Commercial litigation is evolving rapidly, with new risks, technologies, and legal challenges emerging across every stage of a dispute. This CPD conference brings together leading practitioners to deliver practical insights on fraud allegations, brand protection, directors’ liability, consumer law, contract interpretation, cybersecurity, and the impact of AI in litigation. Whether you're in court, advising clients, or managing risk, this is your opportunity to sharpen your skills, stay compliant, and stay ahead.

Presenters

Bronwyn Lincoln, Partner, Thomsons
Bronwyn acts for national and international clients across commercial litigation and international arbitration. Her clients span the resources, energy, pharmaceuticals, technology, renewables, international trade, building and construction, and insurance sectors. Bronwyn advises on commercial litigation, international and domestic arbitration, conflicts of laws, enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards, and investor-state disputes. She has appeared in most superior courts in Australia and conducted arbitrations under the rules of the SIAC, ICC, UNCITRAL and other leading institutions. She also sits as sole arbitrator and presiding arbitrator. Bronwyn handles high-value cross-border and multi-jurisdictional disputes. Her matters include resources company arbitrations under SIAC rules involving anti-suit injunctions to restrain foreign proceedings, enforcement of ICSID awards involving foreign state immunity, and first-of-kind defences in Australian courts to enforcement of Singapore arbitral awards.

Sally Armitage, Barrister and Mediator, Cedric Hampson Chambers
Sally’s career at the private bar has spanned various diverse practice areas with a focus on construction, mining and infrastructure matters. She has appeared in a variety of jurisdictions and dispute resolution processes including courts, tribunals, arbitrations, expert determination and mediation. Since 2012, Sally has regularly been named in junior counsel category of the Doyle’s Construction & Infrastructure Queensland Barristers List. She is an accredited AMDRAS Mediator.


Temple Saville, Barrister & Mediator, Svenson Barristers
Temple is a commercial barrister and nationally accredited mediator who accepts briefs to advise, appear and mediate. Her practice encompasses commercial litigation, building and construction, insolvency and restructuring, property and retail leasing disputes. She advises and appears in matters involving contractual rights and obligations, joint ventures, debt recovery, Australian Consumer Law claims, interlocutory applications, directors’ duties, insolvent trading, voidable transactions and bankruptcy proceedings. Temple is listed on the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria’s List of External Mediators and has mediated and represented parties in commercial, building, property, insolvency and contractual disputes. Drawing on her experience as both advocate and mediator, she assists parties to pursue practical, commercially sensible resolutions.

Josh Groves, Associate, Thomsons
Josh Groves is an Associate at Thomsons practising in commercial litigation. He joined the firm as a Legal Assistant in 2022 before progressing through its graduate and lawyer programs and being appointed Associate in July 2025. Prior to joining the firm, Josh completed clerkships in dispute resolution at Thomson Geer and technology law at King & Wood Mallesons. Josh holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Swinburne University of Technology. He received the Swinburne Student Achievement Award as the highest achieving student in the 2022 Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Science graduating class and was named to the Dean’s Merit List for International Commercial Law, Equity and Trusts, and Copyright Law.


Sarah Davies, Director, Sarah Davies Legal
Sarah Davies is a director of Sarah Davies Legal Pty Ltd, and specializes in commercial litigation for clients involved in agribusiness, financial services, property development and building & construction matters. She is an accredited specialist in commercial litigation, having received the highest achievement award when she completed her accreditation in 2010. She has experience with disputes involving commercial contracts, property transactions, joint ventures, corporations, trusts and managed investment schemes, public offer documents and issues relating to the provision of financial services. Sarah also chairs the board of a mutual banking institution.


Nola Pearce, Barrister, Chambers 33
Nola is an accomplished commercial barrister with a strong civil practice focused on commercial and contractual disputes, professional negligence, professional regulation, insurance and insolvency matters. Called to the Bar in 2018, she brought with her extensive experience gained at both top-tier and mid-tier commercial law firms, which continues to inform her practical and commercially focused approach to advocacy and dispute resolution. Nola appears, both led and unled, for corporations, insurers, government entities, professional regulators and private clients across a broad range of complex disputes. She has appeared in courts and tribunals throughout Australia, including appellate courts, the Federal Court of Australia and various federal tribunals. Her practice is particularly noted for its focus on professional liability, disciplinary proceedings, insurance disputes and regulatory matters. Alongside her advocacy practice, Nola has contributed extensively to legal ethics and professional standards, including serving on the Queensland Law Society Professional Ethics Committee and lecturing in Legal Ethics for the College of Law. She is recognised in Best Lawyers Australia for Legal Malpractice Litigation, Litigation and Professional Malpractice Litigation.


Kirralee Sanders, Barrister, 13th Floor St James Hall
Kirralee Sanders was called to the Bar in 2013. Kirralee has previously worked with Minter Ellison 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 predominantly in the technology, telecommunication, and defence industries and in respect to multinational outsourcing and technology deals. She was in-house counsel for Cybertrust Asia Pacific and was the lawyer who did the technology contracts for the first PKI-based electronic Australian passport. She is an Advocacy Coach, a member of the NSW Bar Association’s Costs Committee and also the 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 is now a Costs Review Panellist.


Daniel Johnston, Legal Practitioner Director, JHK Legal
Daniel Johnston is a Legal Practitioner Director at JHK Legal with more than 15 years’ experience across a range of large, and boutique commercial law firms. He has extensive expertise in commercial litigation, debt recovery, insolvency, and employment law, having supported clients through a wide variety of complex matters since being admitted to practice. Daniel has acted for a diverse client base, including small to medium enterprises, blue-chip companies, insolvency practitioners (both corporate and personal), bankrupt individuals, directors, shareholders, mercantile agents, creditors, debtors, employees, and employers. More recently, Daniel has been involved in numerous matters before both Federal and State Courts. His experience spans the carriage of matters involving shareholder disputes, intellectual property disputes, Australian Consumer Law disputes, as well as property and contractual disputes while preparing for, and appearing in and instructing counsel at trials in all State and Federal Courts.

Ms Clare Young, Special Counsel
Clare has over 20 years’ experience advising on all aspects of intellectual property law, with a particular focus on litigating and resolving disputes in the entertainment and arts industries. Clare has worked for major international law firms in London, Frankfurt and Sydney, and advised clients across a range of sectors including film & TV, music, book publishing, food and drink, and healthcare. Her litigation experience covers copyright, trade marks, contracts, confidential information, consumer protection and patents at first instance and appellate level in the Federal and Supreme Courts and the Copyright Tribunal. Clare has also advised national and international companies on brand protection and advertising clearance, commercial agreements and the IP aspects of corporate acquisitions. She is also admitted as a barrister and solicitor in the High Court of New Zealand.

Sebastian Tonkin, Senior Associate, Simpsons Solicitors
Seb works closely with Director Adam Simpson and Special Counsel Clare Young in the Dispute Resolution and Intellectual Property teams. He has been a key member of the team on some of Australia’s most high profile recent intellectual property and entertainment industry disputes. He advises and has day-to-day care of a range of clients in both litigious and non-litigious matters regarding intellectual property, contract, defamation, confidential information and administrative law. Prior to joining Simpsons, Seb worked in the intellectual property team of a national law firm and as associate to a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

Greg Smart, Partner, Wallace & Wallace Lawyers
Greg Smart is a Partner at Wallace & Wallace Lawyers and a Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation. He has more than 21 years’ experience acting in matters ranging from debt recovery to complex, high stakes commercial disputes, and has appeared in hundreds of matters as both a solicitor and barrister. Greg has particular expertise in litigation and dispute resolution, insolvency, restructuring and matters involving individuals and businesses facing financial distress. He is Chair of the Queensland Law Society’s Commercial Litigation Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee and a professional member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association. Greg received the Queensland Law Society Commercial Litigation Specialist Accreditation Highest Achiever Award in 2012.