Northern Lights Conference 2026

The Northern Lights DR conference returns to Leeds on 6th November 2026 at an exciting new venue, with a line-up of speakers to educate and inform on a range of topics.

Secure your conference ticket by 19 October to take advantage of the early bird rate of £95 (plus booking fee).

After this date, tickets will be £120.

Info: James Evans (Nova Law) and Julia Nelson (Parklane Plowden Chambers) - both family law professionals and professional actors, take you on a journey through cinema using the films we all know to explain how AI is already reshaping family law. Each scene pairs a clip with the real 2026 technology behind it: agentic AI and AGI, hallucinations and the Courts, griefbots and ethics, smart glasses and the litigant in person. Sci-fi is becoming real and this is what it means for your practice, your clients and NCDR.

Info: Chris Breedon - Prospero Mediation and Training. An exploration of the 5 SCARF drivers and the role they play in conflict - a mix of theory and practical exercises.

Info: What is new in Collaborative Law working - updates to the Collaborative model. Cathy Sousa (solicitor) , Adele Ballantyne (family consultant) and Tasha Bevan-Stewart (solicitor). This interactive session will give information and changes to working collaboratively. A live demonstration and Q&A

Info: Christopher Mills (psychotherapist, family consultant and supervisor). The workshop will blend exercises, input and dialogue to examine what supervision is and what makes it distinct from its near-relatives, coaching and mentoring. We will look at how the culture of supervision intersects with the culture of family law. We will explore the recent history of how and why supervision, from initially being
regarded with suspicion by many senior lawyers, has become widely accepted, to the point of being part of what a lawyer can now claim as CPD. And we’ll look towards an AI-dominated future, at the threats and opportunities this may present to the particular form of person-to-person communication that is the essence of reflective supervision.

Info: Emma Heptonstall (therapeutic divorce coach and family consultant). Family lawyers and mediators work with people on the hardest days
of their lives - yet trauma is rarely part of professional training. In
this session, a former family lawyer and mediator gives
you a clear, jargon-free understanding of what trauma is and how it
shows up in clients: fragmented recall, hypervigilance, the client who seems difficult; but is in fact dysregulated. Drawing on established trauma-informed frameworks and real practice, we'll translate them into concrete adjustments you can make in your next
meeting or mediation - in how you open, pace, explain and use language - without stepping outside your professional role. We'll also look at the cost this work carries for practitioners and simple ways to protect your own wellbeing.

Info: Juliette Kinsey - Collaborative Law and Mediation are both NCDR approaches that require participants to be assessed as to their suitability before they
enter the process. Poor assessments can result in poor outcomes or missed opportunities for both for the clients and the professionals working with them.
Whether you are assessing a client for Collaborative Law or undertaking a M.I.A.M., knowing what to ask, what to listen out for and how to spot red flags will not only enhance the assessment process, it will help you avoid being with the wrong client in the wrong process. Sometimes it is not what your client says, but rather what they don’t, that can tell you everything you need to know.

Info: In a profession built on judgement and trust, your personal brand is the one thing no one else can replicate for you. AI will draft your emails and summarise your files. It won't build trust, read a room, or know what this client needs right now. Deborah will explore your personal brand and reputation - building on the one thing that's still entirely down to you, when everyone else sounds the same.

Info: Shauna Tiffany, Founder of the Lighthouse Therapy Hub. Children are at the centre of every family law matter, yet their voices are often the last to be heard, filtered through adult accounts, adversarial processes, and time-pressured proceedings. This workshop introduces Through Their Eyes (TTE): a structured, creative, child-centred assessment programme developed at Lighthouse Therapy Hub that gives children a genuine, non-pressured space to express their experiences, wishes, and feelings.

Designed specifically for family lawyers, mediators, and collaborative law professionals, this session explains how TTE works, when to recommend it, how its reports can support and inform proceedings, and critically, how it differs from and complements existing statutory processes.

Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the programme and two practical communication tools they can use immediately in their own client work.

Info: Play by Stephen Wildblood KC and Fractured Voices Theatre Company. The Family Table is an original production by Fractured Voices Theatre Company, created for professionals working with separating families. Through an authentic and emotionally compelling story, the play explores the hidden realities of family breakdown: from the small moments of everyday conflict to the lasting impact of separation on parents, children and those tasked with supporting them. Rather than presenting legal principles or professional guidance, The Family Table invites audiences to experience the human stories that sit behind the files, reports and court orders.
Written and devised by professionals with extensive experience across the family justice system, the production is designed to provoke reflection, encourage discussion and deepen understanding of the emotional complexity of family conflict. The performance will be accompanied by facilitated audience discussion.

Event venue & nearby stays

Aspire, 2 Infirmary Street, Leeds, United Kingdom

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