Presenters

Paul Watkins, General Counsel, Stewart Title
Paul Watkins is responsible for the management and direction of the Underwriting and Legal Departments, including commercial and residential policy development, regulatory compliance, claims and underwriting supervision and general corporate legal matters. He strives to maintain a strong, experienced and responsive underwriting team that has a deep knowledge of title insurance, as well as local markets and regulations. His claims team is committed to resolving inquiries in a timely, professional and ethical manner. Prior to joining Stewart in 2004, Paul was in private practice, in both small and medium sized law firms, where he gained considerable experience in general insurance, residential and commercial conveyancing, commercial property development, leasing and general property practice. He has been a contributor to a number of Australia legal industry publications discussing the benefits of title insurance. Paul regularly presents to lawyers, conveyancers and lenders on a variety of real estate related issues, including title insurance, title claims and real estate fraud. In 2019, he was named a finalist for "Insurance Lawyer of the Year" at the Lawyers Weekly Corporate Counsel Awards.


Diane Skapinker, Principal, Skapinker Law
Diane works on her own account as a principal of Skapinker Law as well as consulting to the Ashurst real estate group where she specialises in property developments, strata and community titling, acquisitions, disposals, leasing and the property aspects of telecommunications and infrastructure projects. Diane was formerly an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Sydney lecturing in Real Property, Conveyancing and Equity and is a member of the NSW Law Society’s Property Law Committee and its subcommittee responsible for drafting the NSW standard form contract for the sale and purchase of land. Diane is recognised as a real estate lawyer by Chambers Asia-Pacific, Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers Australia.