Presenters

Paul Lewis, Senior Legal Counsel, Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers
Paul Lewis is a Senior Legal Counsel and one of Sydney’s most senior and well-respected Family Law specialists. Based at our Sydney and Parramatta offices, Paul acts for clients that live locally, in the regions and overseas. After attending Sydney University and becoming a solicitor in 1990, Paul was mentored by one of Sydney’s leading family lawyers (the late John Pollard) before becoming an Accredited Specialist in Family Law in 1999. Paul has been a practising mediator since 1994. He became an Accredited Specialist in Dispute Resolution in 2018, awarded on an honorary basis for his services to that area of the NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Scheme. Guiding clients through the uncertainty and stress of their changed family circumstances and helping them arrive at a new turning point in their lives is Paul’s reason for choosing family law as his specialist area. Paul was one of the first lawyers in Australia to be trained in Collaborative Law in 2005, and he includes the use of collaborative processes among the various “process choices” that are available to clients. Paul settles the vast majority of his cases (parenting and financial matters) and is known as a firm and pragmatic negotiator. He is a determined and wise litigator for those cases that require a decision by a Judge.

Dr Susan Bennett, Principal, Sibenco Legal & Advisory
Susan is a corporate governance and privacy lawyer who works with Boards, senior executives and cross-functional multi-disciplinary teams on governance and data-driven technology transformation projects to minimise risks, comply with regulatory requirements and deliver on organisational objectives. Recognised for her global thought leadership in information governance, Susan brings deep corporate expertise to enable robust governance to be implemented to safely achieve the benefits derived from new technologies while simultaneously reducing risks through integrated and holistic governance in response to the growing legal and regulatory compliance challenges. These include privacy, cybersecurity, AML and emerging AI and ESG regulations, which require that technology systems be properly integrated and monitored, and that data is accurate and reliable for internal decision-making and external reporting, and that it is adequately protected and disposed of when no longer needed. Susan’s PhD thesis is on Privacy and Data Protection: the interaction of meta-regulation and information governance. Susan’s articles and publications are available on the Sibenco and InfoGovANZ websites – www.sibenco.com and www.infogovanz.com.