Prevent lengthy and costly battles that strain relationships and budgets. Our exclusive Masterclass delves into critical subjects like liability limits, indemnity clauses, termination dilemmas, how to avoid unfairness, good faith obligations, certainty and procedural consequences of agreeing to ADR before arbitration & more. Guided by renowned authorities in Australian contract law, you'll gain practical tools and insights to enhance your strategies, safeguarding against costly mistakes. Get ready. Get right. Get the level high. 

Presenters

Mr. Sydney Jacobs, Barrister, Thirteen Wentworth Selborne Chambers
Sydney Jacobs is a barrister at 13 Wentworth Chambers. He read for his LL.M at Cambridge and has a commercial equity practice encompassing property, partnership, corporate law and building & construction disputes. Sydney has gained expertise in easements involving both Torrens and Old System land, leasing matters, contracts for the sale of land including off-the-plan, notices to perform and to complete, rescission/ termination /specific performance /relief against forfeiture/ claiming the return of deposits, options/rights of first refusal, and strata disputes. A list of his many cases and publications is to be found on his 13 Wentworth Chambers website. Underscoring a life dedicated to the law (when he is not snowboarding), Sydney is the sole author of two major loose-leaf services, namely: Commercial Damages and Injunctions: Law and Practice, and part authors the leading loose-leaf service Commercial & International Arbitration (all published by Thomson Reuters). He has been, for many years, a popular presenter of CPD seminars.


Ms. Caitlin Whale, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Caitlin Whale is a special counsel in the IPTech team at Baker McKenzie. She advises on technology, data issues, cybersecurity, privacy, procurement and telecommunications issues. Her practice focusses on complex commercial transactions, particularly those which involve technology, data or cybersecurity issues. Caitlin has practised as a technology and intellectual property lawyer in both Sydney and London for over 17 years.


Mr. Campbell Bridge SC, Senior Counsel, 7 Wentworth Selborne Chamber
Campbell Bridge SC was admitted to the NSW Bar in July 1977 and appointed Senior Counsel in 1998. His practice has predominately involved complex commercial, product liability, public liability and professional indemnity cases both as a mediator and counsel. He has acted in major inquests and as Counsel Assisting in a Royal Commission. Campbell has acted as a mediator in several hundred major mediations in both Australia and Asia. He has spoken at numerous international conferences in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia on negotiation, culture and mediation of commercial and professional liability disputes in Australia and Asia. He has also taught on aspects of mediation, negotiation, culture and professional negligence disputes at the Dispute Resolution in Asia LLM course at Sydney University, the Indonesian Mediation Centre, and the Melbourne Law Masters Program. He is on the panel of Arbitrators of BANI (Indonesia National Board of Arbitration). He is an Accredited Mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS) of Australia and is as a Mediator and Arbitrator by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He is a guest international mediator of the Pusat Mediasi Nasional (Indonesian Mediation Centre).


Mr. Luke Buchanan, Solicitor Director, Buchanan Rees Dispute Lawyers
Luke has over 25 years' experience representing blue chip corporations and government clients in large, complex litigation and regulatory investigations, often with a value in the tens or hundreds of millions. Luke's experience spans disputes relating to the Corporations Act (including the provisions applying to financial services licensees), mergers and acquisitions, directors' duties, shareholders' rights, trustee and fiduciary duties, misleading or deceptive conduct, white-collar crime, termination of contracts (including the assessment of damages) and investigations by ASIC, APRA and ACCC. Luke is recognised in "The Best Lawyers in Australia" for Litigation (2014-2024) and Class Action Litigation (2015-2023); the 2022 winner of the International Advisory Experts (now known as Global Referral Group) award for Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year in Australia; named by Acquisition International Magazine as Sydney's Leading Complex Litigation & Regulatory Lawyer of the Year for 2023; and a Global Law Experts (GLE) "Recommended Attorney" and the holder of the exclusive GLE Commercial Litigation law position in Australia. Prior to establishing Buchanan Rees Dispute Lawyers, Luke spent over 20 years (including 13 years as a partner) in Litigation & Dispute Resolution at a top-tier, national law firm.


Adrian Lawrence, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Adrian Lawrence is the Co-Head of Baker McKenzie's Global FinTech Initiative and also leads Baker McKenzie's Technology Media and Telecommunications Group in the APAC region. Adrian regularly advises clients across the sector, from established technology companies, to financial services institutions and early stage disruptors. He advises on a range of issues relevant to the FinTech space, including on privacy and data utilisation, regulatory compliance, commercial partnerships and product creation and distribution. Adrian also regularly assists large international clients with their requirements for entry into a range of APAC markets. He is a regular speaker on technology, privacy and digital media issues including as a lecturer in the postgraduate program at the University of New South Wales.


Mr. Luke Nottage, Special Counsel, Williams Trade Law
Dr Luke Nottage is Professor of Comparative and Transnational Business Law at Sydney Law School, specialising in arbitration, contract law, consumer product safety law and corporate governance, with a particular interest in Japan and the Asia-Pacific. He is founding Co-Director of the Australian Network for Japanese Law (ANJeL) and Associate Director of the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney. He is also Managing Director of Japanese Law Links Pty Ltd and Special Counsel at Williams Trade Law. Luke has or had executive roles in the Australia-Japan Society (NSW), the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA), and the Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration. He has contributed to several looseleaf commentaries and made numerous media appearances and public Submissions to the Australian government especially regarding arbitration and consumer law reform. Luke was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand in 1994 and in NSW in 2001. He has consulted for law firms world-wide as well as ASEAN, the European Commission, OECD, UNCTAD, UNDP and the Japanese Government. Luke is also a Rules committee member of ACICA; on the Panel of Arbitrators for the AIAC (KLRCA), BIAC, CAAI, JCAA, KCAB, NZIAC, SCIA and TAI. Luke was invited to become a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, was elected in 2019 as a titular (full) member of the International Academy of Comparative Law, and is a member of the Heterodox Academy. He supervises postgraduate students mostly in international investment law and/or arbitration, and was awarded SUPRA Supervisor of the Year in 2019 Luke studied at Kyoto University (LLM, LLD) and Victoria University of Wellington (BCA, LLB, PhD), and first taught at the latter and then Kyushu University Law Faculty, before arriving at the University of Sydney in 2001. He has held fellowships at other leading institutions in Japan and Australia as well as Germany, Italy, Canada and Thailand. Luke’s publications include Product Safety and Liability Law in Japan (Routledge, 2004), Corporate Governance in the 21st Century: Japan’s Gradual Transformation (eds, Elgar 2008),International Arbitration in Australia (eds, Federation Press 2010), Foreign Investment and Dispute Resolution Law and Practice in Asia (eds, Routledge 2011), Consumer Law and Policy in Australia and New Zealand (eds, Federation Press 2013), Asia-Pacific Disaster Management (eds, Springer 2014), Who Rules Japan? Popular Participation in the Japanese Legal Process (eds, Elgar 2015), ASEAN Product Liablity and Consumer Product Safety Law (eds, Winyuchon 2016; in English and Thai); Independent Directors in Asia (eds, Cambridge UP 2017), International Investment Treaties and Arbitration Across Asia (eds, Brill 2018), Contract Law in Japan (Kluwer 2019, with Hiroo Sono et al) and ASEAN Consumer Law Harmonisation and Cooperation (Cambridge UP, 2019, with Justin Malbon et al). Luke’s publications include 20 books and over three hundred chapters and refereed or other academic articles, mainly in English and Japanese.


François FF Salama, Barrister, 13th Floor St James Hall
François F.F. Salama was called to the NSW Bar in 2006. He has a diverse commercial law practice but is known for his work across the three main specialised areas within the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of NSW. François regularly appears in superior courts at first instance and on appeal across all Australian jurisdictions. François has attained a Bachelor of Laws (UTS), Bachelor of Science in Computing Science (Information Technology) (UTS), Diploma in IT Professional Practice (UTS), Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (UTS), a Master of Laws, is a Registered Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP) and Nationally Accredited NMAS Mediator (Med). François is currently serving his second term on the NSW Bar Succession and Protective Law Committee and was most recently appointed a Board Member for the NSW Chapter of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Francois has been consistently recognised by his peers as a 'leading lawyer' in the Doyles Guide (2019-2023) and was also a Finalist for the 2023 Australian Law Awards "Barrister of the Year".


Tabeth Takavarasha, Senior Associate, Buchanan Rees Dispute Lawyers
Tabeth has extensive and diverse litigation experience acquired in Australia and in other common law jurisdictions. She is a commercially astute and well-rounded litigator who brings significant depth to the firm. Tabeth litigates commercial disputes on behalf of private companies and high net worth clients, including in the Supreme Court of NSW and the Federal Court of Australia. Tabeth is also experienced in the class action space and has acted for numerous clients across several significant class actions in Australia. Tabeth’s international experience includes representing government departments and corporate and individual clients. Tabeth was part of a team that advised high ranking government officials, such as, the Provincial Premier; Provincial Ministers and Heads of Departments (including in matters reported in the media). Tabeth has strong advocacy skills which she has developed through her appearances on behalf of clients in Court in international trials. Tabeth has utilised her analytical and technical skills to obtain a Masters of Law (Corporate Law) degree. Her LLM research examined the effects of cartel conduct and whether the immunity extended to directors under The Competition Commission’s Corporate Leniency Policy provided adequate protection against criminal and civil liability.