Tuesday, 24 March 2026
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is based on SA legislation
Family Law Update
The landmark decision of Pickford & Pickford [2024] FedCFamC1A 249 reshaped the legal landscape of coercive control, with three distinct judicial approaches from McClelland DCJ; Aldridge and Carew JJ; and Austin and Williams JJ.
Through practical discussion and case analysis, we will consider:
- What constitutes family violence that coerces or controls
- How context transforms conduct into coercion
- When isolated acts without a clear pattern can still amount to coercive or controlling behaviour
- What sort of evidence should you be looking for, and how to put that forward to the court
- How to best support your clients through the process, and understand what is helpful for the court to know, and what is not
Join us to deepen your understanding of this evolving area of law and learn how to identify, evidence and argue coercive control in practice.
Presented by Rose Cocchiaro, Founding Partner and Ella Cameron, Senior Solicitor, Resolve Divorce
Chair
Michelle Hamlyn, Barrister, Murray Chambers
Presenters
Michelle Hamlyn, Barrister Murray ChambersMichelle has a broad civil and commercial practice and accepts briefs to advise and appear in all Australian jurisdictions, including as counsel in alternative dispute resolution processes. She has particular specialist experience practising in the areas of defamation and media law. Other significant areas of practice include contract, property, consumer law, corporations law, intellectual property, administrative law, common law negligence, estates and equity. Prior to joining the independent bar, Michelle enjoyed a broad and varied commercial practice within the Commercial Dispute Resolution team at a top tier national firm for over a decade. During that time, she also gained experience on secondment in-house with ABC Legal.
Rose Cocchiaro, Founding Partner, Resolve Divorce
Rose Cocchiaro is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law, a Certified Divorce Coach and the Founder and Managing Partner of Resolve Divorce. Rose is a true innovator and passionate driving force behind Resolve Divorce and an acknowledged thought leader in the family law space. Resolve Divorce is South Australia's largest specialist family law firm with the highest concentration of Accredited Specialists in the state, many of whom are also qualified Divorce Coaches. Their aim is to improve the way people in our community experience divorce and support clients to restructure their families in a way that achieves strategic legal and emotional outcomes that positively influence their lives. Rose believes in supporting the community to demand more from their legal experience during divorce. She is determined to disrupt the legal industry to promote social change. As a multi-award finalist in many prestigious awards categories including winner of the 2019 Thought Leader of the year at the national law awards. In addition, we were named Australia's Boutique Law Firm of the Year for 2023. Named as a leading Family Law firm in Doyle's guide every year running. Rose has established herself as an industry leader through her innovative, non-traditionalist, and customer centric approach to the practice of family law.
Ella Cameron, Senior Solicitor, Resolve Divorce
Ella emanates our values at Resolve. In part because she is a strong communicator, being able to communicate honestly and openly with maximum influence on clients and the profession. Also, because she is passionate about our cause, kind, empathetic and comfortable being a disruptor in the family law space.
