It’s been a year of developing law in the abuse space. The High Court has handed down its decision in DP v Bird, Willmot v The State of Queensland and RC v The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust, 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, State Chambers
Shaun McCarthy was called to the Bar in 1999 and currently practices out of State Chambers. He has practiced in insurance law/personal injury law from 1999 to present, equally representing the interests of defendants and plaintiffs. Shaun has conducted hundreds of personal injury trials and over a dozen appeals as sole or lead counsel. He has been briefed in hundreds of historical abuse cases and has run notable cases to completion including SR v Trustees of the De La Salle Brothers 2023 NSWSC 66, Peters v Trustees of the Marist Brothers2022 NSWSC 475 and EXV v Uniting Church (Australia) Property Trust [2024] NSWSC 490 (2 May 2024). He has delivered seminars in this field on a range of topics including vicarious liability and permanent stays. In this field Shaun has acted for many hundreds of plaintiffs, together with Anglican Dioceses, the State of NSW, Catholic entities based in Rome, public and private schools, child care centres, private children’s institutions, local councils and direct defendants and/or cross defendants. Shaun has a special interest in defending fraud claims in historical abuse claims.


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
Zoe is a member of the Commission of Inquiry and Litigation Team at Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers’ Sydney office. Zoe brings with her significant experience in statutory arbitration as well as Plaintiff and Defence litigation. Her experience includes areas of personal injury, family law, wills disputes, private property, commercial leasing, intellectual property licensing, criminal defence and insurance litigation. Zoe was raised in NSW government care and uses this background for the ethical handling of litigated and non-litigated matters. She is also deeply invested in technology and its practical application in modern legal practice. She joined Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers in 2021. Zoe previously worked in reputable personal injury firms under the guidance of Personal Injury Commission Members (formerly Claims Assessors). Zoe has completed her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Communications at Western Sydney University, majoring in advertisement. Prior to joining the law, Zoe previously worked as a freelance graphic designer. Whilst completing her University studies and working full-time, Zoe was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Tort Law and was a writer for the University’s Legal Magazine. Zoe is a member of the NSW Basketball Disciplinary Tribunal and Member Protection Tribunals for various sporting associations. She also volunteers her time at Marrickville Legal Centre in family law and LGBTQ+ youth matters. She was appointed Senior Associate at Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers in July 2024.


Dr Sharon Reutens, Psychiatrist
Dr Reutens MBBS FRANZCP has over 15 years of experience undertaking a range of Medicolegal assessments. Dr Reutens is trained in WorkCover and Motor Accident Authority evaluations and is an appointed Medical Assessor and Review Panel Assessor with the Personal Injury Commission. With subspecialty training in Psychogeriatrics and Neuropsychiatry, she is often asked to assess issues relating to Capacity such as Testamentary Capacity, Guardianship, and Power of Attorney She has a background of extensive clinical Criminal Justice system and has extensive experience writing reports relating to Fitness, Mental Illness Defences and Sentencing.


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
Michelle studied law at the University of Sydney and was admitted as a solicitor in 2000. Throughout her career, she has practised exclusively in the area of personal injury claims and compensation law. For many years she worked in a large plaintiff law practice before gaining experience in claims from the other perspective as In-House counsel in a large insurance company. Michelle co-founded North Star Law in 2017. Within the industry, she is highly regarded and she is well known for her personable and approachable style.


Marini Mann, Principal, Gilchrist Connell
Marini is an experienced litigator with almost 20 years of experience defending claims across multiple lines of insurance and advising on multiparty litigation and dispute resolution. Marini has a particular focus in the defence of public liability matters involving sensitive claims and sexual abuse, psychiatric injuries, catastrophic injuries, education law claims and coronial inquests and investigations. Marini’s practice also includes acting in the defence of professional indemnity claims and she provides coverage advice on a range of issues, and has been involved in major claims involving fraud, non-disclosure, notification issues and subrogation. Marini has worked on several high profile and significant claims including high quantum litigation and complex interlocutory applications that have proceeded to judicial determination establishing legal precedent in Victoria. Marini was the winner of the Partner of the Year 2023 at the Women in Law Awards and Insurance Partner of the Year 2024 at the Partner of the Year Awards.


Associate Professor Carolyn Quadrio, School of Psychiatry, University of NSW
Associate Professor Carolyn Quadrio is an Australian psychiatrist and recipient of the 2024 Medal of the Order of Australia award for her "significant service to psychiatry". An Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales, she is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP). She has made significant contributions to both fields of Psychiatry and Family Therapy. In 1989, she co-founded and coordinated the Masters of Psychotherapy postgraduate program at University of New South Wales collaborating with The Prince of Wales Hospital. Her research spans from women's mental health to feminism and gender analysis of psychiatry in Australia. She is also known for working against the abuse of children especially in religious institutions, the long-term sequelae of childhood sexual abuse, and psychiatric issues in domestic violence. Apart from academic researches, She is a therapist, educator, advocate on injustice and ethical issues as well as boundary violations.


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’.


John Rule, Principal Lawyer, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers
John Rule is a Principal Lawyer in Maurice Blackburn’s Melbourne office. He helps survivors of abuse seek compensation from at-fault institutions and perpetrators. John is trained in trauma informed practice which ensures he works with clients to access justice in a way that recognises the complex trauma they have suffered. John graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Laws in 2010 and completed a Bachelor of Arts at Boston College in 2011. He joined Maurice Blackburn in Victoria later the same year, and was admitted to practice in 2013. John likes to be a positive force for people in the community in their time of need and he has a strong conviction that everyone deserves a ‘fair go’. He understands that the odds are often stacked in such a way that the needs of everyday people often go unmet, and he works hard to redress this.