Strengthen your command of administrative law in this high-level session designed to give you practical, immediately applicable insights from some of the Bar’s leading minds. Be guided through the evidential issues that can make or break your case, equipping you with strategies to confidently manage complex evidential concerns. Take a deep dive into proportionality and legal unreasonableness, helping you better frame arguments and anticipate judicial scrutiny. Gain a clear and authoritative update on recent developments in judicial review, ensuring you stay ahead of evolving case law decisions and judicial trends. You will leave with a stronger, more confident approach.

Presenters

Alexander Flecknoe-Brown, Barrister, 6 St James Hall
Alexander acts in a broad range of commercial and public law disputes with a particular focus on matters in federal jurisdiction. In commercial areas, he has expertise in competition (including access regulation) and consumer law, insurance, employment and discrimination. He has been led in major litigation in all those fields and regularly appears unled in commercial disputes in these areas. In public law, Alexander has appeared in and advised on numerous matters raising constitutional issues, including on several occasions in the High Court, as well as in native title. He is regularly briefed in judicial review proceedings in the Federal Court, the general federal law jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit and Family Court, and the New South Wales Supreme Court.

Dr Simon Blount, Barrister, State Chambers
Simon Blount is a Barrister in NSW practising in Administrative and Commercial Law and Equity. Dr Blount is the author of Electronic Contracts: Principles from the Common Law, published by Lexis Nexis Butterworths in 2009. Simon is a Visiting Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales where he currently teaches contract law.

Julie Zhou, Barrister, Ah Ket Chambers
Julie Zhou joined the Victorian Bar in 2018, practising predominantly in administrative law and employment law. She has acted in unfair dismissal and general protection claims, merits and judicial review cases concerning migration and Commonwealth benefits. Before coming to the Bar, Julie was senior in-house counsel at Monash University where she specialised in public and administrative law, disciplinary proceedings, and discrimination. Julie was also in-house counsel for State and Commonwealth governments in the ACT and in Victoria, predominantly in the areas of merits review, employment law, FOI, privacy and secrecy. Aside from practising in administrative law, Julie also lectured the subject in the Juris Doctor program at RMIT University.


Tim Maybury, Barrister, 6 St James Hall
Tim was called to the bar in 2024. Tim accepts briefs in all areas of law, with particular interests in the areas of public law, criminal law and commercial litigation. Before coming to the bar, Tim practised as a Senior Lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor. At AGS, Tim acted for Commonwealth clients in federal, state and territory courts and tribunals at all levels in matters concerning law enforcement and national security, and in coronial inquests and royal commissions. Tim also maintained a summary prosecution practice, appearing in contested hearings as a solicitor-advocate for clients including the Australian Federal Police, Australian Border Force and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Tim is an experienced commercial litigator, having practised as a Senior Associate with Piper Alderman. At the firm, Tim represented corporate clients in the financial services/fintech, energy and nutrition industries in investigations and proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission as well as a range of commercial arbitration, private international law, contract and consumer protection matters. Tim gained specialist expertise in international trade law practising as a Legal Officer for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. At DFAT, Tim acted for Australia in disputes before the World Trade Organization including India – Measures Concerning Sugar and Sugarcane and China – Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duty Measures on Barley from Australia. In that role, Tim appeared and made oral submissions before a WTO dispute settlement panel and represented Australia in settlement consultations in Geneva. Tim began his career in litigation practising as a Senior Federal Prosecutor (A/g) for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Tim acted in multiple terrorism, drug importation and white collar crime jury trials in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and District Court of New South Wales and regularly appeared for the Crown in bail and sentencing hearings.

Dr Michael Adams, Barrister, 6 St James Hall
Michael accepts briefs nationally in all areas of law. He has particular expertise in public law and statutory construction, regulatory law, criminal law, and public and private international law and the conflict of laws. He also hopes to develop an advice practice at the Bar. Prior to being called to the Bar, Michael was a senior lawyer and Senior General Counsel (A/g) in the Office of General Counsel at the Australian Government Solicitor.  He advised in areas as diverse as the Commonwealth’s involvement in companies; workplace disputes; foreign state immunity; privacy; and migration law. He also advised on reforms to the National Disability Insurance Scheme; tobacco regulation; and the aged care system. For the latter, Michael received a Secretary’s Award for his service to the Commonwealth. Before this, Michael practiced as a government barrister as the Counsel Assisting the Solicitor General and Crown Advocate for NSW. He routinely appeared as junior counsel in judicial review, appellate and constitutional matters, including before the High Court of Australia, and assisted the Crown Advocate in preparing for criminal trials and inquests. He was also for a period an international lawyer at Human Rights Watch in New York City. Michael was the associate to the Hon. Justice Stephen Gageler AC of the High Court of Australia (as the Chief Justice then was) and the Hon. Justice Pamela Tate AM of the Victorian Court of Appeal. He is a co-author of Emergency Powers in Australia (Cambridge University Press, 2018), which has been influential in the reform of emergency powers and cited by the High Court and in the media.