President's Blog, February 2026
Posted: 9 Feb 2026 by
Hello everyone –
I’m just back from our European Chapter meeting in Barcelona. What a fantastic meeting – the education was a superb and fascinating mix of soft skills and substantive legal education; the city could not have been lovelier, and the social activities were fantastic; what an amazing group of First Timers; and of course, many thanks to the Bridge for hosting the disco on Thursday night. This is an organization of people who express their artistry through dance! Thank you to Emma Hatley, who did a wonderful job organizing this meeting. If you are a European Chapter member and you could not come to Barcelona (or you were there but you want to relive it) – come find out about what happened during the meeting. There will be a Zoom town hall for European Chapter members on February 24th at 2.30 pm GMT / 3.30 pm CET. Please click here to register and to receive the link to join.
Please see the links here for three important policies adopted by the Executive Committee in Barcelona:
Our Green and Environmental Awareness policy which ensures our organization is being thoughtful about our carbon footprint. Thank you to David Hodson and his committee as well as their liaison on the Executive Committee, Jorge Cestero, for this labor intensive and worthwhile piece of work.
We also now have a Code of Conduct policy. It is a top priority of our Academy that our Fellows and our guests feel comfortable at our events and in their interactions with us and that they can count on being treated with respectful and considerate behavior.
Finally, please also find our Expectations of Engagement at IAFL Events policy. Over the last couple of years, there are an increasing number of events that are taking place which appear to be #IAFL branded, and on the rise is the number of events being organized during the actual meetings themselves. Connecting colleagues is mission critical in terms of the health and longevity of our organization. Key to this is ensuring that everyone feels included and, in saying this, I am mindful of the feedback we have received post Covid and, in particular from recent meetings, from newer Fellows who are trying to figure out how to navigate into social groups and sometimes feel excluded when there are side events to which they are not invited. It vital for us as an organization to foster inclusivity foremost as well as be respectful of the financial commitments the IAFL has made to provide organized social gatherings at meetings.
A reminder about meetings that sell out – if you want to go and there are no spots, don’t despair yet, put yourself on the waitlist. As registrants cancel, the next person on the waiting list gets to take the available spot. As everyone knows Barcelona sold out quickly. What might not be as well known is that everyone on the waitlist ended up being offered a spot at the meeting!
Speaking of meetings, there are a few spaces left for anyone who wants to register for Kuala Lumpur. It’s going to be an amazing meeting. Kudos to the Asia Pacific Chapter for arranging to have speakers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam to present at the education in Kuala Lumpur – all countries which are unrepresented in the AP Chapter thus far. I know everyone will be welcoming to our speakers and hopefully this leads to qualified applicants making applications to the Academy from those jurisdictions. For ease and convenience, here is the link for anyone who still needs to register for KL.
Registration for Dublin will go live in middle to late March. We have the entire Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin plus room blocks at two nearby hotels so there should be room for all who want to attend and you’ll be delighted to know that it will not require setting your alarm for 3 am to register the day the link goes live. If you have not seen the video for Dublin yet, it is here and thank you to Suzanne Todd’s parents and the Irish fellows for being the video’s stars.
The fruit of the seeds we sowed: I am thrilled to announce that as a result our student symposium in Nairobi prior to the AGM, Riara University in Nairobi, Kenya now offers a class to their law students called Children and the Law and it is going to be taught by our Fellow, Juliet Nyambura . Also as a result of our symposium in Hong Kong, excitedly, John Spender, Rita Ku and Kai Yun Wong have been invited to present at meeting of family lawyers in Shenzhen, China on March 18, 2026.
Finally, massive thanks for Ali Massey who has worked on Academy events and as a former administrator to the European
Chapter for 9 years.
Sadly, she retired after the Hong Kong meeting, but we look forward to still seeing her as an accompanying guest at meetings with William. We are truly grateful for all her great care of the Fellows and the Academy.
Fondly, Heather
Heather Hostetter
IAFL President
