A must attend if you work in the agribusiness space or have rural clients. Address the current and urgent legal challenges faced by your rural, regional and remote clients to fully service their needs whether that be in relation to wealth management or resource management. Navigate the wealth conservation issues within the rural family plus the concerns of risk management and dealing with farming family disputes. Be guided by some of Australia's best in relation to rural land access issues for renewable energy, mining and gas projects, gain tips and traps for negotiating renewable energy project agreements and examine the key issues in wind farm rural leases.

Presenters

Georgiena Ryan, Principal Lawyer, Regional Business Lawyers
Principal Georgiena Ryan has experience acting as solicitor to family and farming businesses, initially in her home state of Queensland where she grew up and later in the New South Wales Riverina and Central West NSW. Georgiena has unique commercial and corporate experience having held in-house legal roles with a specialist international rural and agribusiness bank, and with a leading global agricultural asset manager, responsible for a significant irrigation and dryland farming portfolio across Australia. Georgiena is the only female Accredited Specialist in Business Law located in rural NSW and has a Masters in Commercial Law from the University of Melbourne. Georgiena has special expertise in water law and irrigation and has been involved in some of the largest agribusiness transactions in Australia. Georgiena lives in the south west slopes of NSW on her husband’s family farm. She is supported by the following team members who all live regionally in NSW.


Leona Bennett, Managing Partner, Southern Waters Legal
Leona is the Head of Family Law at Southern Waters Legal and an Accredited Specialist and trained Family Law Collaborative Solicitor. With nearly 25 years of experience practising as a Family Law Solicitor in the Sutherland Shire, she is deeply committed to guiding clients through the complexities of separation and family law matters. Leona's dedication to the field extends beyond practice—she has also contributed to legal education, teaching Family Law at the University of Wollongong in 2010 and 2011. Leona is passionate about this area of practice and understands that separation is one of the most challenging experiences a person can face and believes that the right legal support can make a meaningful difference. By attentively listening to her clients and understanding both their emotional and financial needs, she applies her expertise in the ever-evolving legal landscape to provide tailored solutions. Leona prioritises negotiation and mediation to resolve disputes efficiently, recognising the importance of minimising conflict wherever possible. However, when litigation is necessary, she advocates strongly for her client’s best interests. She approaches every case with professionalism, empathy, and respect, ensuring that each client is seen as an individual—not just a legal matter or a file.


Michael Perkins, Special Counsel, Southern Waters Legal
Michael is a lawyer, author, and educator with four decades of experience in trusts, estates, and private client practice. Michael is co-author of the book “Estate Planning: A Practical Guide for Estate and Financial Services Professionals”, published by LexisNexis, Co-author of the “Estate Planning – Core Principles and Practice” chapter contribution to Financial Planning in Australia (10th edition), by Sharon Taylor & Anor (Lexis Nexis). Supported Decision Making is important to Michael as a method of client care in professional practice and dealing with the orderly management of a person’s interest as they age. Michael has worked collaboratively with Dr Jane Lonie to evolve processes and practices that help professionals deal with clients with impaired decision-making ability or a suspicion of decision-making impairment. Michael holds the MICW designation from the Institute for Collaborative Working and is active in the operations of the Institute in Australia. In addition, he is a Trust and Estates Practitioner (TEP) member of the international Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (“STEP”), Founder and member of Academic Community of STEP.


Joel Whale, Special Counsel, Hamilton Locke
Joel specialises in estate litigation and disputes related to Wills, trusts and probate, and acts for a range of interested parties. He also advises on all aspects of estate administration and succession planning. His expertise includes assisting high net worth individuals, families and their businesses in asset protection, wealth transfer, trust structuring and administration, restructuring family group holdings, and managing potential disputes. Joel is committed to providing commercial and strategic advice to clients, which is considerate of their needs. He takes an empathetic and practical approach, focusing on finding solutions to his client’s particular circumstances. Joel draws on over 14 years of experience advising on complex wealth management matters, trust disputes and claims in equity, including at Norton Rose Fulbright and Blake Dawson. Prior to joining Hamilton Locke, Joel worked in the Private Clients team at Hall & Wilcox.


Phillip Brunner, Director, Bailiwick Legal
With qualifications in both Business and Law, Phil uses his 30 + years of industry experience to advise clients across all fields of commercial operations including tourism, commercial law, and workplace relations. Recognised repeatedly as a “Leading Agribusiness Lawyer” by Doyle’s Guide, Phil is also a specialist in Agribusiness, assisting clients with negotiation of access and compensation agreements, machinery disputes, contracts and trading, farm sales & leasing, farming succession and litigation matters. Having worked in both national and local law firms, Phil has appeared before Fair Work Australia, the Federal Court, and the State Courts. Phil is a member of the Law Society of Western Australia and a Director of the Prostate and Breast Cancer Foundation.


Michael Cripps, Senior Consultant, Greenstone Legal


Melanie Findlay, Managing Partner, Rees R & Sydney Jones
Melanie is Rees Jones’ Managing Partner and the head of Energy Environment and Agriculture division of the firm. She began her career as a lawyer at Rees R & Sydney Jones in 2006, became a Partner of the firm in 2010, and in 2020 became the first female Managing Partner of the Firm. Melanie takes great pride in representing the hardworking and resilient landowners in the Central Queensland region. She is the current Chair of the QLS Energy and Resources Policy Committee and she is a member of the QLS Water and Agriculture Policy Committee. Melanie has a particular interest in environmental markets. She is also passionate about contributing to the local community through fundraising efforts for drought-affected rural families and a Director of the Fitzroy Basin Association.