Family law disputes: all change?

Welcome and opening remarks

Panel 1: Financial disputes and family offices

Moderated discussion
Speakers: Diana Hamade (UAE), Byron James (UAE), Charles Hale KC and Glenda Vencatachellum

Q&A session

Panellist questions followed by audience questions

Break

Enjoy refreshments and networking

Panel 2: International children disputes

Moderated discussion
Speakers: Barbara Mills KC, Ruth Kirby KC, Niamh Wilkie, Maria Scotland and Madeline Mendy (UAE)

Q&A session 

Panellist questions followed by audience questions

Closing remarks

Charles Hale KC is the Joint Head of Chambers at 4PB, a leading family law barristers' chambers in the UK. Recognised as a top advocate and arbitrator in both Chambers and Partners and Legal 500, he has been shortlisted as Silk of the Year in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Charles specialises in high-stakes family disputes, representing high net worth clients in international divorce, financial disputes, and complex modern family cases. His expertise spans both matrimonial finance and children matters, often involving multi-jurisdictional elements. He is also qualified to accept instructions directly from overseas lawyers.

With a significant ADR practice, Charles acts as an arbitrator, private FDR judge, and early neutral evaluator in finance and children disputes, offering comprehensive out-of-court solutions. He serves on the International Committee of the Bar of England and Wales and is one of two KCs appointed to the Transparency Implementation Group.

Ruth Kirby KC is a barrister, arbitrator and mediator. She specialises in law relating to children, elderly people and sports law (disciplinary and child protection issues). Ruth advises out of court but much of her work is concentrated in the court room setting, working both as a barrister and mediator. She has specialised for the last twenty years in cases involving cross jurisdictional disputes. She has experience over a number of cases involving residents and children living in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia. She is qualified as a barrister in England and Wales and in Ireland. She enjoys learning about and from practices in foreign jurisdictions and, in 2019, organised an international symposium on family law in Tokyo.

Barbara Mills KC is Vice Chair of the Bar 2024. Barbara is a silk and joint head of chambers at 4PB and practises in family law specialising in difficult and complex children cases, often with an international element. Barbara is an arbitrator and a mediator, sits as a Deputy High Court Judge, and has been a Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit for over ten years. Barbara is also a Governing Bencher at Inner Temple. Barbara chairs the Bar Council’s Regulatory Review Working Group and has been a member of the Equality, Diversity and Social Mobility Committee and co-chair of the Race Working Group, which published the landmark Race at the Bar report in 2020.

Maria is Deputy Head of Chambers and the Head of the Family Team at 5SAH in London. Maria is a qualified arbitrator in financial matters and an accredited civil mediator.

Maria practices exclusively in family law with a specialism in financial remedy applications and private law children work. Her work includes international issues, including cases where the parties, the children and/or the assets are in the UAE. She is recognised in Spears' 500 Guide (2023 & 2024): as a Top Recommended Family Law Barrister within the exclusive guide. She is also the author at Spears', with her recent article: Divorcing in Dubai: Should wealthy Expats worry about new UAE family laws? Maria is further ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners.

Glenda has enjoyed, and continues to enjoy a varied practice that includes alternate dispute resolution, civil and commercial law, family financial remedies, international child abduction, child arrangements, and international relocation. Glenda is increasingly focusing on arbitration and mediation. Glenda currently serves on the London Branch committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has been involved in the organisation of the following events:

• Looking back on Tokyo and looking forward to Doha: the arbitration of disputes at major sporting events. (joint event with the CIArb Qatar branch)
• Dispute resolution in Film. Media and entertainment
• 2022 Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill – interesting times for arbitration and ADR

Glenda was a member of the CIArb (London Branch) working party, putting forward suggestions to the Law Commission on the reform of the Arbitration Act 1996. Glenda is currently involved in organising future CIArb (London Branch) events covering aviation disputes and witness credibility. Glenda is particularly interested in arbitration in the Middle East and Africa (Anglophone and Francophone countries). Glenda was previously employed as a Law Reporter for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting for England and Wales (The Law Reports, Weekly Law Reports, and the Times Law Reports) and continues to have an interest in international differences in law reporting, and its role in the development of legal jurisprudence.

Niamh practices exclusively in family law.

Prior to joining the Bar in England 5 years ago, she worked as a barrister and in other legal disciplines in the Republic of Ireland, the Middle East, and the USA. Niamh holds a specialist qualification in international arbitration. Niamh represents clients in financial remedy proceedings, including clients based in UAE. Niamh is regularly instructed on international child abduction cases and relocation cases.