Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
0:00 // Introduction — there must be a better way, and why Parliament has finally moved
6:38 // Four decades of change — Children Act, Domestic Abuse Act and transparency
9:57 // The June 2025 consultation — reforming financial remedies on divorce
13:33 // Codification plus — capturing judge-led change in statute
14:42 // Prenuptial agreements — making qualifying agreements legally binding
16:22 // Cohabitation — 3.5 million couples and the common law marriage myth
20:27 // Why should a child's financial support depend on whether parents were married?
24:10 // Private law and separating parents — keeping families out of court
29:47 // Child focused courts — social work reports before any hearing, £82 million rollout
32:28 // Adoption at 100 — a model built for babies that now serves three-year-olds
35:05 // Lifelong links — maintaining relationships for children in care and care leavers
36:03 // Enduring relationships policy — the government's new ambition for children in care
39:17 // Surrogacy — a law unchanged for 30 years and a growing commercial problem
43:13 // Foreign surrogacy — two women in their 60s, Northern Cyprus and four years in limbo
49:26 // The commercial elephant in the room — and what Parliament must address
51:30 // Conclusion — family law has never stood still, and the future will be digital
Watch the Q&A session here: youtu.be/XjH-XlyLcMI
This is the Annual Gray's Inn Reading 2026.
The lecture was delivered within three months of Sir Andrew McFarlane’s retirement after 21 years on the Family Bench. Whilst the phrase ‘un-plugged’ may not be appropriate, it is anticipated that the lecturer will no longer feel restrained by judicial caution when commenting upon the future development of Family Justice. In addition to a focus on the future of adoption law and the need for significant reform in relation to the financial rights of cohabitants, the lecturer will use a perspective gained from 8 years as the judicial Head of Family Justice to offer suggestions for reform of the system itself.
This lecture was recorded by The Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane on the 15th of June 2026
Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar in 1977 and practiced in chambers in Birmingham until 1993 when he moved to specialist family law chambers in London. He appeared at all levels of court including the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. He was appointed as a QC in 1998. In April 2005 he was appointed to the High Court, Family Division and was for 5 years the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland Circuit. He was the legal member of the Government ‘Family Justice Review’ Panel. In July 2011 he was appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting full time in the Court of Appeal. On the 28th July 2018 Sir Andrew succeeded Sir James Munby as President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice; he is due to retire as President at Easter 2026.
Together with the late David Hershman he is the co-author of a loose-leaf legal text book entitled “Children: Law and Practice”. In addition, he has contributed to other publications and lectured throughout the UK and abroad.
Sir Andrew has been a trustee of YoungMinds (the national young person’s mental health charity) and is Patron of HOPE Family Centre (Bromyard) and of a prisoner support charity ‘Not Beyond Redemption’. In addition to being Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter, Sir Andrew was Chairman of the Church of England Clergy Discipline Commission and President of Clergy Discipline Tribunals for 5 years until 2019. He has been a native of Herefordshire and Worcestershire for over 35 years and is a lay canon of Hereford Cathedral.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/grays-inn-26
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
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Support Us: gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
0:00 // Introduction — there must be a better way, and why Parliament has finally moved
6:38 // Four decades of change — Children Act, Domestic Abuse Act and transparency
9:57 // The June 2025 consultation — reforming financial remedies on divorce
13:33 // Codification plus — capturing judge-led change in statute
14:42 // Prenuptial agreements — making qualifying agreements legally binding
16:22 // Cohabitation — 3.5 million couples and the common law marriage myth
20:27 // Why should a child's financial support depend on whether parents were married?
24:10 // Private law and separating parents — keeping families out of court
29:47 // Child focused courts — social work reports before any hearing, £82 million rollout
32:28 // Adoption at 100 — a model built for babies that now serves three-year-olds
35:05 // Lifelong links — maintaining relationships for children in care and care leavers
36:03 // Enduring relationships policy — the government's new ambition for children in care
39:17 // Surrogacy — a law unchanged for 30 years and a growing commercial problem
43:13 // Foreign surrogacy — two women in their 60s, Northern Cyprus and four years in limbo
49:26 // The commercial elephant in the room — and what Parliament must address
51:30 // Conclusion — family law has never stood still, and the future will be digital
Watch the Q&A session here: youtu.be/XjH-XlyLcMI
This is the Annual Gray's Inn Reading 2026.
The lecture was delivered within three months of Sir Andrew McFarlane’s retirement after 21 years on the Family Bench. Whilst the phrase ‘un-plugged’ may not be appropriate, it is anticipated that the lecturer will no longer feel restrained by judicial caution when commenting upon the future development of Family Justice. In addition to a focus on the future of adoption law and the need for significant reform in relation to the financial rights of cohabitants, the lecturer will use a perspective gained from 8 years as the judicial Head of Family Justice to offer suggestions for reform of the system itself.
This lecture was recorded by The Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane on the 15th of June 2026
Andrew McFarlane was called to the Bar in 1977 and practiced in chambers in Birmingham until 1993 when he moved to specialist family law chambers in London. He appeared at all levels of court including the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights. He was appointed as a QC in 1998. In April 2005 he was appointed to the High Court, Family Division and was for 5 years the Family Division Liaison Judge for the Midland Circuit. He was the legal member of the Government ‘Family Justice Review’ Panel. In July 2011 he was appointed to be a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting full time in the Court of Appeal. On the 28th July 2018 Sir Andrew succeeded Sir James Munby as President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice; he is due to retire as President at Easter 2026.
Together with the late David Hershman he is the co-author of a loose-leaf legal text book entitled “Children: Law and Practice”. In addition, he has contributed to other publications and lectured throughout the UK and abroad.
Sir Andrew has been a trustee of YoungMinds (the national young person’s mental health charity) and is Patron of HOPE Family Centre (Bromyard) and of a prisoner support charity ‘Not Beyond Redemption’. In addition to being Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter, Sir Andrew was Chairman of the Church of England Clergy Discipline Commission and President of Clergy Discipline Tribunals for 5 years until 2019. He has been a native of Herefordshire and Worcestershire for over 35 years and is a lay canon of Hereford Cathedral.
The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website: gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/grays-inn-26
Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds. To support Gresham College's mission, please consider making a donation: gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
Website: gresham.ac.uk
X: https://x.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: instagram.com/greshamcollege
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/greshamcollege.bsky.social
TikTok: tiktok.com/@greshamcollege
Support Us: gresham.ac.uk/get-involved/support-us/make-donation/donate-today
