President's Blog, October 2026
Posted: 15 Oct 2026 by IAFL
Dear Friends,
This is a 'bits and pieces' blog to make sure we keep you up to speed with things that have been happening on the ground and some operational information.
IAFL out and about
Thank you to Gretchen Rubel, Professor Jens Scherpe and Alice Meier-Bourdeau who attended the 19th World Conference
of the ISFL straight after the Annual Meeting in Dublin. Jens chaired a panel for the final plenary session entitled 'Financial Remedies on Divorce and Domestic Abuse - Law and Practice'. The panel brought together practitioners and academics to discuss the intersection of legal theory, studies and data gathering and their practical application in family law practice including some exciting updates from around the world on financial remedies and family law, civil law and criminal law. Jens, Gretchen and Alice were joined by three academics - Ellen Gordon-Bouvier, Emma Hitchings and Marieke Droogné.
Alice had to leave to catch a flight so was not in the panel selfie!
Shortly after our meeting in Dublin, William Sloan, Eleanor Lau and Soyi Kim participated in Lawasia's 39th conference in Seoul and took part in an IAFL session moderated by Kai Yun Wong entitled '21st Century Family Law Issues and Challenges including AI and Digital Assets' - something which we can all no doubt relate to. The meeting was chaired by Fellow T L Yap and many other IAFL Fellows took part in other panel sessions which was also attended by immediate past Asia Pacific Chapter president John Spender.
Our Spanish fellows
Despite getting caught in the hurricane in Barcelona last week and having three boarding passes for three different flights 
which were meant to leave within three hours two of which were cancelled (!), it was fantastic to catch up with some of our Spanish fellows for supper. Those who were not able to come will have been very relieved given that 365 flights were cancelled from Barcelona Airport that weekend! I was very glad it was not an IAFL conference….
It was my pleasure to catch up with Carolina Marin Pedreño and Jumanah Adnan Behbehani our fellow in Kuwait on her recent visit to London with the Kuwait Bar Association.
Separately, it was also great to catch up with Ranjit Malhotra and Karen O'Leary as they passed through London. If you are passing through please do get in touch.
Provisional Africa Chapter
We had our first meeting with our African fellows on 14 October 2026. The purpose was to bring everyone up to speed with operational matters and to share the future timeline. The bylaws have been approved by the Board of Governors having been considered by the Executive Committee. More to follow on the Provisional Chapter but it is exciting progress.
With many thanks to our Pro Bono Committee and our Domestic Abuse Committee, their recent webinars were fantastic. Sarah Higgins the co-chair shares her thoughts here and the fabulous document which Geoff Wilson produced showing all of the different amazing charities that we as an organisation have supported through our conferences over the last couple of years. When back in Barcelona last week, the Withers Conference supported the same charity as the IAFL did in February this year which was fantastic so more bracelets were purchased.
By the time you read this, some of you will have attended our Relocation of Children Committee 40th Anniversary webinar which was fantastic. Thanks to all our speakers who generously shared their expertise.
I would like to give a special vote of thanks to Geoff Wilson, Anna Worwood and David Allison who have stepped down Chairs of their respective committees (Dispute Resolution, Relocation of Children and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) after many years of hard work and dedication. Running these committees is a bit like the Nike Swoosh - you just have to do it and they all contributed an enormous amount to the Committees success. Thank you.
Please remember that our committees are open to all for membership. If you are interested in joining a committee or taking part in leadership just let Annie know.
IAFL Judicial Network
I also wanted to give a big shout out to Judge Alison Burt and Judge Amanda Humphreys from Melbourne, Australia who set
up our IAFL Judicial Network. They held their first meeting in person meeting in Dublin which was really exciting. The hope is that this creates a safe space for our judicial fellows to learn and exchange ideas with each other as to what is happening on the ground, and across judiciaries worldwide. They will continue to meet remotely in between meetings.
We have not had a dues increase since 2019 (pre‑Covid) when the dues increased from US$490 to US$550. Since then global costs have increased as has our association management work with initiatives such as the Institute for Further Learning, the Early Career Award, the increase in the number of webinars (27 last year alone!) and our meetings.
At our recent Executive Committee meeting a proposal was tabled to increase the dues by US$100 for full fellows and that dues for judicial, associate and non practicing fellows would not increase. This was unanimously approved by the Executive Committee and the Board of Governors at our AGM.
Please remember that we have a tiered dues programme in place for those coming from countries which are unrepresented in our IAFL community. There is also a financial assistance for meetings fund - details available from Annie.
Day to day IAFL Life
Since Dublin I have caught up with each of our Chapter Presidents on a one to one basis and then had the first of the monthly catch ups with each of the Chapter Leadership - Presidents, President Elects and President Elect Designates. These meetings take place on a monthly basis so that each Chapter is up to speed with operational matters dealt with by the Small Management Committee who meet on a bi‑weekly basis and information can be shared by each Chapter.
The finishing touches are being put to the US/Canadian Chapter meeting in Fort Lauderdale in December.
We launched Auckland and spaces are filling up fast. If you have not already booked in ,please do so. The hotel is almost full. The amazing social activities which have been organised by Asia Pacific Chapter President Inger Blackford and the team are also filling up fast.
Fred Siegel and Kim Kieller and their teams are hard at work in preparing for us to arrive in New York in May 2027 and now that Dublin is behind us attention is focussed on Mumbai in September 2027.
Introductions to International Family Law Meetings
Earlier this week the Asia Pacific Chapter successfully held its Introduction to Family law in the Philippines. Many thanks to John Spender who facilitated the event and to our fellow Jaerey Velasco who arranged everything on the ground. It went like clockwork and I understand that the local guests were bowled over by the IAFL spirit. Thank you to our sponsors Oldham Li & Nie, Atanante & Ilagan and Hone Maxwell LLP. We had over 50 local participants including the Undersecretary of State from the Department of Justice (who has been a practitioner for 34 years). The Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Maria Filomena D. Singh gave the keynote speech.
This week is the turn of the European Chapter currently in Tirana for the Introduction to European Family Law at the University of Tirana with a view to introducing a number of family lawyers from the region to the IAFL.
This will be closely followed by a gathering organised by the USA Chapter at the annual AAML meeting in Chicago to share what the Academy does. I had the pleasure of sitting beside one new fellow in Dublin who came to the recruitment event in Chicago last year so going along and sharing the sparkle of the IAFL does work!
On a personal note, I am pleased to have had the opportunity to give the IAFL a name check in a recent article in The Times where I gave some commentary on the new Sky drama 'War'. I have still not plucked up the courage to watch it but undoubtedly I will have to do so and try not to shout at the television too much! I have been asked which lawyer I am like….
As I sign off, I am just about to head to Hobart, Tasmania for the Australian National Family Law Association Conference which takes place bienniallly. Thank you for Steven Yoda, Derek Ho, Shu Mei Hoon and Isaac Hikaka who are joining me for our IAFL panel which is being chaired by the Senior Finance Judge in Sydney Judge Campton.
We wish our fellow Jason Walker who is currently Chair of the association all the very best as he hosts no less than 1,400 family lawyers.
The seasons are turning so there are some fantastic sunrises and sunsets. Here are some from England and also from Barcelona
What are you doing to support your wellbeing as for some of us the nights are drawing in while for others you are about to embrace your summer season?
I leave you with this book recommendation. Some of you may have already read it. Time to Think by Nancy Kline. In this 
fast moving world in which we live finding space to pause can be tricky. Nancy's book helps us think about creating a thinking environment with its 10 components.
Warm regards
Suzanne
Suzanne Todd, IAFL President
