Dr J Ewing

Dr Ewing is a College Assistant Professor in Law, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Family Law Centre, and a Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge.  She was formerly a Teaching Fellow and Module Leader of Family Law at Queen Mary, University of London and a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter.

Her research interests are in children’s rights, particularly the exercise of those rights when parents settle out of court following separation. She is also interested in understanding what makes intimate relationships flourish over time. Dr Ewing is the co-author of Mapping Paths to Family Justice: Resolving Family Disputes in Neo-Liberal Times, which was awarded the Hart-SLSA Book Prize in 2018. Her co-authored monograph, 'The right to be heard: children's voices, family disputes and child-inclusive mediation' was published in 2024.

Dr Ewing is an invited member of the Family Solutions Group set up by Sir Stephen Cobb in 2020 to consider what can be done to improve the experience of children and families before an application is made to the family court. She is also a Member of the Family Justice Council's 'Voice of the Child Working Group' and the Family Mediation Council's Working Group on Child-inclusive Mediation.

She has been a Research Fellow on a number of empirical research projects, including Mapping Paths to Family Justice, the evaluation of the DWP-funded 'Mediation in Mind' project and the HeaRT project which considered the mental health and well-being benefits to young people of being heard in child-inclusive mediation. She was a family law solicitor in private practice, including at partnership level, for many years before entering academia.

Published works

Books

Barlow A, and Ewing J. (2024).The right to be heard: children's voices, family disputes and child-inclusive mediation, Bristol University Press.

Barlow A, Hunter R, Smithson J and Ewing J. (2017). Mapping Paths to Family Justice: Resolving Family Justice in Neoliberal Times, Palgrave Macmillan.

Book chapters

Ewing, J. (2026, forthcoming). 'Amplifying the voice of the child - the role of children and child advocates when parents divorce (or separate)' in M. Garrison and F. Sweenan (eds.) Research Handbook on Divorce Law. (Edward Elgar: Research Handbooks in Family Law Series).

Ewing, J. (2026, forthcoming). '"It's their life too!" Child-inclusive Family Mediation in England and Wales' in M. Colvin, A. Barsky and M. Blanco (eds.) Beyond Adversity: Global Perspectives on Family Dispute Resolution Processes for Peace and Justice (Oxford University Press).

Barlow A and Ewing J. (2024). ‘A Review of Children’s Rights when Parents Live Apart’ in C. Bendall and R Parveen (eds.) Family Law Reform Now: Proposals and Critique, Oxford: Hart Bloomsbury.

Barlow, A, Hunter R. and Ewing J. (2024). ‘Mapping paths to family justice: resolving family disputes involving children in neoliberal times’ in A. Kaldal, T. Mattsson and A. Hellner (eds.) Children’s health, custody conflicts, and alternative dispute resolution, Stockholm Studies in Child Law and Children's Rights, Brill.

Hunter R, Barlow A, Smithson J and Ewing J. (2017). ‘Access to What? LASPO and Mediation in A. Flynn and J. Hodgson (eds.) Access to Justice and Legal Aid: Comparative Perspectives on Unmet Legal Need, Oxford: Hart Bloomsbury.

Hunter, R, Barlow A, Smithson J and Ewing J. (2015). ‘Paths to Justice: in divorce cases in England and Wales’ in M. Maclean et al. (eds.) Delivering Family Justice in the 21st Century, Oxford: Hart Bloomsbury: 145-162.

Articles

Ewing, J. (2026). The Family Justice Review at 15: missed opportunities and the child's voice(lessness) in decision-making when parents separate. Family Law 3: 300-305.

Benham-Clarke S, Ewing J, Barlow A and Newlove-Delgado T. (2022). Learning how relationships work: a thematic analysis of young people and relationship professionals’ perspectives on relationships and relationship education. BMC Public Health 22:2332.

Blake S, Janssens A, Ewing J and Barlow A. (2021). Reflections on Joint and Individual Interviews with Couples: a Multi-Level Interview Mode. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20.

Ewing J. (2021). ”What About Me?” – do we have the ‘right’ approach to support for children when parents separate? Family Law 1287.

Ewing J, Barlow A., Janssens A and Blake S. (2020). Working out relationships: research, education and the quest for lasting love, Child and Family Law Quarterly, vol. 32(4): 331- 354.

Janssens A, Blake S, Allwood M, Ewing J and Barlow A. (2019). Identifying Education Programmes for Relationship Skills among 11 to 18 year-olds: a Systematic Review. Journal of Sex Education, 20:5, 494-516.

Hunter R, Barlow A, Smithson J and Ewing J. (2018). Law, Discretion, Gender and Justice in out-of-court financial settlements. Australian Journal of Family Law, 32.

Smithson J, Barlow A, Hunter R and Ewing J. (2017). The Moral Order in Family Mediation: Negotiating Competing Values. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 35(2), 173-196.

Smithson J, Barlow A., Hunter R and Ewing J. (2015). “The "child's best interests" as an argumentative resource in family mediation sessions Discourse Studies, vol. 17 (4): 1-15.

Ewing J, Hunter R, Barlow A and Smithson J. (2015). Children's voices: Centre-stage or side-lined in out-of-court dispute resolution in England and Wales? Child and Family Law Quarterly, vol. 27(1): 43-61. 

Hunter R, Barlow A, Smithson J and Ewing, J. (2014). Mapping Paths to Family Justice: matching parties, cases and processes. Family Law 10: 1404-1411.

Book reviews

Ewing, J. (2026). Research handbook on marriage, cohabitation and the law: edited by Rebecca Probert and Sharon Thompson, Glos, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 48(1), 124-126.  

Briefing papers and reports

Barlow A, Ewing J, Newlove-Delgado T and Benham-Clarke S. (2022). Transforming relationships and relationship transitions with and for the next generation: The Healthy Relationship Education (HeaRE) and Healthy Relationship Transitions (HeaRT) Project Report and Key Findings.

Report of the Family Solutions Group. (2020). “What about me?” Reframing Support for Families following Parental Separation: judiciary.uk/FamilySolutionsGroupReport.pdf.

Barlow A and Ewing J. (2020). An Evaluation of ‘Mediation in Mind’: Final Report – June 2020, University of Exeter.

Barlow A, Ewing J, Janssens A and Blake S. (2018). The Shackleton Relationships Project: Report on Key Findings, University of Exeter.

Barlow A, Ewing J, Hunter R and Smithson J. (2017). Creating Paths to Family Justice: Briefing Paper and Report on Key Findings, University of Exeter.

Barlow A, Hunter R, Smithson J and Ewing J. (2014). Mapping Paths to Family Justice: Briefing Paper and Report on Key Findings, University of Exeter.