Get your Family Law Court documents right! It is absolutely essential. Gain valuable and practical insights into drafting key documents required by family law practitioners. Enhance your expertise in drafting and enforcing binding financial agreements, with a focus on content and enforceability.  Gain lessons from recent cases on drafting effective child support agreements, backed by legislative insights and real-life examples. Her Honour Judge Eldershaw will provide guidance on crafting affidavits, emphasising essential elements and common pitfalls. Finally, develop a strategic approach to drafting interim and interlocutory applications, ensuring each document is clear, purposeful, and impactful.

Presenters

Cathie Blanchfield, Principal, Blanchfield Nicholls Family & Private Advisory
Cathie was admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales in July 1988. She was appointed a partner with Stuart Fowler and Partners in 2000, and in 2007 established Blanchfield Nicholls with Nigel Nicholls. For over 30 years Cathie has practised exclusively in family law and related matters. Her work has focussed on primarily financial and property matters for married, de-facto and same sex couples. She is expert in resolving complex family financial arrangements and has extensive experience in dealing with parenting matters. Cathie has developed a particular interest and expertise in drafting and advising on Financial Agreements, and this has become a significant part of her practice. Cathie has been recognised as a Leading Sydney Family & Divorce Lawyer since 2016, a Recommended Family & Divorce Lawyer (Australia) since 2017 as well as a Leading Family Lawyer (High-Value/Complex Property Matters) – NSW in 2019, by the independently researched and peer nominated Doyles Guide.


Paul Fildes, Principal, Taussig Cherie Fildes Family Lawyers
Paul Fildes is an Accredited Family Law Specialist and has been practising in family law since 1983. He has been ranked as one of only five Preeminent Family Lawyers by Doyle’s Guide for Melbourne 2019. Paul Fildes was previously the head of Middletons’ Family Law Practice Group (now K & L Gates), which he merged with Taussig Cherrie & Associates in 2010, to become Taussig Cherrie Fildes. Paul specialises in large scale family law property litigation, complex Financial Agreements, defacto property cases and restructuring family property in a tax effective manner. He also has a special interest in international relocation cases, and cross-border disputes involving the adjustment and treatment of assets located internationally, including Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Paul is a presenter of Case Watch on the Television Education Network which produces educational presentations and material for lawyers. He has published numerous papers and comments on current family law issues. Paul also regularly presents at seminars on behalf of various professional bodies on a wide variety of family law topics, with an emphasis on complex financial matters. He is a qualified Family Law arbitrator and mediator, and is also a trained collaborative lawyer. Paul is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and was a former Chair and Executive member of the Family Law Section of the Law Institute of Victoria. He was previously the Victorian Solicitor Representative of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and a former Chair of the FLS National Biennial Family Law Conference and on the Board at Relationships Australia (Vic).


Tim Gough, Director, FarrarGesiniDunn
Tim is an accredited family law specialist and advises clients in complex commercial family law property matters. He specialises in commercially focussed negotiations and strategic litigation to ensure he obtains the best possible outcomes for his clients. When he is not in court, Tim focusses on the estate planning aspects of family law and prepares Pre-Nuptial Financial Agreements for married and de-facto couples.


Her Honour Judge Gillian Eldershaw, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)
Her Honour Judge Eldershaw is a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) in the Sydney Registry. Her Honour was appointed to the Court in April 2022 after many years in practice, of which 14 years were at the NSW Bar specialising in family law and employment-related disciplinary matters, investigations and public inquiries. In 2004, Her Honour graduated from the University of Sydney with First Class Honours in Law and, for the next few years, was a solicitor at Allens Arthur Robinson (as it then was), where she worked as a commercial litigator. Prior to studying law, Her Honour was a Registered Nurse. The expertise she gained in acute psychiatry and paediatrics provides an invaluable set of skills and insight for which has since become practice in family law. In conjunction with her judicial duties, Her Honour is a Member of the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority which recently oversaw the licensing of Crown Casino after the 2021 Bergin Review and other Royal Commissions, and the ongoing Inquiry into the Star Casino. Outside of the law, Her Honour is a keen supporter of the Arts, especially through her involvement with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, of which she is a Patron and Council Member. Her Honour’s early years as a lawyer in commercial litigation, where the cases with which she was involved were in the Supreme and Federal Courts, explains her enduring interest in the craftsmanship of well-drawn affidavits. She hopes that the session at the forthcoming seminar will provide practical and useful insights into the drafting of good and useful affidavits. This is a skill that is remarkably simple, yet rarely executed. The session is intended to be informal and interactive. Participants are invited to treat the session as a safe space in which to ask questions and to ‘workshop’ ideas and approaches. Notes will be provided on the day.


Adam Cooper, Principal, Cooper Family Law
Adam Cooper is the Principal of Cooper Family Law, now in its thirteenth year of operation. However, Adam is more commonly known for his ‘almost’ professional football career, and he continues to support our local football club as a proud sponsor of the Morningside Panthers. Prior to the beginning of Cooper Family Law, Adam was at the private bar, before taking on a special counsel role at Barry.Nilsson Lawyers. Adam also completed social science qualifications, which he believes has benefitted his practice in Family Law. Aside from Adam’s near successful law career, he enjoys travelling, and experiencing different foods, cultures and wines. Adam is also a regular on the conference circuit, having recently given papers on applications for leave under section 44, negotiating relocation cases, and managing clients with impaired capacity. Adam has advised the District Court of Mecklenburg, North Carolina about Australian superannuation splitting orders, a task not made easy by the Judge’s comments suggesting grave concerns regarding how far sunk in communism Australia had become.