Bill Hilton

Sadly, I have to inform Fellows of the death of Bill Hilton after a lengthy illness. 

Bill was a Certified Family Law Specialist in Santa Clara, California and a long time Fellow of the Academy until his resignation due to ill health earlier this year.  He was highly regarded for his expertise in international and trans-jurisdictional custody and abduction matters and was a Private Sector Advisor to the US Department of State on the Third Special Commission on the Operation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in 1997 and a United States delegate to the Fourth Special Commission in 2001.  Most importantly, at a time when few practitioners knew much about, or had any real access to, the workings of the Hague Convention, he established and maintained at his own expense the website hiltonhouse.com on which he made available, without charge, an invaluable repository of judgments and information collated from around the world which, for many years, was the only comprehensive resource readily available to lawyers practicing in international custody disputes, ceasing only when his health no longer permitted him to continue. 

The IAML honours his contribution to international family law and his memory.

Ian Kennedy AM
President