With the High Court and superior courts in the various states handing down important decisions in recent months, this timely webinar will bring you up to date with significant developments in the law relating to applications for stay of proceedings, vicarious liability and the notion of non-delegable duty of religious institutions and when you can set aside past deeds.

Presenters

Greg Choat, Special Counsel, Koffels
Greg has practiced as a family, personal injury and general litigation lawyer over the course of nearly 20 years in the law. He currently works almost exclusively bringing historical sexual abuse litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. In the abuse space Greg has been instructing solicitor in a number of published abuse cases in recent years, including a subpoena decision; a stay of proceedings decision; a confidentiality regime decision; EXV v Trustees of the Uniting Church – the first case to consider NSW deed setting aside legislation; and CM & EM v Trustees of the Armidale Catholic Church – the first post GLJ cases to be heard in the NSW Supreme Court.


David Seeman, Barrister, Lennon’s List
David practices in common law. He regularly appears in damages trials and at mediations, and advises in cases relating to Institutional Abuse, Public Liability, Police Assaults, Workcover, Transport Accidents and Medical Negligence. He is included in ‘Doyle's Guide’ as recommended junior counsel in Victoria in the field of insurance law. Prior to coming to the Bar David was a Judge's Associate and a Solicitor practicing in Personal Injury and Insurance litigation at Norton Rose.


Danielle De Paoli, Special Counsel, State Team Leader, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers
Danielle De Paoli is Special Counsel of Maurice Blackburn's Parramatta office. She is a Law Society of NSW Personal Injury Accredited Specialist who has been helping people in Sydney and throughout NSW with motor vehicle compensation claims for 11 years. Danielle is also a senior member of the firm's national sexual and institutional abuse compensation team and has a particular interest in bringing claims for the survivors of childhood sexual abuse. She is specially trained in trauma informed practice which ensures she works with clients to access justice in a way that recognises the complex trauma they have suffered., Danielle is approachable and provides her clients with advice in plain English to help understand the legal process. She also speaks Italian. Danielle was born and raised in Griffith and is a proud mother of three.


Luke Geary, Partner, Mills Oakley
Luke has a particular expertise assisting institutions in responding to claims of child sexual abuse under a restorative justice framework and in accordance with best practice principles identified by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In this regard, Luke appeared as a legal advisor in a number of public hearings before the Royal Commission, he participated in many of the Royal Commission’s roundtables (both public and private) for the development of policy positions and has appeared before the Australian Senate Committee and worked with the Commonwealth Redress Taskforce in its design of the National Redress Bill (which is anticipated to provide assistance in justice outcomes for approximately 60,000 Australians). Luke is regularly briefed by major institutions in the most sensitive and significant common law abuse claims and assists in their delicate resolution in a trauma-informed way. Additionally, Luke acts for survivors of abuse in claims against State government institutions, assisting them to obtain either common law or redress justice outcomes compassionately and giving them assistance in finding healing in their lives. Luke was named one of Australia’s Best Lawyers for Non-Profit/Charities Law in the 2023/2024 Best Lawyers list for the eighth consecutive year, including in both 2020/2021 and 2023/2024 being named as Australia’s Non-Profit/Charities ‘Lawyer of the Year’.


Dr Albert Dinelli KC, List A Barristers
Albert has a broad commercial, public law and appellate practice. He has appeared in the High Court of Australia in a number of commercial, constitutional and tort matters, including, most recently, DP v Bird and Kozarov v State of Victoria. His most substantial trial experience is in trials in the Supreme and Federal Courts. In 2018, he was appointed by the Commonwealth Attorney-General as one of the Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Before coming to the Bar, Albert was Associate to the Honourable Murray Gleeson AC, the then Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. Prior to that, he practised as a solicitor with Mallesons Stephen Jaques (now King & Wood Mallesons). He holds a D.Phil in Law from the University of Oxford, and is a member of chambers at Twenty Essex in London.


Alex James-Martin, Barrister, List G Barristers
Alex has a broad practice. He has been briefed in wide range of civil and commercial proceedings including class actions and common law claims. In common law, he appeared in DP v Bird in the Court of Appeal and High Court and has also appeared in public liability and workplace negligence claims. He has provided complex advice to public authorities about tortious liability. In professional negligence, he has appeared, both led and unled, and presently acts for the applicant in a class action against Waller Legal for advice relating to institutional abuse. He also maintains a practice in public law including claims of judicial review. Alex holds a Master of Law from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, each with First Class Honours.