With many high-profile cases being decided in recent years covering false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and abuse of process and misfeasance in public office, be guided through the recent cases, trends, defences and damages in the law of intentional torts including false imprisonment, assault and battery, malicious prosecution and wrongful arrest. This is your opportunity to be updated on recent cases and trends, the different defences that can be made and an overview of decisions regarding quantifying damages.

Presenters

Jeremy King, Practice Group Leader – Injury Law and Police Misconduct/Principal, Robinson Gill
Jeremy King is a Principal Lawyer at Robinson Gill Lawyers who practices in the area of intentional torts and personal injury. Jeremy leads the firm’s Injury Law Team. He is the current Australian Lawyers Alliance Victorian State President. He is also the ALA representative on the TAC Protocols Working Group as a well as member of the TAC JME Reference Group, TAC Legislative Working Group and TAC Legal Liaison Group. Jeremy has a Masters of Law from Utrecht University in the Netherlands specialising in human rights and criminal justice. He graduated from Monash University with Bachelors of Laws and Arts. He is an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law.


Alexander Ionita, Barrister, Garfield Barwick Chambers
Alexander is an accomplished advocate who practices mainly in the criminal and tort jurisdictions of New South Wales. Alexander’s main area of torts law is plaintiff work against the state of New South Wales. Alexander’s specialisations are in unlawful detention/arrest matters and malicious prosecution with exceptional knowledge and application of statutory and common law powers. Prior to the bar Alexander was a police officer for 13 years, working in uniform, non uniform and prosecutorial duties. Alexander lectured and presented numerous times in respect of police powers to arrest, search, detain, powers to enter premises, with or without warrants and common law powers for police. Alexander is a contributor and author to the Bar News and enjoys donating his time for pro bono advice, litigation and appearances to disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the community.


Verity Smith, Senior Associate, McInnes Wilson
Verity is a Principal within McInnes Wilson Lawyers’ compensation division. In the personal injury field, Verity practises across a variety of matter types including motor vehicle accidents, bicycle accidents, workplace incidents, chemical harm, assault and general public liability incidents. Verity has a particular interest in motorcycle accidents and motorcyclist welfare, leading McInnes Wilson Lawyers’ motorcycle law division. In addition to supporting motorcyclists with compensation claims, Verity provides legal education to riders and assists core groups with road safety advocacy and initiatives. Verity has experience in broader insurance (including property damage and income protection) and injury insurance schemes (such as NDIS and NIISQ). Outside of her compensation practice, Verity is passionate about access to justice and coordinates McInnes Wilson Lawyers’ national pro bono program. She personally performs pro bono work for individuals, community legal centres and other organisations and has helped to establish multiple outreach legal clinics. Verity has been listed in Doyle’s Guide and is the recipient of awards including Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards (“Innovator of the Year” winner in 2023) and 30 Under 30 Awards (“Insurance” winner in 2023, and “Health Medical and Personal Injury” winner 2024).


Alice Robinson, Director and Principal Lawyer, Polaris Lawyers
Alice Robinson has been a personal injury lawyer for 15 years and is passionate about guiding her clients through their claims with empathy and kindness. Alice is an expert in medical negligence claims, with a special interest in birth injuries, spinal injuries, plastic surgery and brain injury claims. Before joining the team at Polaris, Alice was the Practice Leader of the Medical Law Department at one of Australia’s largest personal injury firms. Alice believes in a commonsense approach to litigation and medical law claims, to make the legal process more accessible to her clients. Alice seeks to empower her clients to know their claims and their options, so that they can make informed decisions and achieve justice on their own terms. Over her career, Alice has had the privilege of acting for many clients from all walks of life and helping them move forward after suffering trauma within healthcare.


Estelle Petrie, Senior Associate, Robinson Gill
Estelle is a Senior Associate in the police misconduct team at Robinson Gill. She is an experienced litigator dedicated to social justice, she acts on behalf of victims of abuse by police and in prisons. Estelle acts in a wide range of police misconduct cases, representing victims of assault, false imprisonment, and unlawful treatment in custody. She specialises in challenging inadequate responses to family violence by the police, as well as police perpetrated family violence. She has previously worked at the Women’s Legal Service Victoria where she coordinated a strategic project which led to legislative reform related to family law property settlements. Estelle has a varied background, working in both community law, as well as international commercial litigation, and brings this experience together at Robinson Gill; running strategic litigation for people experiencing marginalisation.


Gabriel Chipkin, Barrister, Parnell’s Barristers
Gabriel is an experienced courtroom advocate and appears predominantly in criminal matters, regulatory and administrative law matters, inquests and intentional tort claims against public authorities in New South Wales and Victoria. Prior to coming to the Bar, Gabriel was a Public Defender at Victoria Legal Aid Chambers. He previously worked as a Senior Lawyer (Trial Advocate) at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, where he was based in Darwin for over 3 years. Before NAAJA, Gabriel worked at the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW) as a solicitor-advocate. He began his career in 2011 as a commercial lawyer at global firm Herbert Smith Freehills where he remained until 2015. Gabriel is particularly interested in the intersection between police powers and civil liberties, especially matters that raise allegations relating to false imprisonment, battery, assault and malicious prosecution. Gabriel holds an LLM from New York University and an LLB (with First Class Honours) from the University of New South Wales.