Ms Emma Whewell

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About me

I was admitted as a Solicitor in 1992 and joined the UWE Bristol Law School as a Senior Lecturer in Law in 1998, following four years as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Bristol.  

I have more than 25 years of experience of teaching Civil Litigation, Family Law, legal skills and professional conduct on the vocational postgraduate Legal Practice Course for Intending Solicitors.  

I have almost 15 years of experience of teaching on the undergraduate Law degree programme.  Current subjects include Dispute Resolution Skills for Year 2 students; and Family Law, and Lawyering in Practice for Year 3 students.  I have also taught Education and the Law.  

I was an External Examiner for BPP Law School in London from 2010-2014.

I am a practising solicitor and an accredited mediator.  I practised law full time between 1992-1994 and part time between 1994 and 2001.  I resumed in 2018.  For 2 years, I led UWE's Family Law Pro Bono Clinic, supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students in relation to real client matters.  For the past 3 years, I have been the Family Law lead in the Business & Law Clinic.  

For the past 5 years, I have co-taught an Alternative Dispute Resolution (Mediation) elective on the Professional Skills Course for Internding Solicitors and, for the past two years, I have taught a Case Analysis & Case Management Elective on the same course.

I have undertaken empirical research in the field of Children's Social Care, and have a particular interest in what happens during the 'pre-proceedings' stage.  My current research interest is access to justice and alternative dispute resolution in relation to Family Law.

Since October 2015, I have taken part in, or helped to organise, more than 10 professional conferences and public debates at the Family Court in Bristol.

I have been a member of the Local Family Justice Board in Bristol since January 2018 and helped to organise two of its annual conferences.

 

Area of expertise

Family Law; the Family Justice System and Dispute Resolution; 

Children's Social Care;

Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution; 

Legal Skills;

Professional Ethics.  

I have recently given the following conference papers:

ISFL World Conference, Amsterdam, July 2017: 'Why pre-proceedings work is important and needs to involve children.'

The Law Society's Childen Sub-Committee, London, December 2017: 'Why pre-proceedings work is important and needs to involve children.'

SLSA Conference, University of Bristol, March 2018: 'Children's social care, pre-proceedings and capacity: The impact of professional language and other barriers on parents with learning disabilities.'

Second UK Mental Disability Law Conference, University of Nottingham, June 2018: 'Children's social care, pre-proceedings and capacity: The impact of professional language and other barriers on parents with learning disabilities.'

SLS Conference, London, September 2018: 'Reality and rationale: Different local authority approaches to pre-proceedings in the context of children's social care and their impact on children and families'.

ISFL World Conference, Buenos Aires, August 2020 jointly with Christian Dadamo, Senior Lecturer in Law, UWE: 'Covid-19: "Honey, we forgot the kids.'; Why many children in England have lost out in the current crisis and how educational provision needs to change.'

The Law Commision Conference (14th Law Reform Programme), London, April 2021: 'Speed' Law Reform Presentation entitled 'Article 12 UNCRC and the Voice of the Child', followed by written response to the consultation in July 2021.

Pre-proceedings in the context of children’s social care: 

The reality and rationale between different local authority approaches and practices and the impact on children and families


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