With cases under the new coercive control legislation in NSW to start coming through the system and domestic violence charges currently increasing, gain practical tips and strategies relating to bail applications for clients accused of domestic violence charges, the many trial advocacy challenges in coercive control cases and using and understanding expert evidence for these difficult matters. Be updated in sentencing trends and decisions. Navigate the intersection of both immigration law and family law on domestic violence cases and the lessons from other jurisdictions for the conduct of your cases.

Presenters

Kylie Hillard, Barrister, Griffith Chambers
Kylie has been working in the legal profession since 2002 and has been a barrister since 2009. She works in a variety of areas including criminal law, defence and prosecution, and has a strong interest in human rights and domestic violence advocacy. She has recently been involved in the Commission of Inquiry into Police Responses to Domestic and Family Violence where she represented Women's Legal Service Queensland, and she has also recently appeared for Sue and Lloyd Clarke at the inquest into the death of their daughter Hannah Clarke and her three children. Kylie is currently a member of the Equal Opportunity Subcommittee of the Bar Association of Queensland and the Australian Bar Association.


Hayley Dean, Senior Advocate, Legal Aid NSW
Hayley is best described as an all-rounder and is the current solicitor advocate attached to the Parramatta office of Legal Aid NSW and became an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law in 2013. Within her current role, Hayley is appearing as counsel in sentences, trials and applications in the District Court, Coroner’s Court Inquests, the Children’s Court as well as training junior solicitors. Hayley joined Legal Aid NSW in 2008, after working for both the Commonwealth and State DPP. Hayley has worked across a large range of roles within Legal Aid including local court, committals, indictable, relief and indicatable appeals, with over a decade of instructing counsel in all sorts of matters in NSW Courts. Hayley has a keen interest in matters involving coercive control and is described as a “thought leader” on the topic, having written papers, presented CLE’s, as well as being the writer and host of the Legal Aid NSW 5-part series podcast on Coercive Control where she interviewed a range of experts across a variety of professional disciplines. The critically acclaimed Podcast Series was promoted on The Bar Association of NSW Website, the Judicial Commission Website and also by the NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner as the authority for legal professional training on the topic. Hayley has been presenting seminars and educational forums in the last 12 months on a variety of topics of interest including Coercive Control, Vicarious Trauma for Lawyers and Expert Evidence in sexual assault matters. Hayley was recently involved as an assessor for medical professionals cross examining them in their mock assessments as part of their training to become experts in sexual assault evidence. Hayley has presented seminars to a diverse range of community groups, lawyers, and medical professionals and is developing a special interest area in the of intersection of gendered violence and the legal system. In her spare time, she is a coach to the under 10’s local basketball team and a now firmly retired netball tragic.


Associate Professor Lil Vrklevski, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Director Psychology SLHD
Assoc. Prof. Lil Vrklevski B.A (Hons);LLB; MClinPsych; MBA; Dip.Grad.Research; PhD; MAPS; FCCLP; MACPA; GAICD is the Principal Clinical Psychologist and Director of Psychology, Sydney Local Health District. Lil has over 30 years’ experience in law and clinical psychology. She has worked clinically in the areas of sexual violence and mental health. Lil is particularly interested in the relationship between the legal and mental health systems as well as the impact of trauma work on professionals. Her research has been in the areas of vicarious trauma, root cause analysis, professional identity and professional roles as well as the role of allied health in public mental health services. Lil developed the Vicarious Trauma Scale (VTS), a brief screening instrument for VT. Lil is a reviewer on Traumatology, The Journal of Patient Safety, International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, Australasian Psychiatry, Psychiatry, Psychology & Law and is Deputy Chair of the CRGH Human Research Ethics Committee and sits on the NSW Psychology Board. Lil is a Clinical Associate Professor with ACU, clinical associate with the Departments of Psychology at USyd, UTS, WSU, Adjunct Fellow with MQ, UoW, lecturer at COPP and adjunct lecturer UNSW and casual academic with The Australian Institute of Health Service Management (AIHSM) UTAS.


Andrew Tiedt, Director, J Sutton Associates
Andrew is a Director and Principal of J Sutton Associates. He is a Law Society of NSW Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law. Andrew has acted for thousands of clients who have been accused of criminal offences, including appearing for persons charged with murder, sexual offending, fraud, serious driving offences, drug supply and possession, violence, and internet-based offences. He is an experienced trial advocate and frequently appears without counsel in indictable matters, including jury trials. Andrew has been recommended by the Doyle’s Guide for both criminal and traffic law since 2019. Andrew is also the curator of the popular reference website www.trialdirections.com.au


Rachael Dobson, Senior Solicitor, Legal Aid NSW
Rachael Dobson is considered to be somewhat of a unicorn at the Domestic Violence Unit of NSW Legal Aid, being one of very few lawyers who have/and continue to practice across multiple jurisdictions. Rachael also has qualifications in Law and Social Science. Rachael  was admitted to practice in 2012. She initially worked in the Community Sector doing work in Civil Law – Residential Home Building where she co-authored a chapter the Law Handbook. Rachael then proceeded to work in Private Practice on the NSW Central Coast practicing mainly in Family Law Parenting and Property matters (doing legal aid work). Rachael then joined NSW Police as a Domestic Violence Caseworker, working with high risk domestic violence survivors. Rachael initially came to NSW Legal Aid as a Family Lawyer in the Domestic Violence Unit in 2017. Then she subsequently joined the Criminal Law Division where she worked as a Local Court Lawyer for a number of years. Rachael has also worked in District Court Appeals, and in Criminal Law Relief practicing in the NSW Local and District Courts around NSW. Rachael then joined the management team in the Domestic Violence Unit as a Grade V specialising in Criminal Law in 2023. Rachael is also qualified as a Child Representative in Care Proceedings and has recently completed ICL Training.


Helen Christinson, Partner, Hugo Law Group
Helen Christinson is a Partner at Hugo Law Group and practices exclusively in Criminal Law. Whether appearing in Coronial inquests, bail applications, sentence matters, defended hearings or other applications in the Children’s Court or Local Court, conviction and severity appeals in the District Court, or high-profile trial and sentence matters for State and Commonwealth offences, Helen is a detail-focused, empathetic, energised and tenacious advocate. She has a wide range of legal experience from Local Court traffic matters to complex murder trials in the Supreme Court. In 2023 and 2024 Helen was recognised by members of the profession as a Recommended Criminal Defence Lawyer in the Doyle’s Guide – Sydney.


Carol Younes, Partner, Hugo Law Group
Carol is an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law and founding partner of Hugo Law Group. She has been consistently recognised in the Doyles Guide as one of Australia’s preeminent criminal lawyers. Carol appears in the superior and appellate courts in some of the most notorious criminal cases. She works tirelessly on matters representing clients charged with murder, serious sex offences, complex frauds, tax evasions, drug manufacture, supply and importation, and terrorism offences. She also appears in complex hearings, sentence proceedings and bail applications. She was nominated for Criminal Law Partner of the Year in the 2022 Lawyers Weekly Awards.


Rachel Thampapillai, Barrister, Seventh Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers
Rachel accepts briefs in all areas of law with a particular focus on criminal and public law. Prior to coming to the bar, Rachel was the Youth Koori Court solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service. She has expertise in the Children’s Court but has also appeared both led and unled in the Local, District and Supreme Court of NSW. Rachel has previously worked at Legal Aid, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and HWL Ebsworth. Prior to commencing practice, Rachel was tipstaff to the Hon. Associate Justice Harrison in the Supreme Court. Rachel holds a Master of Laws from UC Berkeley as a merit scholar and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. Rachel is honoured to be the recipient of the 2023 Katrina Dawson Award.


Kim Hunter, Criminal Defence & Immigration Lawyer, Hunter Flood Lawyers
Ms Kim Hunter is a criminal defence and immigration lawyer as well as an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law from Hunter Flood Lawyers in Sydney. Kim has a law degree, 3 first places in law exams (Criminal law, evidence & succession), second place in Constitutional Law and 2 Butterworths Law prizes. Kim Has always had her own private law practice and since becoming an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law now only practices in criminal defence and complex immigration matters. Kim has formerly lectured in post graduate law at Australian National University and regularly lectures for the Law Society of NSW, Legal Aid and various other professional bodies and organisations including the MIA and Law Council of Australia. Kim is on an expert panel for a research project led by Prof Alison Gerard and funded by the Australian Research Council, being undertaken by leading Professors from Charles Sturt, Flinders and Monash universities in Australia and Oxford University in the UK on the topic of ‘Crimmigration’ – the intersection of criminal and immigration laws in Australia.


Hannah Donaldson, Barrister, Seventh Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers
Hannah is a barrister at Seventh Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers. She specialises in crime and other areas of public law including coronial inquests. Hannah worked as a criminal defence solicitor for many years at the Aboriginal Legal Service in NSW and also at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in the Northern Territory, including remote communities. She served as a member of the Law Society of NSW’s Indigenous Issues Committee and contributed to position papers and responses regarding law reform. As a barrister, Hannah regularly appears in the Local, District and Supreme Courts in NSW, the NT and WA in jury trials, legal arguments, interlocutory applications and hearings. She has been a guest lecturer at UNSW in Advanced Criminal Law.