyers who undertake international family law cases involving the Middle East. The conference will be an excellent networking opportunity, a chance to gain CPD and broaden your knowledge on international family law issues.

Conference Itinerary

The following speakers will be presenting at the conference:

Sir Peter Singer will speak on the recognition in England of foreign marriages and divorces. This will include consideration of divorces by Talaq, proceedings and non-proceedings divorce, marriages abroad and non-marriage cases, and the financial implications of such marriages and divorces.

Ian Edge will speak on Sharia law issues relevant for family law practitioners. His talk will include a consideration of Islamic principles, and their application in the Middle East. It will cover the types of divorce open to men and women in the region, dowry payments, financial implications of divorce, and Islamic inheritance.

Clare Renton and Alexandra Tribe will speak on the international relocation of children to and from the Middle East. This will include the ability to relocate with children from the Middle East, safeguards to ensure the return of abducted children to and from the region, and related issues. The talk will involve discussion of the cross over between English laws and Sharia based local laws in the Middle East, when advising expatriate clients.

Hassan Elhais of Al Rowaad Advocates in Dubai and Byron James of Expatriate Law will speak about enforcement in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Dubai. Their talk will consider options for enforcement in the region, including new developments within the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC). They will address the tactical steps that can be taken to help ensure future enforcement of English orders in the UAE.

Jeremy Morley was admitted to the New York Bar in 1975 and concentrates on international family law. His firm works with clients around the world from its New York office, with a global network of local counsel. Jeremy will speak on international family law issues; more details to follow.

Margaret Heathcote is the national Chair of Resolution (formerly the Solicitors’ Family Law Association (SFLA)), an organisation of over 6,500 family lawyers and other family justice professionals in England and Wales who believe in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to family law issues.  Margaret will talk about Resolution, its beginnings and growth over the past 30 years, its ethos and its Code of Practice, the cornerstone of the organisation to which all members subscribe. She will also briefly look at the changing nature of the family and family and the practice of family law in the UK, and how Resolution and its members are rising to the challenge to influence change in the public, professional and legislative spheres.

We have also compiled a panel of family lawyers practising in the region who will talk about the family laws in their own jurisdiction, and issues relevant to lawyers advising expatriate clients in those jurisdictions. 6 lawyers will participate including Elham Hassan from Elham Ali Hassan & Associates in Bahrain, Sumaiya Al Baluishi from Mar Law Firm in Oman, Amna Abbas from ABS & Co in Lahore, Pakistan, and Mert Yalcin from YTT Law Office in Istanbul, Turkey. Other lawyers will participate from Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.