Stay at the forefront of personal injury law with an examination of new legislation, expert insights on the latest case developments, evolving liability frameworks and practical professional skills. You will gain expert critical updates on the new disease provision sunder the Workers Compensation Act. Secure essential understanding, tips traps and strategies in public liability, concurrent liability and contributory negligence. Share in the experience of seasoned practitioners who will provide guidance on ethics, practice management and mediation. Gain actionable strategies, the latest legal updates and practical tools to manage risk and achieve better client outcomes.

Presenters

Dr Tim Channon, Consultant, Barry Nilsson Lawyers
Tim is a Consultant at Barry.Nilsson. with over 35 years’ experience specialising in litigating numerous insurance and general commercial disputes, including property damage and product liability, indemnity and recovery matters, arson and fraud. Tim has advised insurers on claims relating to cheque fraud and mortgage insurance across the entire sector from the construction, manufacturing and mining industries to the small business sector and householders. He has drafted household, motor vehicle, medical indemnity and lenders mortgage insurance policies for several insurers and acted in many complex commercial disputes, such as contractual, building and trade practices disputes.

Damien Toohey, Barrister/Mediator, 2 Selborne Chambers
Damien was called to the Bar in 2019 and became a qualified mediator in 2022. He focuses his practice in Criminal defence, Estate matters encompassing Family Provision and contested Wills, Family Law and Workers Compensation claims. Damien has a particular interest in Aviation Law, specifically in responding to Show Cause Notices, conferences with CASA, attending reviews in the AAT, and for the more serious matters, appearing in Coronial Inquests. Damien’s passion for Aviation Law stemmed from his career as an international pilot with Qantas where he ultimately operated the Airbus A380. Recently, he has re-qualified as an airline pilot and is trained, once again, on the A380. Damien’s legal background is in Personal Injury litigation, comprising over 10 years in Workers Compensation, Motor Vehicle and Medical Negligence for both parties. In 2022, Damien became a qualified mediator with Resolution Institute of Australia. He is available to accept briefs to act as a private mediator in Aviation disputes, Commercial disputes, Personal Injury ‘shuttle style’ mediation, and Estate mediation. Damien brings a conciliatory approach to his practice as a Barrister and as a Mediator, with an emphasis on justice between parties. His established mediation practice can be found at https://www.respectmediation.com.au/

David Miller, Partner, Colin Biggers & Paisley
David Miller is a Partner in the Disputes & Investigations team at Colin Biggers & Paisley. Widely experienced in asbestos-related matters, David has spoken on indemnity and claims management issues to audiences in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. David's practice also extends to corporate governance and risk management (including regulator actions involving the ACCC and various WorkCover authorities), Australian Consumer Law issues, defamation, and commercial disputes. David is listed as a leading insurance and product liability lawyer by Best Lawyers in Australia. Doyles Guide lists him as a preeminent/leafing lawyer in dust diseases claims. David sits on the Professional Conduct Committee and Disclosure Committees of the Law Society of NSW and has chaired the Society's Ethics Committee since 2022.

Roshana May, Consultant, Roshana May
Roshana has over 30 years’ experience as lawyer, partner, practice group leader and legal profession spokesperson in personal injury law with a particular focus on statutory compensation schemes. She is considered by her peers as a subject matter expert in workers compensation law and practice. She has been involved in workers compensation policy formulation and representation for the legal profession for many years. Immediately before she took up her current role she was the ALA spokesperson in the NSW CTP reform process and ALA representative on the Ministerial Implementation Committee formed for the ‘new CTP scheme’. In her current role as Director of the Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service at the Workers Compensation Independent Review Office Roshana oversees funding of independent lawyers for injured workers in the workers compensation scheme. She is in a unique position with access to significant data which enables the Independent Review Officer to identify systemic issues with the scheme and trends and patterns in legal practice. Roshana is a member of the Injury Compensation Committee and Specialist Accreditation Committee of the Law Society of NSW.

Dennis Epstein, Barrister, 2 Selbourne Chambers
Dennis Epstein is a Barrister at 2nd Floor, Selborne Chambers, Sydney. Dennis has been practicing in the personal injury field for over 30 years. He initially practised as a Solicitor for over 13 years including 7 years at GIO. He was admitted as a Barrister in 1995 and since that time has practice exclusively in the personal injury field, especially in workers' compensation, CTP and public liability claims. He was also appointed for several years as both a District Court and Local Court Arbitrator and has undergone mediation accreditation training.

Colin Purdy, Barrister, Coram Chambers
Colin has a long background in insurance law, firstly as a solicitor and, more recently, at the NSW Bar. Life insurance is a key area of his practice, particularly Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) and Income Protection claims. TPD has been a growth area in recent years and he has appeared in many of the reported first instance and appellate decisions, eg Chapman v United Super, Erzurumlu v Kellogg, Hannover Life v Dargan, Maund v FSS Trustee and Hellessey v MetLife (trial and appeal). Colin also practises extensively in personal injury and common law as well as building and construction and commercial litigation.

Richard Royle, Barrister, Sir Owen Dixon Chambers
Richard Royle is a Barrister at Sir Owen Dixon Chambers. He specialises in common law with a particular interest in motor vehicle law, medical negligence, public liability, sexual assault and travel law. He is engaged in numerous catastrophic and other cases, and represents Australian residents injured in Australia and overseas. Richard was originally admitted to practice in the UK, but has been based in NSW for 25 years. He is a former NSW State President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance (the largest national lawyers group in Australia) and current committee member of the ALA and the Personal Injuries Common Law Committee of the NSW Bar Association. Richard regularly gives papers at legal seminars and conferences in personal injury related subjects. He is admitted to practice in England, Wales, most States of Australia and Western Samoa. He has chambers both in Sydney and London.

Sue Chennell, Director, Shared Safety and Risk
Sue Chennell started professional life as a Physiotherapist and quickly moved into working with elite sports teams and professional athletes where maximising individual and team performance was always the goal. When sore thumbs drew her into injury prevention and ergonomics, Sue quickly saw that the workplace was not dissimilar to the sports field. Creating healthy and safe workspaces and people not only amplify human potential but also that of teams and organisations more broadly. Fast forward 17 years in the health and safety industry and as Director of the bespoke consultancy Shared Safety and Risk, Sue’s passions still lie in people. Observing, collaborating with and coaching individuals, teams and her clients to solve problems and integrate health and safety management into the day to day. Sue’s other passions are the ocean, the environment, taking the odd (calculated) risk and adventuring with her young family. As a skilled people manager, Sue has built an experienced, mature yet dynamic team of associate WHS consultants committed to Shared Safety Risk’s collaborative approach.