Craig set to make family a household word

INTERVIEW: SFLA chairwoman aims high with backing of 5,000 members

Jane Craig, the new chairwoman of the Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA), is nothing if not ambitious.

Taking over the reins of the 5,000-member organisation from Rosemary Carter - 'a very hard act to follow,' according to Ms Craig - combined with a partnership at London and Oxford firm Manches would be work enough for most people.

But Ms Craig aims high.'I want to reach the stage where the SFLA has the same level of recognition as the Law Society,' she says.

'I want people to see that a solicitor is accredited by the SFLA, and immediately know what that means, what it stands for, and what sort of practitioner they are.'To this end, one of her main goals in the two-year tenure is to raise public awareness of the SFLA.

'We're building on being recognised as the voice of family law in this country,' she says.

Admitting that having a presence on the Law Society's ruling council would 'obviously' help this, she is confident the SFLA will be allocated one of the new special interest council seats.

'As we represent more than 5,000 practitioners, it would be rather odd if we don't get a seat,' she says.Closely tied in with this is a desire to have the SFLA's voice heard in the early stages of the legislative process.

'Our members are at the coalface, they're the ones putting the laws into practice, so we want our views and comments listened to by the law makers from the start.'The sheer volume of family legislation being churned out by successive governments means that family practitioners will always be learning, and the SFLA will always have an educational role to play.'Family law is a hot topic,' explains Ms Craig.

'It affects pretty much everyone in the country, and so this government - and the one before it, and doubtless the one after it - has produced a vast amount of legislation which we need to help our members to disseminate.'While admitting that family practitioners face challenges on 'pretty much every front' - from legal aid cutbacks to the coming implementation of the Child Support Act - Ms Craig is looking forward to her stint.

'My firm have been fantastically supportive, but they know that from now on this will take up a significant amount of my time,' she says.

'If past chairs are anything to go by, I've got two full-time jobs now.' Two full-time jobs, 5,000 members and a lot of family legislation to get through: all add up to two years with their fair share of challenges.Victoria MacCallum