With new reforms regarding funding and contingency fees, the landscape of class actions is changing. Address the pressing concerns in Australia's dynamic class actions market. Gain practical strategies from seasoned Plaintiff and Defendant lawyers providing crucial insights on how to navigate and avoid common procedural pitfalls from the initiation through to the case management of class actions.  Explore market trends and gain strategies on settlement approvals plus fair and reasonable third-party litigation funding deductions.  Understand common fund orders and examine contingency fee developments as well as after the event insurance.

Presenters

Angela Pearsall, Partner, Ashurst Australia
Angela specialises in large-scale commercial litigation and class actions, as well as contentious regulatory litigation and investigations. Angela regularly handles complex financial reporting litigation, having acted for global accounting and auditing firms for more than a decade. She has led litigation including class actions arising out of major corporate collapses, IPOs, capital raisings, complex financial instruments and regulatory obligations. She regularly represents banks, large corporates, preeminent global accounting and auditing firms and directors.


Jason Betts, Partner, Global Co-Head of Class Actions, Herbert Smith Freehills
Jason is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading class action, regulatory investigation and product liability specialists. He has over 25 years’ of litigation experience and has defended the largest class actions and investigations in the Australian market. He is one of the few Australian defence lawyers to have run a class action to final trial and judgment, and is the only Australian lawyer to win two shareholder class actions at trial (on behalf of Worley and Iluka). Jason also led the defence of two of Australia’s largest ever product liability class action cases, and acted for the defendant in the seminal Australian decision on third party litigation funding in Australia – Campbells Cash and Carry Pty Ltd v Fostif Pty Ltd. Jason is a Visitor to the University of Sydney Law School, teaching the post-graduate course “Class Action Litigation in Australia”. In 2022 Jason co-authored the third edition of the leading class actions text book in the country, “Class Actions in Australia”. He obtained his Master of Laws from the University of Virginia, specialising in class action defence theory.


Odette McDonald, Director, Phi Finney McDonald
Odette McDonald is an experienced senior class actions specialist, who has litigated complex and high-profile claims in Australia and the United Kingdom. Odette has represented thousands of people in a number of successful class actions, which have collectively delivered settlements in excess of $350 million. Her class action, group litigation and multi-party litigation expertise is broad, and includes shareholder class actions, financial advice and product claims, personal injuries, consumer actions, environmental and natural disaster litigation, and debenture trustee class actions. She also has a wealth of general commercial litigation and pro bono experience. Prior to co-founding Phi Finney McDonald, Odette was a Practice Group Leader in the London Group Litigation and Melbourne Class Actions departments of a large plaintiff law firm. Odette’s focus at Phi Finney McDonald is on identifying cases, managing litigation projects, progressing the professional development of lawyers and support staff, and contributing to the creation of a dynamic and supportive workplace.


Nathan Rapoport, Practice Group Leader, Class Actions, Slater + Gordon Lawyers
Having worked in the Class Actions team at Slater and Gordon in both the Sydney and Melbourne offices, Nathan’s practice focuses predominantly on securities class actions. Nathan has a keen interest in delivering justice for his clients and enjoys the challenge of finding solutions to difficult problems that often arise during complex litigation. Since he began his career in 2012, Nathan has had the opportunity to work on a wide range of cases on behalf of individuals, and small and medium enterprises. Notable class actions Nathan has been involved with during his time at Slater and Gordon include cases against Spotless Group, Vocation and Billabong as well as proceedings against former directors of Trio Capital Limited and proceedings against a collapsed financial planning business and its insurer on behalf of 60 individuals who suffered loss from poor financial advice.


Simon Morris, Managing Partner, Morris Mennilli
Simon is the Managing Partner of Morris Mennilli. He brings three decades of experience in resolving high-profile and complex commercial disputes across a range of industries. Peers and clients have described Simon as practical, analytical, cool-headed, unruffled and experienced. Plus, Simon regularly advises clients about AFCA complaints, ASIC investigations and prosecutions, ICAC and other commissions of inquiry. Keen to share his expertise with the legal profession, Simon is the author of the Australian chapters of Litigation Funding - Getting the Deal Through and The Global Damages Review.


Philip Lomax, Managing Director, Litica
Philip Lomax is the Managing Director of Litica Australia Pty Ltd in the Asia Pacific region. He is a qualified lawyer (England and Wales) and has over a decade’s experience in litigation and arbitration, third-party funding and litigation insurance. He was an Investment Manager at two of the world’s leading litigation funders, one of which is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). He is one of few people to have worked in both the UK and Australian litigation funding and insurance markets. Philip has extensive underwriting experience, spanning a breadth of commercial litigation and arbitration risks across these, and other, jurisdictions. Prior to his time in litigation funding and insurance, Philip worked at a specialist litigation and arbitration firm in London. He holds a First Class Honours law degree from the University of Sussex and graduated with distinction from law school. Philip has authored numerous published articles on third party funding and ATE insurance. Awards: Chambers and Partners top ranked Australia as a “Litigation Insurance Underwriter 2024 (Band 1 - UK)".


Kione Johnson, Practice Leader, Class Actions, Shine Lawyers
Kione Johnson is a Practice Leader in Shine Lawyers’ Class Actions team. Kione has a passion for justice and an unwavering commitment to advocating for the rights of individuals and groups affected by corporate wrongdoing.  Prior to joining Shine Lawyers, Kione spent 13 years at a top tier international law firm. Most recently, Kione was a Special Counsel leading a Dispute Resolution team and major, complex disputes focusing on multi-million dollar class actions. Notably, Kione successfully defended the Queensland Government dam authority Seqwater in $1 billion class action proceedings arising from the 2011 Brisbane floods. This included a lengthy trial that spanned more than 130 hearing days, an appeal to the NSW Court of Appeal and a High Court special leave application – one of Australia's largest ever class actions.  Kione was recognised as one of Lawyerly’s Litigation Rising Stars in 2021, and in Doyle’s Guide Rising Stars for Litigation and Dispute Resolution in 2015, 2016 and 2020.  In addition, Kione has been a Graduate Development Coach since 2015, and has excelled in legal project management, rolling out many projects to streamline the way her teams have provided legal advice.