Presenters

Charles Fortin, Managing Director, Collard Maxwell Architects
Charles graduated architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, a Chicago institution known for its Bauhaus philosophy and expertise in high-rise design and construction. He is the Managing Director and owner of Collard Maxwell Architects, a practice which has been in business since 1947. His focus is on the design and delivery of complex projects of all types, including: Mixed-Use Residential, Data Centers, Education, and Lifestyle Retirement projects. As the Nominated Executive Architect for CM+A, Charles has reviewed and improved hundreds of designs for builders and developers. He has also, as a result, developed a keen eye for value management opportunities and for identifying design risks and challenges.

Catherine Morton, Partner, Property, Environment & Finance, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Catherine is a solicitor and a registered architect with a range of experience across both professions. She has been employed as a planning law solicitor since 2005, providing clients with an in-depth perspective on the statutory planning framework and its relationship with architecture. Catherine's unique combination of skills in law and architecture enables her to provide practical advice from a range of viewpoints. Her experience helps her to manage clients' expectations and deliver timely and effective results. Catherine provides regular advice to council and private clients on various aspects of planning law.   She has been involved in extensive litigation the Supreme Court and the Land and Environment Court, typically involving judicial review, easements proceedings, contempt proceedings and merits appeals from the actual or deemed refusal of development applications.  Catherine has also represented a local council in Code of Conduct proceedings, which were taken to the High Court and has appeared for clients in various local courts and in NCAT. Catherine is an experienced mediator and has been able to regularly negotiate favourable outcomes for clients, often through conciliation.

Nick Ferguson, Special Counsel, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Nick is an experienced environment and planning lawyer. He specialises in environmental and planning litigation, advising on development and approval strategies, compliance with environmental law and mining and resources legislation, remediation of contaminated land, and biodiversity and offsetting obligations. Nick has a deep understanding of compulsory land acquisition law and compensation and advises a variety of government and private clients on complex compulsory acquisition claims, and strategies to acquire land. Nick also has experience drafting and advising on commercial agreements in the mining sector, including agreements for land access, compulsory acquisition and third party interface deeds. His compensation expertise also includes compensation for subsidence caused by mining.