Tuesday, 3 March 2026
Chair
Janine Lapworth, Independent Legal Consultant
Professional Skills
What Every Practitioner Needs to Know About Criminal Law Practice and Procedure
You’re not a criminal lawyer, but your client might suddenly have a criminal law problem. They may say: “Police came to my house,” “They asked me to go to the station for a ‘chat’,” “I’ve been charged,” “I’m on bail or in custody,” “What happens now?” or “I’m stressed, I need your help.”
This Professional Skills session provides a practical, strategy-based toolkit for non-criminal practitioners on how to respond when clients first raise criminal law issues. Learn:
- How to respond effectively (and what not to say or do) when a client first approaches you
- Strategies for deciding whether and how to engage with police early on
- How to identify red flags in pre-charge situations
- How to support clients through early bail considerations
- Client management strategies for handling stress, communication, and expectations
- Understanding the key steps in police, local court and early procedural processes
Walk away with practical confidence on how to protect your client, and yourself, when criminal law problems arise in your practice area.
Presented by Kim Hunter, Criminal Defence, Hunter Flood Lawyers
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Professional Skills
This program is based on NSW legislation
Presenters
Janine Lapworth, Senior Consultant, Simpsons SolicitorsJanine Lapworth is a Senior Consultant with extensive experience in corporate, commercial, intellectual property, and entertainment law. She has worked at national and international law firms, as well as in senior in-house legal positions at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ESPN Star Sports. Janine advises a diverse range of clients, including international studios, industry groups, tech start-ups, and creative businesses, focusing on areas such as television production, distribution, publishing, and general IP contracting.
Kim Hunter, Criminal Defence Lawyer, Hunter Flood Lawyers
Kim Hunter is a criminal defence and immigration lawyer as well as an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law from Hunter Flood Lawyers in Sydney. Kim has a law degree, 3 first places in law exams (Criminal law, evidence & succession), second place in Constitutional Law and 2 Butterworths Law prizes. Kim has always had her own private law practice and since becoming an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law now only practices in criminal defence and complex immigration matters. Kim has formerly lectured in post graduate law at Australian National University and regularly lectures for the Law Society of NSW, Legal Aid and various other professional bodies and organisations including the MIA and Law Council of Australia. Kim is on an expert panel for a research project led by Prof Alison Gerard and funded by the Australian Research Council, being undertaken by leading Professors from Charles Sturt, Flinders and Monash universities in Australia and Oxford University in the UK on the topic of ‘Crimmigration’ – the intersection of criminal and immigration laws in Australia.
