Anne-Marie Hutchinson Memorial Lecture

Anne-Marie Hutchinson Memorial Lecture

I have been given the great honour today of talking about my friend and colleague, the late Anne-Marie Hutchinson, OBE QC (Hons).

Speaking at the tail end of this meeting, I have to keep this interesting!

I am not going to talk at first about Anne-Marie, but two other inspirational women in my first law job, when I was young and green. I’m doing so because they offer parallels with Anne-Marie. One of those women has spoken at this conference. She was a young mum, passionate, caring about clients, concerned about domestic violence (which did not have that name back then), a bit of a perfectionist, a very stylish dresser, took steps to end forced marriage, and a top class family lawyer. On one occasion that lawyer was refused the ability to appear by an old dinosaur of a judge- because she wore culottes.

Read Stephen’s lecture here.

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Black Friday meant good luck for many children born through surrogacy – and their parents

Friday the 13th, Black Friday, is normally a day of doom and gloom- when things go wrong. However, Black Friday, 13 December 2024 was a good day for many children born through surrogacy – and their parents.

Mitochondrial donation: Not so fast, Tonto

News from the UK is that eight children- four boys and four girls (including a pair of twins) have now been born through mitochondrial donation, enabling these children to be born through three people’s DNA.

Will I Get Prosecuted if I Do Surrogacy Overseas?

Surrogacy is a deeply personal and often complex journey for many Australian families. With the rise of international surrogacy arrangements, a pressing question frequently arises: Will I face prosecution if I engage in surrogacy overseas?

Family Law Section Law Council of Australia Award
Member of Queensland law society
Family law Practitioners Association
International Academy of Family Lawyers - IAFL
Mediator Standards Board