Winner Announced: IAFL European Chapter Young Lawyers' Award 2025
Posted: 14 Jul 2025
Hannah Sheen has been announced as the winner of the 13th IAFL European Chapter Annual Award for Young Family Lawyers.
Entrants were asked to write 3,000 words on a case study about surrogacy, habitual residence and child abduction.
The judging panel, comprising IAFL Fellows Alexandre Boiché (France), Sandra Verburgt (Netherlands), Ruth Cabeza (England), Karen O'Leary (Ireland & Northern Ireland), Olga Khazova (Russian Federation), Alberto Perez-Cedillo (Spain and England) and Marzia Ghigliazza (Italy) were impressed by the quality of the twenty nine submissions.
Alexandre Boiché said, "We were delighted by the remarkable volume of entries received, all of which were of an exceptional standard. The quality across the board was truly commendable. Further details about the 2026 Award will be shared later this year."
Hannah Sheen, Penningtons Manches Cooper, England receives €1,000 as part of her prize. The two runners up, Silva Kirkkomäki, Familja, Finland and Femke Boymans, Braak Advocaten, Netherlands are each awarded €500.
They have also been invited to attend the IAFL Introduction to European Family Law Conference 23-24 October 2025 in Hamburg, Germany. Hannah will also have the opportunity to present her paper as part of the conference programme. All three winners will receive a free registration to the conference, as well as a €500 contribution towards travel and accommodation.
The topic for the European Chapter Young Lawyers Award 2026 will be announced later this year. Participation in this competition provides an excellent opportunity for any young family lawyer wishing to gain acknowledged expertise in the field of international family law.
We are very grateful to the judging panel this year for all their work in reviewing and selecting the winning entrants from an overall excellent number of submissions.
