Presenters

William Ward, Partner, Mills Oakley
Will Ward is accredited by the NSW Law Society as a specialist in employment and industrial relations law and is a Special Counsel in our employment, workplace relations and safety team. With over 17 years of experience in employment and workplace relations Will has advised clients in almost all industries as well as the public sector. Will's knowledge and expertise in the area is further bolstered by the fact that he was a university lecturer in employment, human resource management and industrial relations for 5 years prior to practicing as a lawyer for the last 12 years. As a result, Will has a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon in advising and achieving results for clients in all aspects of employment and workplace relations law.


Sonja Gasser, Principal Solicitor, ACT Government Solicitor
Sonja works for the ACT Government Solicitor acting as Practice Leader Regulation and Employment – which involves supervising advices and litigation in administrative law areas of planning, revenue, licencing, and environment – and previously led the Information Privacy and Access practice area. Sonja was a finalist in the 2023 ACT Women’s Lawyer of the Year Awards in the category of Government and won the ACT Public Service Award for Excellence in the Leadership category. Sonja is committed to volunteering, having previously worked her way up into management in Community Legal Centres federally and in Victoria, and within the ACT State Emergency Service. She received an award for ACT Volunteer of the Year for Emergency Service. She has been involved in establishing a number of community groups and continues to volunteer on the board of number of community groups.