Are you prepared to handle the challenges trial. Hear from the Honourable Justice Weinstein followed by an exceptional lineup of Senior Counsel, leading litigation counsel and experts who will share with you their experience and expertise on advanced evidence and advocacy for experienced lawyers. Explore the latest approaches to dealing with complex expert evidence. Learn the strategies for use of ‘conversation evidence’ in affidavits and navigating the hearsay rule plus gain a guide on establishing the Hearsay Rule exception. Gain practical insights from experts on refining your advocacy skills in relation to oral evidence, mediation advocacy and urgent advocacy.

Presenters

Michelle Painter SC, Barrister, Nine Selborne Chambers
Michelle practices primarily in commercial law, involving all manner of commercial disputes, as well as equity and trusts, and family provision and probate. She also has extensive experience representing directors and corporations in regulatory enforcement matters. Michelle has been a barrister since 1998 and took silk in 2013. She has been involved for many years with the NSW Bar Association’s Bar Practice Course, where she presents on the art (and the slog) of cross examination.


Ben Mahler, Partner, KordaMentha
Ben Mahler's willingness to understand the problem and generate alternative ideas has helped him find efficient solutions for clients facing modern forensic challenges for over 10 years. He expertly deploys his specialist valuation, accounting and technology skills as needed, focussing on what will provide the greatest benefit with the least resources. His recent solutions include developing automation that allowed scenario analysis of complex financial modelling for the valuation of an infrastructure asset, consolidating claim data in a construction dispute and an analysis of disparate data sets in a financial investigation.


Vahan Bedrossian SC, Wardell Chambers
Vahan Bedrossian was called to the Bar in February 2000 and took silk in 2020. He holds a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Sydney. His practice is primarily in the areas of commercial law, corporate law, equity, insolvency and property. Vahan is a member of and deputy chairperson on the board of directors of Edmund Barton Chambers. He was a member of a New South Wales Bar Association Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) from 2003 to 2010. Since coming to the Bar, Vahan has been involved in a wide range of long and complex matters, including lengthy multi-party commercial disputes, appeal proceedings and applications for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia.


Alexander Vial, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
Alexander maintains a national practice in complex commercial and regulatory matters. He is recognised as a Leading Junior (Band 1) for competition law and as a “Rising Star” in regulatory matters in the Legal500 rankings. Alexander specialises in commercial and regulatory litigation that covers all areas of competition and consumer law, trade practices including franchising, class actions, insolvency, intellectual property, and employment law. Alexander regularly advises on and appears in regulatory investigations and enforcement matters, as well as in Royal Commissions and inquiries. Before being called to the Bar, Alexander was a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz in Sydney where he specialised in competition, consumer law, and regulatory investigations and litigation. Earlier in his career, Alexander served as the Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Doyle AC of the Supreme Court of South Australia and, after his Honour’s retirement, the Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Kourakis. Alexander’s education includes a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with First Class Honours from the University of Adelaide. Alexander is a founding author of Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure, a leading text on Australian civil procedure that is now in its second edition. He regularly publishes articles in a number of practitioner and academic journals.


The Hon. Justice Richard Weinstein, Supreme Court of New South Wales
Richard Weinstein is a Judge of the District Court of New South Wales. He was appointed senior counsel in 2011, and was a member of the Bar Council of the NSW Bar Association and the Chair of a Professional Conduct Committee for many years. He is Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, where he has taught the law of evidence, civil procedure and advocacy and is the lead author of Uniform Evidence in Australia, 3rd ed.


Anthony Cheshire SC, Barrister, Wentworth Chambers
Anthony was called to the English Bar in 1992 and practised at the bar in London before coming to Sydney in 2003. He practices from the 8th Floor Wentworth Chambers in a broad range of areas, but with a particular focus upon general commercial, corporations, insolvency, wills and estates, equity, charities, associations, inquiries, property, licensing, insurance and professional negligence. He has extensive experience in relation to the internal affairs of corporations and associations and has acted for a variety of commercial, sporting, recreational, religious, political and other bodies and their members. He has been a barrister for over 30 years and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2015.


Kirralee Young, Barrister, 13th Floor, St James Hall
Kirralee Young was called to the Bar in 2013. Kirralee has previously worked with MinterEllison and Allen & Overy LLP. In 2010, she was appointed as an Assistant Crown Solicitor for the New South Wales Crown Solicitor’s Office managing the valuer general and revenue teams. Prior to coming to the Bar, Kirralee worked as a Commercial and Corporate solicitor specialising in corporate and technology matters. She has acted for large multinational clients predominately in the technology, telecommunication, and defence industries and in respect to multinational outsourcing and technology deals. Since coming to the Bar, she has been regularly engaged in succession and probate matters and has a particular interest in elder abuse matters. She is a member of the NSW Bar Association’s Succession and Elder Law Committee. Kirralee appears regularly in commercial, equity and contested succession or elder law matters in various Courts and Tribunals across Australia. Kirralee holds a Master of Laws (Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Defamation) from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Newcastle. She has also been a Court appointed Costs Assessor since 2011 and enjoys complicated and contested costs matters (the uglier the better) with her administrative law background. Two recent noteworthy matters which Kirralee appeared in include: Re PSR Refining Services Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 243 and Bannister Law v Louise McBride 2023/00007847.


Vera Culkoff, Barrister, 2 Selbourne Chambers
Vera Culkoff graduated in law from the University of Technology, Sydney in early 1990 with First Class Honours and the University Medal. Her practice is in commercial law and equity, with an emphasis in building and construction disputes. Such proceedings have commonly involved complex contractual disputes, misleading and deceptive allegations and the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). She also practices in the area of wills, probate and family provisions disputes, involving complex issues and large estates. She has experience in class actions, having been involved in commercial class actions against Westpac, ANZ, AMP and GIO. Vera has been involved in litigation on both sides of the fence: having worked at Clayton Utz doing defence work before joining Cashman & Partners and becoming an equity partner (now Maurice Blackburn). She remained a partner of the new firm until 2000, responsible for commercial and product liability litigation. She was called to the Bar in 2000. Vera was joint General Editor of the Australian Product Liability Reporter (from 2006 to 2011) and has conducted presentations at seminars on class actions and, whilst at the Bar, in building and construction law. In Timwin Construction v Facade Innovations [2005] NSWSC 548 (McDougall J), the notion of "good faith" was first argued by Vera and accepted by the Court in the context of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (Act). It is now an entrenched part of the law in this field. In Vince Schokman v Xception Construction Pty Limited [2005] NSWSC 297 (Einstein J), the question of election under the same Act was first raised by Vera and resolved in favour of the argument put forward by her.


Dr Hayley Bennett, Barrister, New Chambers
Hayley commenced practice as a barrister in 2009, having graduated from the University of NSW with first class honours in law the year before. Since commencing practice, she has been involved in cases in both public and private domains, but also specializes in health law across jurisdictions, including Succession and Protective Law. Hayley previously worked as a clinical and research neuropsychologist, and for a period sat on the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW (as it then was). Her qualifications in this area include a BA (Psychology honours), MA (Counselling), MSc (Neuropsychology), and PhD (Clinical Neuroscience). Hayley has published and lectured in these areas, as well as more recently in the area of judicial decision-making and its neurobiological underpinnings.


Hugh Stowe, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
Hugh Stowe is a member of 5th Floor Wentworth Chambers, and has been at the bar for 10 years. He practices in equity and commercial litigation, with specialization in insolvency and corporations law matters. He has an undergraduate degree from Sydney University, and a Master of Laws from Cambridge. Before coming to the Bar, he practiced at Freehills and Mallesons, and was the Associate to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He has also lectured in law in the University of Durham, in the UK, in subjects including administrative law. While at the Bar, he served for 3 years as legal adviser of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the ASX, in which capacity he sat in on disciplinary proceedings before that Tribunal. He has also served for 4 years on a Professional Conduct Committee at the Bar, being a committee involved in disciplinary proceedings against barristers. Has written papers and delivered seminars on various topics, including bias, expert evidence, legal professional privilege, corporations law, the ethics of witness preparation, restraint of trade.


Michelle Campbell, Barrister, Sir Anthony Mason Chambers
Michelle was admitted to the Bar in 2007. Her practice has extended to both criminal and civil matters. She had appeared both led and unled in many Courts and tribunals, including in a 5 month criminal trial at the ACT Supreme Court. Currently, her main area of practice is personal injury. Prior to the Bar, Michelle was a police prosecutor prior to being admitted as a solicitor and working for various government departments.


Professor John Watson AM, Sydney Adventist Hospital