Join the Hon. Judith Gibson, Dauid Sibtain SC, Theo Dorizac, and Ray Sun as they converge to explore the intricate world of Media Law. From media in the courtroom and a contemporary look at defamation, to privacy law reform and an exclusive look at the challenges AI brings from the perspective of a dual lawyer and AI Developer, we've got you covered. Examine the regulatory landscape and gain critical knowledge that traverses the entire media landscape, all in just one day. 2311N25

Presenters

Ms Julie Chandra, Principal Lawyer,
Julie Chandra has been a Principal Lawyer at the Australian, Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) since late 2009. Julie advises her internal clients on all aspects relating to the regulation of broadcasting, the internet, and telecommunications. As a government lawyer, Julie advises on areas such as administrative law, judicial review, and statutory interpretation, particularly in relation to the Broadcasting Services Act, the Telecommunications Act and all related subordinate legislation, standards, and codes. She regularly provides advice in relation to investigations into alleged breaches of broadcasting and telecommunications regulation and manages Federal Court litigation on behalf of the regulator by and against industry participants. Prior to joining the ACMA, Julie worked for 12 years as a private practice lawyer in a number of top tier commercial law firms. She specialised in intellectual property and trade practices law with a focus on telecommunications, having spent a number of years on secondment as in-house counsel at Vodafone.


Mr. Robert Todd, Partner,
Robert Todd has been consistently recognised as a Leading Individual in media law by Chambers Global, 2011, Euromoney's Guide to the World's Leading Media Lawyers, 2010 and Best Lawyers Australia, 2010. He is a recognised defamation, media and IT disputes lawyer. Robert is an accredited mediator. His practice is also focused on advising clients on information technology, e-commerce and commercial disputes. Robert advises a major national newspaper publisher, several national broadcasters, an international search engine provider and international IT suppliers. He has acted for the combined media on law reform and proposed legislation.


Mr. Nicholas Perkins, Senior Associate,
Nick Perkins is a senior associate in our technology, media and telecommunications practice. Nick has acted for clients in a range of defamation litigation matters and regularly advises clients in relation to pre-publication and other media regulatory issues. He also acts for clients in a variety of intellectual property and contractual disputes and has experience advising on marketing and consumer law issues. Nick has worked on a broad range of commercial matters in the media, technology and telecommunications sectors. His experience includes working on a range of content licensing arrangements across various media platforms, drafting IT customer agreements and advising on telecommunications contracts.


Nicholas Olson, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Nicholas is one of Sydney’s leading junior counsel in defamation and media law, having appeared in a number of the most high profile defamation cases since being called to the Bar. He acts for both plaintiffs and defendants and is often unled, including against Senior Counsel. His practice is national and he has appeared in defamation matters in the Queensland and Western Australian courts, as well as the New South Wales and Federal courts. Nicholas is lectured in Media Law: Defamation and Privacy at the University of Sydney. In addition to media law, Nicholas maintains a broad commercial practice with a particular interest in privacy and breach of confidence, insurance and intellectual property matters.


Raymond Sun, Solicitor, Herbert Smith Freehills
Raymond is a technology lawyer and programmer. He specialises in emerging technologies where he combines his strong technical IT skills with legal knowledge to deliver excellent client experience, especially on technically-complex matters. As an AI developer himself, Raymond is one of the firm’s resident experts on artificial intelligence. Raymond specialises in technology, emerging technology (A.I. and Digital Assets), privacy law and intellectual property. As a skilled developer, Raymond regularly assists on matters which require deep understanding of technical systems and processes. With experience in building artificial intelligence and web3 applications, Raymond advises clients on legal and ethical issues in relation to projects involving artificial intelligence, blockchain (including cryptocurrencies, NFTs and DAOs) and data. Raymond also regularly works with a wide range of clients (both small and large) on digital transformation projects, IT & telecommunication contracts, software licences, privacy and online safety regulation, gambling regulations and export controls.


Mr. Theo Dorizac, General Counsel, SBS, Winner
Theo Dorizac is General Counsel of SBS, leading the award-winning Legal Division, which encompasses key legal and operational capabilities including prepublication, commercial, employment, technology and dispute resolution; rights and music licensing, archives, document management, retention and governance. Theo joined SBS in 2014 and has extensive experience collaborating with and advising media executives, producers and journalists, and contributes to SBS strategy as a member of the SBS Executive team. Prior to joining SBS, Theo worked at Nine, Channel 4 in the UK and started his career as a solicitor in private practice in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Theo has advised on a number of high profile factual, documentary and entertainment projects including: Struggle Street, Filthy Rich & Homeless; Asking For It (SBS); Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, 24 Hours in A&E; Big Brother; (Channel 4) and complex news and current affairs matters including Dateline (SBS) and undercover investigations. Theo has been involved in defending broadcasters and media in high profile defamation and regulatory matters and has presented seminars to industry on media law, advertising, ethics and investigative journalism, and sports law at the University of Melbourne. Theo is a Board member of the Antenna Documentary Film Institute and Festival.


Sarah Waladan, Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs, IAB Australia
Sarah is the Director of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at IAB Australia. Sarah works with IAB member organisations, policy makers and the global IAB network, advising on legal and policy issues related to the digital advertising ecosystem. Sarah has held various roles across government and the private sector focussed on media, communications, advertising and intellectual property issues. Sarah joined IAB from Free TV Australia where she was Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and Joint Company Secretary.


Kiah Officer, Executive Counsel, Nine
A highly experienced media lawyer and litigator with a strong commercial focus, Kiah has expertise across television, digital media, print (newspapers and magazines) and radio. Working closely with a wide range of content creators, journalists and creatives across all formats and genres, Kiah is an astute problem-solver and trusted advisor to some of Australia's leading media executives, with a deep understanding of the regulated media industry, and a particular passion for news and current affairs. Kiah is skilled in media and entertainment law and regulation, litigation, investigations and disputes, editorial legal advice, regulatory affairs, corporate and commercial law, privacy, IP and competition and consumer law. Recognised as a Leading In-House Intellectual Property & TMT Lawyer by Doyle’s Guide for 2022, Kiah is also a Trustee of the Fairfax Foundation and an accredited mental health first aider.


Sunita Bose, Managing Director, Digital Industry Group Inc
Sunita is Managing Director of the Digital Industry Group Inc. (DIGI), the non-profit tech industry association that advocates for a thriving digital economy in Australia, where online safety and privacy are protected. DIGI’s founding members are Apple, Discord, eBay, Google, Linktree, Meta, Spotify, Snap, TikTok, Twitch and Yahoo. Sunita was previously the Head of Global Policy for the online petition platform Change.org, based in San Francisco. She developed the company’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Community Guidelines and policy infrastructure to manage harmful user-generated content, in areas such as bullying, hate speech, defamation, misinformation, data privacy and child protection. Before that, Sunita spent seven years working in a range of international and Australian advocacy and strategic communications roles at humanitarian aid agencies Oxfam and UNICEF, and has a Masters of Policy from the University of New South Wales. Sunita was represented on the former Government’s Digital Experts Advisory Committee and is on the current Government’s National Anti-Scams Centre Advisory Board. Her opinions have been published in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.


Mr. Kevin Lynch, Partner, Johnson Winter & Slattery
Kevin has over twenty years’ experience in advising media and technology companies in relation to defamation, contempt, privacy, legislative restrictions, broadcast regulation, copyright, contractual matters and trade practices. With the JWS team Kevin provides dedicated defamation and pre-publication advice to prominent online, radio and television clients, including multinational media distributors and publishers. The 2020 edition of the Asia Pacific Legal 500 lists Kevin listed as a leading individual in media and entertainment where he is described as “ “a valued adviser, bringing exceptional experience, grounded assessment of claims and commercially-based advice across a range of specialised areas”. Chambers and Partners ranks Kevin as a notable practitioner – “an experienced and extremely capable lawyer who takes a very commercial approach to his matters”.


Larina Alick, Executive Counsel, Nine
Larina Alick is executive counsel at Nine. Larina acts primarily for the publishing side of the Nine media group: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review, Brisbane Times and WAtoday. Larina has recently defending the media in the cases of Ben Roberts-Smith, Craig McLachlan, Dr Munjed Al Muderis, and Cardinal George Pell. Larina provides pre-publication advice on news articles and advertisements, handles complaints, conducts litigation, appears in court hearings and provides legal training to editors and journalists. Her areas of practice include defamation, contempt of court, suppression orders, statutory restrictions on reporting, copyright, confidentiality and various regulatory issues. Previously, Larina worked for News Corp Australia and the BBC in London. Larina also worked in boutique media law firms in London’s West End, representing high-profile individuals from movie stars and musicians to millionaire footballers, European royalty and Russian oligarchs. Larina is a member of the advisory committee on media issues for the Federal Court of Australia, and an accredited specialist in commercial litigation. Larina regularly contributes to journals, podcasts and seminars about developments in media law.


Mr. Dauid Sibtain SC, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
With over 20 years’ experience at the Bar, Dauid maintains an expansive practice, with particular expertise in media, building and construction, commercial, and intellectual property matters. His considerable experience as a trial and appellate advocate before both judges and juries, has seen him appear in significant litigation in the High Court of Australia, New South Wales Court of Appeal and in other superior courts. He is regularly engaged to appear in urgent applications and frequently advises and appears for high profile clients, on instruction from both solicitors in private practice and directly from in-house corporate legal departments. Dauid has been recognised as Recommended in 2018-2020 in Doyle’s guide as Recommended Counsel, Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Barristers, NSW.


Ms. Sophie Dawson, Partner, Bird & Bird
Sophie is an experienced media, information technology and privacy partner with an emphasis on advice and disputes. She has extensive experience in advising and acting for companies and agencies in relation to matters including defamation, intellectual property, privacy and law reform advice and disputes. For many years, Sophie has been recognised as a leading TMT lawyer in directories including Chambers Asia-Pacific, Asia Pacific Legal500, Who’s Who Legal, Best Lawyers and Doyles. Sophie is co-author of Thomson Reuter’s Media & Internet Law & Practice and is the current author of the Internet title in Laws of Australia. She is a past president of the Communications and Media Law Association and is a current member of the UTS Centre for Media Transition Advisory Board.