1. INTRODUCTION

When Stephen Gilmore invited me to contribute a chapter to the collection of essays in honour of John Eekelaar I hesitated to respond. Of course, I had known John over many years, and much admired his great intellect and his commitment of that talent to teaching, researching and developing family law. But seven years retired, and becalmed in a backwater by the pandemic, I had nothing to say. When I wrote to Stephen saying that I lacked inspiration, he replied with ten suggested topics. I felt as if I were again an examinee scanning a paper that offered choices for a question I could answer. My eye raced through nine, all fiendishly difficult. The last option brought that sense of relief: here at least is one I could have a go at – ‘The Work of the Appellate Judge in Family Law’. When suggesting this topic, no doubt Stephen had in mind its connection with John’s many valuable studies (with Mavis Maclean) of the roles of various personnel within the family justice system. In this chapter, I offer a personal account of my experience of working within that system as an appellate judge.

2. THE WORK OF AN APPELLATE JUDGE IN FAMILY LAW

2.1. FROM THE FAMILY DIVISION TO THE COURT OF APPEAL: ADAPTING TO A NEW ROLE

In 1995, I leftthe Family Division for the Court of Appeal. In those days the Family Division did very little appellate work, although the Division supplied, by rotation, a judge to sit in the Court of Appeal. That arrangement provided the opportunity to gain some understanding of what it was like to work as a member of a small team. In those more stately times, the presider would convene a meeting in his room to discuss the day’s list. Embarrassingly, the most junior was often the first to be asked for his opinion.

Of course, the move involved a change of dress clothes. For the High Court I had acquired, by purchase from a legal tailor, a bespoke set of robes which received very little wear in the course of my eight years in the Family Division.