Join us for the Family Law & Trusts Intensive, where family law practitioners will explore the complex intersection of trusts and family law. Gain invaluable insights from distinguished speakers, including The Honourable Justice McClelland AO and leading Senior Counsel Darrell Barnett SC and Ian Coleman SC. With expert-led sessions and practical workshops, you’ll tackle key issues such as joinder, third-party claims, and trustee misconduct. As trust structures are increasingly used, this event provides a crucial opportunity to enhance your skills and stay ahead in this challenging and rapidly growing area of family law.

Presenters

The Honourable Justice McClelland AO, The Deputy Chief Justice, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
Justice Robert McClelland has a BA LLB from the UNSW and an LLM from the University of Sydney and he is a Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales. After being admitted to practice in 1982, Robert commenced working as an associate to Evatt J in the Federal court of Australia. He has practised as a solicitor and barrister. He was elected to Federal Parliament in 1996 and served as Commonwealth Attorney General between 2007 and 2011. He was appointed a judge of the Family Court of Australia in June 2015.


Suzanne Delbridge, Director, Delbridge Forensic Accounting
Suzanne Delbridge is an experienced forensic accountant and is a Director of Delbridge Forensic Accounting. Over the past 30 years Suzanne has been providing valuation reports for, or in anticipation of, litigation, other dispute resolution forums and for commercial purposes. Over this period Suzanne has given evidence as an expert witness in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and Family Court of Western Australia and the Supreme and District Courts of New South Wales. Suzanne is regularly retained in complex property matters, and has played an integral role at all stages of proceedings from case formulation to implementation of final orders. Suzanne is a regular writer and presenter of valuation, tax and forensic accounting papers and workshops.


Roger Harper, Barrister, Culwulla Chambers
Roger Harper was admitted to the Bar in 2002. He was formerly employed as a solicitor in a general practice in Western Sydney. Between 1996 and 2002, he worked for the Legal Aid Commission of NSW; predominately in the Family Litigation section specialising in the representation of children. In 1999 I was accredited as a specialist in Family Law. He practices primarily in Family Law including property, private and public law children's and appellate work and over the past ten years my practice has shifted substantially to appearances and advice in complex financial matters. He is the contributing author to the Family Law enforcement chapter [205-7465]-, [205-7635] of Halsbury's Laws of Australia and the contributing headnote author to Family Law Reports (LexisNexis Australia).


Rachel Dart, Barrister, Culwulla Chambers
Rachel Dart is a barrister with Culwulla Chambers, she works in family law and related matters in State and Federal Courts, Succession Law and Adoption.


Rhys O’Brien, Barrister, Culwulla Chambers
Rhys practices in Family Law and has broad experience in all aspects of property and parenting matters. Part of his practice involves appearing in complex financial matters involving third parties, corporate structures, trusts or insolvency. He also has extensive experience in advising and appearing in matters involving family violence allegations, in both property and parenting proceedings. He regularly appears in the Sydney and Parramatta registries and is regularly briefed on the Coffs Harbour Circuit. Rhys has a Master of Laws in International Corporate and Commercial Law from King’s College London, is a registered Arbitrator for Family Law matters and loves spending time with his wife.


Paul Springthorpe, Barrister, Eleven Wentworth
Before coming to the bar, Paul was a litigation partner at Sydney law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell. Paul has extensive experience in complex and large-scale commercial litigation. The clients he has acted for include listed corporations, hedge funds, insolvency practitioners, professional trustees and high net worth individuals. Paul was admitted to practice in Queensland in 2008. Paul accepts briefs in all areas of law.


Sheridan Emerson, Partner, Pearson Emerson
Sheridan Emerson is a Partner at Pearson Emerson Family Lawyers and is an Accredited Family Law Specialist. Sheridan was recognised as a Preeminent Family & Divorce Lawyer and Leading Family Lawyer (High- Value & Complex Property Matters) in Doyle's Guide 2021. Sheridan is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). Sheridan practices exclusively in family law.


Darrell Barnett SC, Banco Chambers
Darrell Barnett SC practices across the commercial, corporations and general equity fields. He is regularly briefed to advise and appear in cases involving Corporations Act issues, schemes of arrangement, insolvency, alleged breaches of directors’ duties, valuation disputes, large commercial, contractual and property disputes and difficult issues of statutory construction, trust law and equity. High value family law property disputes involving complex trust or valuation disputes are also a feature of Darrell’s practice (where he appears for parties to the marriage and third parties). Darrell has been involved in a number of class actions, most recently in relation to the marketing of complex financial products to retail consumers and defective motor vehicle actions. He also appeared in the Pharmacare proceedings arising out of the collapse of Pan Pharmaceuticals and the J&J/DePuy ASR class action in relation to claims brought in respect of defective medical devices. Darrell’s class action clients have included plaintiffs, defendants, litigation funders, and insurers. Prior to joining the Bar, Darrell was a solicitor at Freehills specialising in State stamp duties and the structuring of large commercial transactions. At the Bar, he has continued to advise on large and complex commercial transactions and is well regarded for his legal knowledge and thorough, strategic insights.


Paul Doolan, Partner, Barkus Doolan
Paul has been a Partner of the firm for over 20 years and is the Immediate Past Chair of the Family Law Section Executive of the Law Council of Australia. “Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Market” has ranked Paul Doolan as the Market Leader of all family lawyers practicing in Sydney from 2015 to 2023, and as Pre-Eminent or Market Leader nationally in each of those years. Paul was selected in 2020 and 2022 as Lawyer of the Year for Family Law in Sydney by “Best Lawyers in Australia“. His practice is focused on financial cases involving substantial asset pools, including matters with complex company, trust, partnership and valuation issues. Many of these cases have an international element to them.


Ian Coleman SC, Culwulla Chambers
Acting Judge of the District Court of New South Wales. Judge Ian Coleman was admitted to practise as Solicitor Supreme Court of NSW 6 March 1974. Having gone to the NSW Bar in 1975 he practised as a barrister until 1991 when he was appointed to the trial division of the Family Court of Australia. In 1991 he was appointed to the Appeal Division Family Court of Australia and sat as a Western Plains Judge of the Family Court of Australia between 2009 and 2013 when he returned to practice at Culwulla Chambers. Ian practised at the Sydney Bar in the areas of agriculture, environment, mining, equity, commercial and complex family law property settlement and appeals. He is an arbitrator appointed pursuant to the Family Law Act, a nationally accredited mediator, an accredited mediator under the Farm Debt Mediation Act and on the panel of mediators for the Supreme and District Courts. Other positions he has held are Judge Advocate - Australian Defence Force 1992- 1997 and Commissioner, Australian Law Reform Commission January 1993- December 2003 and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law University of Western Sydney.


Glenn Thompson OAM, Partner, Newnhams Solicitors
Glenn Thompson is an accredited specialist in Family Law who is a Director of the firm Newnhams Solicitors. Glenn has specialised in Family Law for 38 years, is the Chair of the Specialist Accreditation Board in Family Law for NSW, is co-chair of the Family Law Committee of the Law Society of New South Wales, is a fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and is on the Steering Committee of the Greater Sydney Family Law Pathways Network having been in the chair for 12 years. Glenn is also a member of College of Law Family Law Advisory Committee, and is an Adjunct Lecturer, Master of Laws (Applied Law) at the College of Law. Glenn became a qualified Arbitrator with AIFLAM on 31 October 2020 and a qualified Mediator with AIFLAM and NMAS on 30 May 2022. Glenn was a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission Advisory Committee in respect of the March 2019 report ‘Family Law for the Future – An Inquiry into the Family Law System’. Glenn was also a member of the Family Court’s Steering Committee on the Children’s Cases Program, the organising committee for the 14th National Family Law Conference held in Sydney 7-10 October 2014, and of the organising committee for the National Access to Justice and Pro Bono Conference held in Sydney 18-19 June 2015 as well as being a presenter. In 2010 Glenn was awarded the NSW Law Society President’s Medal in recognition of his significant personal and professional contributions to the betterment of law and justice in NSW and was one of three finalists for the Law Society Member of the Year in 2022. On 12 June 2017 Glenn was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to Family Law and the Community. On 6 November 2016 Glenn completed the New York Marathon.


Michael Todd, Barrister, Family Law Chambers
Michael was called to the Bar in 2018 and, since that time, has undertaken extensive work exclusively in the Family Law Jurisdiction, both at first instance and appellate level. He has conducted cases across the broad spectrum of Family Law and regularly appears in the Family Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Full Court of the Family Court, both in New South Wales and interstate. Prior to being called to the bar, Michael was a Director of a preeminent specialist Family Law firm in Sydney and frequently appeared as solicitor advocate. For over 10 years, Michael has practiced exclusively in the area of Family Law, and attained specialist accreditation in Family Law through the Law Society of New South Wales in 2015. Michael has developed a wide practice in Family Law and has substantial experience in all aspects of the jurisdiction; including: • Complex parenting disputes involving issues such as relocation (intrastate, interstate and international); child abduction and recovery; alienation; mental illness; drugs and alcohol; • Complex property disputes between married or de facto partners; • Child support disputes; and • Spouse Maintenance disputes. Michael accepts briefs to appear in the city, suburban and regional Family Law Courts and Federal Circuit Courts.