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Trends in out-of-home-care adoptions and victims’ rights were two of the timely topics covered during the Law Society’s Legal Child Protection and External Legal Practitioners Conference Day on 9 February.

The one-day conference, a Law Society of NSW government solicitor membership initiative created in collaboration with FACS Legal for the benefit of solicitor members and private practitioner partners, included a keynote address by the Honourable Justice Paul Le Gay Brereton, which focused on adoption law and the trends in out-of-home-care adoption. 

Another presenter, Denise Fallon, Senior
Manager Client and Legal Services Victim Services, spoke about support for victims of crime, and the Child Sexual Offence Evidence Pilot and how it has undergone an independent process evaluation. 

The conference provided opportunities for personal development, including a presentation on how unconscious bias impacts decision-making in the workplace and practical tips on addressing it and improving the quality of all decisions in legal practice. “This was a wonderful opportunity for FACS’ internal lawyers to network with its external legal providers,” said Jane Liggett, Manager Governance and Resource, FACS Legal.