Master the future of contract law and navigate the intersection of technology and contract law, along with the essential need for contracts to manage risk. Join leading legal minds for a deep dive into the changing world of contracts in the digital age. Explore how cybersecurity, privacy, and AI are reshaping drafting practices, tackle the complexities of smart contracts, and gain practical insights into risk clauses, liability limitations, and insolvency protections. Unpack unfair contract terms enforcement since its introduction. Gain strategies for managing contract disputes and litigation from the experts—including using dispute resolution as an offensive strategy and negotiating contract disputes.

Presenters

Angus Macinnis, Director, Stevens Vuaran Lawyers
Angus Macinnis is Director of Dispute Resolution at StevensVuaran Lawyers, a boutique commercial law firm in Sydney. Alongside his commercial dispute resolution practice, he has taught international sale of goods law at the University of Technology, Sydney, The University of Notre Dame Australia, and presently in the Thomas More Law School at the Australian Catholic University, where he holds the role of Legal Professional Mentor. He has also been invited to present lectures on the CISG for the international law practice course conducted by the International Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and is a former co-chair of the Section’s International Trade and Business Law Committee.

David Hughes SC, 7 Wentworth Selborne Chambers
David Hughes is a commercial barrister practising at 7 Selbourne Chambers in Sydney, and is a co-author with Sir Kim Lewison of The Interpretation of Contracts in Australia. He is a former research director to the Chief Justice of New South Wales, and holds the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar.

Caitlin Whale, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Caitlin Whale is a Partner in the IPTech team at Baker McKenzie. She advises on technology, data issues, cybersecurity, privacy, procurement and telecommunications issues. Her practice focusses on complex commercial transactions, particularly those which involve technology, data or cybersecurity issues. Caitlin has practised as a technology and intellectual property lawyer in both Sydney and London for over 17 years.

Josephine Brook, Special Counsel, Pinsent Mason

Owen Hayford, Principal, Infralegal
Owen has over 25 years experience advising on contracts, with a focus on infrastructure projects. Owen commenced his legal career at Clayton Utz, where he became a senior partner. He also led the infrastructure teams at PwC Legal and DLA Piper before graduating from the Big Firm model to establish Infralegal. Infralegal’s business model allows Owen to specialise in providing strategic legal and commercial advice without the overheads and constraints associated with the BigLaw business model. Owen has drafted and negotiated more clauses that limit or exclude liability than he cares to remember. He brings technical understanding to this topic, seasoned with commerciality.

Sam Bagnall, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons

Paul Menzies KC, Mediator/Arbitrator , Eight Wentworth Chambers
After 5 years practising as a Solicitor in Sydney and London, Paul Menzies was called to the Bar in Sydney in 1973. He took Silk in 1988 and currently practices from 8 Wentworth Chambers in Sydney, Southern Highlands Chambers in rural New South Wales, with Devers List in Melbourne and in Singapore. Paul is a graduate in Arts & Law from the University of Sydney. He is a member of Institute of Company Directors, a member of the CIArb, and ACICA and a practitioner of the American International Commercial Court and the Dubai IFC Court and is admitted to practice in the Singapore International Commercial Court. Paul has an extensive practice as a Mediator and accepts appointments as arbitrator or counsel in commercial arbitration, nationally and internationally . Paul appears as an advocate at both trial and appellate level in commercial law, particularly insurance, guarantee, unconscionable conduct and mortgagor/ mortgagee, breach of confidence, restrictive trade practices, and employment law issues, Administrative & Constitutional Law. He is a co-author of the Chapter on Guarantees in Laws of Australia (Lexis Nexus). Paul has extensive experience, mainly representing the state (particularly Police and Corrective Services as defendant, but also for Plaintiffs in negligence and intentional tort claims. For virtually the whole of his professional life at the Bar, Paul has appeared for Governments in a broad gamut of areas extending through most aspects of administrative law (including workplace relations), constitutional law, contract and common law generally. As a result of his relationship with Government, Paul has gained considerable insight into the workings of the executive Government and the Public Service and is sensitive to the nuanced approach which needs to be taken when either appearing for or against Government. He has appeared in most administrative and quasi-judicial tribunals including the State Industrial Relations Commission, the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and its successors, Administrative Decisions Tribunals, and professional disciplinary bodies. He has appeared on behalf of institutions or persons, either the subject of the enquires or witnesses and as Counsel Assisting in a broad range of inquiries, significant Coronial Inquests and Royal Commissions.

Andrew Horne, Barrister, 6 St James Hall Chambers
Andrew was called to the New South Wales bar in 2023. Andrew is also admitted as an attorney in New York and a solicitor in England & Wales and Scotland. He graduated first in his class from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland (LL.B. (Hons. 1st Class)) and holds a LL.M. from Harvard Law School where he was a John F. Kennedy Memorial Scholar (the UK equivalent of a Rhodes Scholar). Andrew has a particular interest in technology, data security and privacy, accounting, and cross‑border litigation. His cross-border matters include disputes arising in Australia, England & Wales, the European Union, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Argentina, and Germany. Prior to relocating to Australia, Andrew practiced for fifteen years in the litigation department Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He was elected to partnership in 2007, becoming one of the firm’s youngest partners where he handled a wide variety of trial and appellate matters including commercial contract disputes, financial services litigations and investigations, class actions, and insolvency proceedings. His clients included numerous Fortune 500 companies such as Morgan Stanley, Verizon, AOL, and News Corp. He also had an active pro bono practice, including representing a Texas death row inmate in his post-conviction litigation, for which he was individually awarded a Thurgood Marshall Award for Death Penalty Representation by the New York Bar Association. In addition to his practice, Andrew has a keen interest in teaching. He taught trial advocacy for ten years while at Kirkland and was previously an instructor and examiner in tort and international private law at the University of Strathclyde. He has published articles on medical ethics and tort and given presentations on international competition law, securities litigation, electronic discovery, and death penalty representation. Between 2006 and 2007, Andrew was the American Bar Association’s International Civil Litigation Sub-Committee Chair.

Adrian Lawrence, Partner, Baker McKenzie
Adrian Lawrence is the Co-Head of Baker McKenzie's Global FinTech Initiative and also leads Baker McKenzie's Technology Media and Telecommunications Group in the APAC region. Adrian regularly advises clients across the sector, from established technology companies, to financial services institutions and early stage disruptors. He advises on a range of issues relevant to the FinTech space, including on privacy and data utilisation, regulatory compliance, commercial partnerships and product creation and distribution. Adrian also regularly assists large international clients with their requirements for entry into a range of APAC markets. He is a regular speaker on technology, privacy and digital media issues including as a lecturer in the postgraduate program at the University of New South Wales.


Trevor Withane, Partner, Ironbridge Legal
Trevor is a highly regarded lawyer you want on your side. He is the founder and principal of Ironbridge Legal and is a specialist commercial litigator and insolvency lawyer with deep experience in his areas of practice. Prior to founding Ironbridge Legal, Trevor was a partner of a successful Sydney based boutique law firm. Clients have described Trevor as extremely insightful, friendly, practical and pragmatic. Trevor founded Ironbridge Legal to provide in-depth specialist and conflict free advice in the disputes space – starting a law firm with true specialism in just two key areas: Commercial Litigation and Insolvency and Bankruptcy. Trevor started his legal career at global top three firm, Allen & Overy LLP, where he trained and spent several years advising a multitude of corporates and high-net-worth individuals in connection with complex disputes and regulatory matters often straddling more than one jurisdiction. Before moving to Australia from the UK for family reasons, Trevor was a barrister in London, acting for corporates and high-net-worth individuals in complex commercial litigation and insolvency matters in the High Court. This experience, coupled with Trevor’s accountancy studies and his earlier practice as an accountant, gives him a rare depth and breadth of experience to apply to his clients’ matters.

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 specialisation 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 practised 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.

Peter Yeldham, Partner, King & Wood Mallesons
Peter is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution group in the Sydney office of King & Wood Mallesons. Peter has a broad practice with expertise in insurance advice and disputes, commercial real estate disputes, and general commercial litigation (including contractual disputes, and disputes between joint venture partners). In his insurance practice, Peter provides policy response advice and claims management support (including litigation, if required) in respect of Professional Indemnity, Directors & Officers (or Management Liability), Statutory Liability, W&I, cyber, Contract Works insurance, Property Damage, Public Liability, Industrial Special Risks and Trade Credit policies. The bulk of Peter's experience has been in the professional indemnity space, often advising other professional services firms and financial institutions. Peter is regularly called upon by the banking and finance, mergers & acquisitions and real estate practice teams to provide bespoke advice and views on insurance obligations in significant contracts and transactions. Peter has deep experience in commercial real estate disputes, including in respect of the termination of leases. In his general commercial litigation practice, Peter has acted for a number of clients in the private equity, banking, real estate, resources, healthcare, food and agriculture and resources sectors. Peter advises clients on engagement with regulators (including ASIC, FIRB and the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (NSW).