Master the art of drafting compelling pleadings, and affidavits through an advanced tutorial, enriched with practical examples. Acquire a checklist to guarantee effectiveness. Enhance your affidavit drafting and witness statement skills for trial preparation with tips and examples. Gain strategic insights on working with experts to advance your client's case.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Professional Skills
1.00pm to 2.30pm Drafting Effective Pleadings: An Advanced Tutorial
- Key differences between pleadings rules across State and Federal jurisdictions
- The distinction between material facts and particulars, by reference to examples
- Making proper requests for particulars
- Avoiding deemed admissions in pleadings
- Applying to withdraw admissions made in pleadings
- Dealing with a defective pleading: To strike out or not?
- Pleading and particularising allegations of agency
- Some examples of defective pleadings, and how to avoid these problems
Presented by Jane Muir, Barrister, Gerard Brennan Chambers
Chair:
Professor Stephen Owen-Conway, Sir Lawrence Jackson Chambers
2.30pm to 2.40pm Break
Professional Skills
2.40pm to 4.10pm Preparing Affidavits and Witness Statements for Use at Trial
- Ascertaining
- The issues in the action
- The relevant rules for the court
- The format required
- Using background and documents
- Checking ethical responsibilities
- Drafting recommendations
- Tips for speaking to a witness close to the hearing
Presented by Craig Slater, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
4.10pm to 4.15pm Break
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm A Guide to Working with Experts: Advanced Practical Tips
- Context: the role of expert evidence
- The objects and duty of the expert witness
- Procedural refresher
- Exploration of practical issues including
- Deciding whether you need an expert
- The lawyer’s role in the preparation of expert reports
- Expert reports and privilege
- What counts as an ‘expert report’?
- Withholding disclosure where fraud is suspected
Presented by Nola Pearce, Barrister, Chambers 33
Presenters
Professor Stephen Owen-Conway, Sir Lawrence Jackson Chambers
Stephen Owen-Conway QC specialises in commercial litigation and practices in the fields of competition Law, taxation, intellectual property; corporations law; maritime law and sports law. He appears in the Federal Court of Australia and other Commonwealth Courts and Tribunals. He also appears in the Supreme Court of Western Australia and in the Court of Appeal. Stephen was first called to the English Bar in 1973, then joining the Queensland Bar in 1975 and the Western Australian Bar in 1977 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in the states of Queensland and Western Australia in 1992. He has held a number of academic positions throughout his career including visiting lecturer at Nottingham University, senior teaching fellow at the University of Western Australia and was a lecturer at the universities of Plymouth, Queensland and Western Australia. Stephen currently holds the position of adjunct professor of law at Murdoch University in Perth. Stephen has a particular interest in professional football and most recently was a director of Cardiff City Football Club in 2012. Stephen’s List Clerks are Svenson Barristers who are located in Melbourne
Craig Slater, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Craig Slater is a barrister at Francis Burt Chambers Perth where he specialises in commercial litigation. He advises on the Corporations Act and trade practices legislation. He has appeared as counsel in trials arising from disputes over contracts, misleading or deceptive conduct, the dissolution of partnerships, winding up corporations and commercial disputes generally. Craig was the 2013 President for the Law Society of Western Australia. He remains a member of its Ethics committee.
Nola Pearce, Barrister, Chambers 33
Nola Pearce is a barrister at the private Bar, with a strong civil practice focussed on: professional negligence and regulation; high level insurance advice, including dual and successive insurer situations, policy review, outcomes from Royal Commissions; and commercial and contract disputes. She was called to the private Bar in 2018, after many years as an insurance and commercial litigation solicitor at mid- and top-tier firms. Nola’s particular strengths are her decisive advice and persuasive advocacy, combined with a practical, strategic and sensitive approach to civil disputes. She has been recognised in each edition of the Best Lawyers in Australia since 2021 for Professional Malpractice Litigation. She previously has been named a Woman Lawyer of the Year Award Finalist by the Women Lawyer’s Association of Queensland. She is a member of the Bar Association’s Access to Justice Committee, a past Chair of the QLS Ethics Committee, and a contributing editor to the Law Society’s first edition commentary to the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules. Nola loves animals, solo camping, antique treasures, and reading great novels.
Jane Muir, Barrister, Gerard Brennan Chambers
Jane accepts briefs in all areas of commercial law. Her experience includes acting for clients in banking, bankruptcy, building and construction, commercial contracts, consumer protection, corporate, employment and industrial, equity, insolvency, insurance, real property and trade practices, matters. Jane regularly appears in State and Federal courts and tribunals, in Queensland and New South Wales, and represents clients in mediations and arbitrations.