Representing children requires a unique and vital skill set to ensure their voices are truly heard and their rights protected. Are you equipped to meet this challenge? Join our urgent seminar to address the complexities of resist/refuse cases and parental alienation. Gain essential insights from psychological and legal experts, refine your child interviewing techniques, and learn from an expert panel on navigating the toughest issues in care of child matters in your legal practice. Don’t miss this chance to enhance your skills—your effectiveness as an advocate depends on it.

Presenters

Alex Ashmore, Barrister, Hepburn Chambers
Alex was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1990. He practiced as a solicitor for approximately 17 years – 12 of these as a partner in a firm in Waitakere City. Alex became a Barrister in 2007 and has been practicing in Central Auckland since that time. Alex’s practice is focused on Family Law including Relationship Property, Family Protection matters and cases involving children. Alex has a particular interest in cases involving the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction and has appeared as counsel in the Family Court, High Court and Court of Appeal in such cases. Alex also regularly acts in appeals from the Family Court. Alex’s tertiary qualifications include B.Com LLB obtained in 1988 and Masters with First Class Honours obtained in 2006. He has presented papers on various aspects of Family Law both in New Zealand and overseas.


David Amodeo, Barrister, Hobson Chambers
David is a barrister who specialises and practises in all areas of relationship and family law, and has done so for over a quarter of a century. David represents a wide variety of clients, including individuals, families and organisations in situations and proceedings across the wide diversity of situations involving people and property that are encompassed within the relevant jurisdictions. Throughout his time in practise David has presented many seminars to lawyers and other professionals working within the area and continues his involvement in a variety of roles within professional associations working in Aotearoa.


Michelle Melville-Smith, Psychologist/Clinic Coordinator/ Deputy Head of Training NZ, Triple P New Zealand
Michelle is a registered psychologist and a member of the New Zealand Psychological Society, an accredited Triple P practitioner and Triple P trainer (International Trainer of the Year, 2007). Michelle currently works for Triple P NZ delivering both clinical work and training practitioners in New Zealand and Internationally. Michelle is highly skilled in consulting on child behavioural, social and emotional issues and working effectively with parents on strategies to cope with these issues. She has worked with whanau referred from Oranga Tamariki, the Family court and Intensive wrap around service in MOE. Michelle has had over 18 year’s experience in working with separated parents via the family court and privately to assist them to develop communication tools with each other and help them to understand the needs of their children. Other areas Michelle works in are couples counselling and working directly with children providing counselling on issues including anger management, social skills, coping with anxiety, and dealing with divorce and separation.


Minka Boddé, Special Counsel, Aspiring Law
Minka is an experienced Family Law Specialist, who has recently taken up the helm leading the Family Law team at Aspiring Law. She began her career as a general litigation solicitor, returning to specialise in family law in 2009 after spending 8 years raising her children. Minka represents both parents and children in the Family Court,  providing mediation privately or through FDR. She specialises in conflict coaching for families going through separation.  Minka is committed to helping families navigate the separation process to avoid as much trauma and damage as possible, while achieving a safe outcome for the children. She is passionate about the work towards a Family Court system that not only assists families to maintain a level of relatedness and co-operation, but supports and educates them to deal with the challenges to their family in a holistic and empowering way.


Debbie Bryan-Lamb, Partner/Mediator, Ward Adams Bryan-Lamb
Debbie is a partner at Ward Adams Bryan-Lamb. As an experienced litigator Debbie specialises in family law specialising in Care of Children Act, Protection of Personal Property Rights Act proceedings, division of relationship property matters, trust and company entities. Debbie is Lawyer for Child and Lawyer for Subject Person and also assists clients with wills, trusts, elderly law, employment and retirement village matters. Debbie is an experienced mediator with AMINZ (Arbitrators' and Mediators') Institute of NZ Inc., FDR Mediator/Provider, a credentialed Associate FDR Member, Voice of Child Specialist and an accredited member of the NZ Law Society's Panel of Mediators as a Family Specialist. Debbie has a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Dispute Resolution) and is renowned for helping parties reach resolution in all kinds of disputes. As a "people person" Debbie has extensive experience working collaboratively with parties from all walks of life, having mediated disputes involving deeply personal family conflict, employment, relationship property and long-standing commercial disputes.


Shelley Stevenson, Barrister, Kumutoto Chambers
Shelley is an experienced family lawyer based in Wellington, New Zealand. She specialises in all aspects of family law and has special interest in relationship property and cases involving Oranga Tamariki. She is regularly appointed by the Family Court to represent children in parenting disputes and child protection cases. Earlier in her career Shelley was a youth advocate, criminal defence lawyer and civil litigator and has worked in family law since 1995.


Roshni Kaur, Barrister, Emily Chambers
Roshni Kaur is originally from Malaysia and has moved to New Zealand with her family about 20 years ago. She speaks four languages thanks to her parents’ careers which took her on an adventure as she grew up. She approximately has 13 years of post-qualification experience, 9 of those years spent developing litigation skills. She specializes in alternative dispute resolution as she studied for LLM, which she obtained in 2018. Her main practice area is family law. She is a lead provider of family legal aid services. In 2023 she commenced her long-awaited role as a lawyer for children. She is also an adjunct instructor at the College of Law New Zealand. Her Practice has an emphasis on care of children and family violence matters. She is particularly interested in the way culture affects the way we approach and deal with conflict.