Presenters

Vance Hughston SC, Sixth Floor Windeyer Chambers
Vance Hughston SC came to the NSW Bar in 1982 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2001. His areas of practice include appellate, commercial, equity, native title, property and public law. Mr Hughston has practised extensively as a trial lawyer in native title and in non-native title matters. He also has an appellate practice that has seen him argue many cases before the Full Federal Court, the NSW Court of Appeal, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia and the High Court. In more recent years, his trial work and most of his appellate work, has focused predominantly on the area of native title law. It is a national practice that has seen him appear both for Aboriginal claimants and for Government parties, in every State and Territory other than Tasmania and the ACT. Mr Hughston has argued the following native title cases before the High Court: Members of the Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Community v Victoria (2002) 214 CLR 422; Karpany v Dietman [2013] HCA 47; Wilson v Anderson (2002) 213 CLR 401; and has appeared in other cases in the High Court as junior counsel. In Yorta Yorta, Mr Hughston appeared at the trial (which went for more than 100 days) and on the appeals to the Full Federal Court and the High Court. Other native title cases in which Mr Hughston has appeared at both the trial and the subsequent appeal, include: Fortescue Metals Group v Warrie on behalf of the Yindjibarndi People (2019) 374 ALR 448; [2019] FCAFC 177 (leave to appeal to the High Court refused); Starkey on behalf of the Kokatha People v South Australia (2018) 261 FCR 183; (leave to appeal to the High Court refused); Banjima People v Western Australia (2015) 231 FCR 456; (leave to appeal to the High Court refused); Bodney v Bennell (2008) 167 FCR 84; CG (Deceased)on behalf of the Badimia People v Western Australia (No.2) (2016) FCAFC 67; Gumana v Northern Territory (2005) 141 FCR 471; Jango v Northern Territory (2007) 159 FCR 531; Risk v Northern Territory (2007) 240 ALR 75; Straits Exploration (Australia) Pty Ltd v Kokatha Uwankara Native Title Claimants [2012] SASCFC 121; Western Australia v Graham on behalf of the Ngadju People (2013) 305 ALR 452; Western Australia v Graham on behalf of the Ngadju People (2016) FCAFC 47; and Wyman v Queensland (2015) 235 FCR 464. Mr Hughston was a member of the Australian Law Reform Committee’s Native Title Inquiry Advisory Committee in 2014 / 2015. Chambers and Partners 2021 Rankings rank Mr Hughston in Band 1 of Australia’s native title Silks whilst the Doyle’s Guide ranks him as the Market Leader. Mr Hughston is the author of the chapter on proving native title in Perry and Lloyd’s Australian Native Title Law (2nd Ed.).


Clare Lawrence, Partner, Ashurst
Clare specialises in Indigenous land law and major project approvals. She works nationally, focusing on native title, Indigenous cultural heritage and the State and Territory based land rights schemes. She acts for government, Traditional Owners, and private sector clients across all industries that require access to land. Her work takes her from remote sites to board rooms, as poor management of Indigenous heritage protection has emerged as a key business risk. Clare continues to cement her status as a market leader in this space by contributing to the reform of key legislation in the field, and spearheading Ashurst's native title thought leadership and seminar programs, which includes Ashurst’s annual publication, Native Title Year in Review. She is ranked as a leading lawyer in Native Title by Chambers Asia-Pacific and Legal 500, and in 2023, was recognized by Best Lawyers as Native Title Lawyer of the Year (Melbourne). In the Ashurst Melbourne Office, Clare is a Reconciliation Champion working to deliver the outcomes from Ashurst's stretch Reconciliation Action Plan in the Victorian context.