Hear from 12 of the best, including the Honourable Justices Weinstein and Kunc, Senior Counsel and other experienced litigators. Learn how to prepare expert evidence for complex commercial litigation, the practice of ‘conversation evidence’, the ethics of privilege & inadvertent disclosure. Get tips on managing evidence collection, preparation, and admissibility. Gain instruction on advocacy in interlocutory & urgent applications, and guidance on written advocacy & advocacy in mediations. 

Presenters

Mr. Jason Betts, Partner, Global Co-Head of Class Actions, Herbert Smith Freehills
Jason is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading class action, regulatory investigation and product liability specialists. He has over 25 years’ of litigation experience and has defended the largest class actions and investigations in the Australian market. He is one of the few Australian defence lawyers to have run a class action to final trial and judgment, and is the only Australian lawyer to win two shareholder class actions at trial (on behalf of Worley and Iluka). Jason also led the defence of two of Australia’s largest ever product liability class action cases, and acted for the defendant in the seminal Australian decision on third party litigation funding in Australia – Campbells Cash and Carry Pty Ltd v Fostif Pty Ltd. Jason is a Visitor to the University of Sydney Law School, teaching the post-graduate course “Class Action Litigation in Australia”. In 2022 Jason co-authored the third edition of the leading class actions text book in the country, “Class Actions in Australia”. He obtained his Master of Laws from the University of Virginia, specialising in class action defence theory.


Ms. Vera Culkoff, Barrister, 2 Selbourne Chambers
Vera Culkoff graduated in law from the University of Technology, Sydney in early 1990 with First Class Honours and the University Medal. Her practice is in commercial law and equity, with an emphasis in building and construction disputes. Such proceedings have commonly involved complex contractual disputes, misleading and deceptive allegations and the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). She also practices in the area of wills, probate and family provisions disputes, involving complex issues and large estates. She has experience in class actions, having been involved in commercial class actions against Westpac, ANZ, AMP and GIO. Vera has been involved in litigation on both sides of the fence: having worked at Clayton Utz doing defence work before joining Cashman & Partners and becoming an equity partner (now Maurice Blackburn). She remained a partner of the new firm until 2000, responsible for commercial and product liability litigation. She was called to the Bar in 2000. Vera was joint General Editor of the Australian Product Liability Reporter (from 2006 to 2011) and has conducted presentations at seminars on class actions and, whilst at the Bar, in building and construction law. In Timwin Construction v Facade Innovations [2005] NSWSC 548 (McDougall J), the notion of "good faith" was first argued by Vera and accepted by the Court in the context of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (Act). It is now an entrenched part of the law in this field. In Vince Schokman v Xception Construction Pty Limited [2005] NSWSC 297 (Einstein J), the question of election under the same Act was first raised by Vera and resolved in favour of the argument put forward by her.,


The Hon. Justice Francois Kunc, Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Honourable Justice François Kunc was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2013. After graduating with degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney, Justice Kunc practised as a solicitor from 1986 until called to the Bar in 1992. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2007. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and in 2020 graduated Master of Laws from Duke University’s Bolch Judicial Institute. Justice Kunc’s current appointments include Adjunct Professor, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University; and membership of the drafting committee for the Australian National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals (under the auspices of the Judicial Council for Cultural Diversity).


Mr. Anthony Cheshire SC, Barrister, 8 Wentworth Chambers
Anthony was called to the English Bar in 1992 and practised at the bar in London before coming to Sydney in 2003. He practices from the 8th Floor Wentworth Chambers in a broad range of areas, but with a particular focus upon general commercial, corporations, insolvency, wills and estates, equity, charities, associations, inquiries, property, licensing, insurance and professional negligence. He has extensive experience in relation to the internal affairs of corporations and associations and has acted for a variety of commercial, sporting, recreational, religious, political and other bodies and their members. He has been a barrister for over 30 years and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2015.


Ms. Aditi Rao, Barrister, Level 22 Chambers
Aditi Rao is briefed in a wide range of commercial and public law matters, including corporations law, insolvency, financial products and services and judicial review. Prior to being called to the bar, Aditi worked for Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) as a commercial litigation solicitor. She was also an associate to Justices of the High Court and Federal Court of Australia, and research assistant to the Solicitor-General in South Australia.


Mr. Hugh Stowe, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
Hugh Stowe is a member of 5th Floor Wentworth Chambers, and has been at the bar for 10 years. He practices in equity and commercial litigation, with specialisation in insolvency and corporations law matters. He has an undergraduate degree from Sydney University, and a Master of Laws from Cambridge. Before coming to the Bar, he practised at Freehills and Mallesons, and was the Associate to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He has also lectured in law in the University of Durham, in the UK, in subjects including administrative law. While at the Bar, he served for 3 years as legal adviser of the Disciplinary Tribunal of the ASX, in which capacity he sat in on disciplinary proceedings before that Tribunal. He has also served for 4 years on a Professional Conduct Committee at the Bar, being a committee involved in disciplinary proceedings against barristers. Has written papers and delivered seminars on various topics, including bias, expert evidence, legal professional privilege, corporations law, the ethics of witness preparation, restraint of trade.


Cynthia Cochrane SC, Level 22 Chambers
Cynthia Cochrane SC has a breadth of experience in patent law. She also specialises in commercial cases, with particular experience in competition and consumer law, business restraints of trade, insolvency and corporate governance. Cynthia Cochrane SC appears regularly in the Federal Court and Patent Office. She has a depth of appellate experience, including High Court experience over more than 15 years. She also appears in commercial matters in the NSW Supreme Court.


Ms. Kate Eastman AM SC, New Chambers
Kate Eastman AM SC is a barrister based in Sydney. Her practice at the Bar is in the areas of, employment, discrimination, sexual harassment and public law. Kate is the Chair of the Law Council of Australia’s Equal Opportunity Committee and the Australian Bar Association’s Diversity Committee.


Mr. Julian O’Sullivan, Barrister, 13 Wentworth Chambers
Julian O'Sullivan of 13 Wentworth Chambers was admitted to practice as a solicitor in March 1996. He worked in the dispute resolution group of Mallesons Stephen Jaques. In 2001 he joined the London office of Linklaters & Alliance as a member of its Intellectual Property, IT and Communications Group. Since being called to the Bar in 2003, Mr O'Sullivan has practised in the fields of commercial and corporate, banking and insolvency, competition and trade practices, intellectual property, aviation and professional negligence.,


Alexander Vial, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
Alexander maintains a national practice in complex commercial and regulatory matters. He is recognised as a Leading Junior (Band 1) for competition law and as a “Rising Star” in regulatory matters in the Legal500 rankings. Alexander specialises in commercial and regulatory litigation that covers all areas of competition and consumer law, trade practices including franchising, class actions, insolvency, intellectual property, and employment law. Alexander regularly advises on and appears in regulatory investigations and enforcement matters, as well as in Royal Commissions and inquiries. Before being called to the Bar, Alexander was a Senior Associate at Clayton Utz in Sydney where he specialised in competition, consumer law, and regulatory investigations and litigation. Earlier in his career, Alexander served as the Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Doyle AC of the Supreme Court of South Australia and, after his Honour’s retirement, the Associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Kourakis. Alexander’s education includes a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with First Class Honours from the University of Adelaide. Alexander is a founding author of Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure, a leading text on Australian civil procedure that is now in its second edition. He regularly publishes articles in a number of practitioner and academic journals.


The Hon. Justice Richard Weinstein, Supreme Court of New South Wales
Richard Weinstein is a Judge of the District Court of New South Wales. He was appointed senior counsel in 2011, and was a member of the Bar Council of the NSW Bar Association and the Chair of a Professional Conduct Committee for many years. He is Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, where he has taught the law of evidence, civil procedure and advocacy and is the lead author of Uniform Evidence in Australia, 3rd ed.


Mr. Max Kimber SC, Barrister, The Olive Rooms
Max commenced as a practising barrister in 1979 after completing postgraduate studies in the USA on a Fulbright Scholarship. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 1999. The focus of his work as a barrister has been on the resolution of workplace issues and employment contract disputes via litigation in Federal and State courts; by conciliation or arbitration in Federal and State Industrial tribunals and via private negotiation and mediation. Following the training as a Mediator in 1992, Max has also developed a broad based practice in dispute resolution involving the mediation of contractual and other commercial disputes, will and estates, employment and personal injury matters – as well as the more informal ‘facilitation’ of an increasing array of disagreements and disputes between Board members, business/law firm partners, senior corporate executives and other independent professionals. Max has recently undertaken a number of complicated and highly sensitive workplace investigations for major publicly listed companies and for industrial organisations and facilitated several significant disputes I both the public and private hospital system in New South Wales. He has written and provided extensive training on effective communication, ADR and conflict resolution. He is a regular presenter at law firms and at mediation forums and he mentors new mediators. Max sees himself as a “resolutionary” – committed to prevention and early intervention strategies to minimise and deescalate conflict with a focus on fostering better communication and listening skills and on the utilisation of restorative processes.