It’s been a year of developing law in the abuse space. The High Court has handed down its decision in DP v Bird, there have been changes to the Redress Scheme, the biggest verdict in an abuse claim was made in Victoria. Update your knowledge plus learn from legal and medical experts as they traverse some of the more challenging technical issues you will confront in your practice.

Presenters

Shaun McCarthy, Barrister, Frederick Jordan Chambers


Martin Slattery, Partner, Carroll & O’Dea
Martin’s diverse career – journalist, guitarist, lawyer – means he has the life experience and the professional expertise to provide what his clients want when it matters – excellent technical advice, combined with practical solutions. With a strong common law background, Martin is an expert litigator. He has significant commissions of inquiry and royal commissions experience. He has a unique insight and empathy into how the various parties to a dispute perceive the same circumstances that are the nub of the issue. As a musician, his clients trust him to explain the complexities of intellectual property law so they avoid pitfalls and take advantage of opportunities. Martin also works with his clients to protect their intellectual property assets through trademark registration and copyright advice and litigation. Martin also works in the not-for-profit team, providing advice to clients from the not-for-profit sector. This includes governance and regulatory compliance advice, drafting commercial contracts and undertaking property transactions. Martin is responsible for the running of the Melbourne office.


Zoe Brindle, Senior Associate, Carroll & O’Dea


Dr Sharon Reutens, Psychiatrist


Maithri Panagoda AM, Partner, Carroll & O’Dea
Maithri Panagoda has over 48 years of experience in litigation and dispute resolution. He heads a team at Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers dedicated to representing survivors of historical abuse. An Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law since 1994, he has acted for over 250 members of the Stolen Generations. He is a member of the Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor of the School of Law, University of Notre Dame.


Asanka Gunasekera, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Asanka Gunasekera specialises in personal injury law. Asanka represents Plaintiffs and Defendants in claims relating to historical child sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation injury, occupiers’ liability, public liability and fatal accidents. Asanka is also experienced in employment and OH&S law having been a sessional lecturer in occupational Health and Safety (Industrial Relations) at Curtin University. Asanka was admitted to practice in 2009 following completion of a 10 year “Managing Clerkship” under the Legal Practitioners Act 1893. Asanka is also experienced in Not-For-Profit Governance having been Chairperson of the WA AIDS Council (Inc) for six years and Secretary of the WA Bar Association (Inc) for three years. Asanka is also a member of the Law Society of Western Australia and serves on its Personal Injury & Workers’ Compensation Committee.


Michelle Martin, Principal Lawyer, North Star Law


Marini Mann, Principal, Gilchrist Connell
Marini is a Principal at Gilchrist Connell, Melbourne. Marini is an experienced litigator with particular expertise acting in the defence of schools, teachers and other education professionals. Her practice primarily includes public liability and professional indemnity claims. Marini has defended a number of bullying and catastrophic injury claims and has significant experience in claims involving psychiatric injury and nervous shock. Marini has also defended a number of Coronial inquests and Police matters on behalf of schools and regularly presents seminars and workshops on a range of risk management areas to both legal and non-legal audiences. Prior to being appointed a Principal, Marini was a finalist in the 2018 Women in Law Awards as one of the top 20 Special Counsel in Australia.


Associate Professor Carolyn Quadrio, School of Psychiatry, University of NSW


Rachel Neil, Director – Integrated Services, Knowmore
Rachel Neil is the Director - Integrated Services at knowmore Legal Service, based in the Brisbane office. knowmore is a free, national community legal service providing assistance and referrals to survivors of child sexual abuse. Rachel has worked at knowmore since November 2019. Rachel has worked in the community legal sector for many years in various roles, including Principal Solicitor at Women’s Legal Service Qld. She has spent her legal career committed to helping vulnerable people to access their rights within a strong framework of trauma informed practice.


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’.