Gain your annual commercial litigation insights in a variety of areas from leading Senior Counsel, counsel, accredited specialists, and other experts on insolvency, defamation, ESG, and breach of contract. Tailored for practicing litigators, earn all your CPD points mastering the ethics of briefing expert witness briefing, examining why litigation funding might be a costing option & learn how to plead & prove loss of opportunity damages. 

Presenters

Mr. Lachlan Menzies, Barrister, 8th Floor Wentworth Chambers
Lachlan Menzies is a commercial litigator with more than 20 years’ experience. His practice combines large matters in collaboration with Senior Counsel, and a full range of matters unled. As well as litigation, he is briefed for transactional advice and drafting including direct briefs from in-house counsel. A strong position, control, and success in Court are built on precision in pleadings, affidavits, written submissions and associated legal research. Close cooperation with instructing lawyers and a positive client connection are maintained through practical advice, and meetings and calls in conference. Lachlan is adept at Information Technology in legal practice and holds a degree in computer science. Lachlan mainly practises in State and Federal jurisdictions in New South Wales, and also acts in Victoria and Queensland. Lachlan is a lecturer in the Master of Applied Law courses at the College of Law, appointed in 2009.


Ms Alicia Hill, Principal, Sladen Legal
Alicia Hill is an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation in Victoria and Queensland, a Nationally Accredited Mediator, and a graded arbitrator with the Resolution Institute. Alicia practices as the head of the Dispute Resolution and Litigation team of Sladen Legal in Melbourne. In addition to advising and appearing for clients in general commercial litigation areas including contract, corporations and property law, she has specialty expertise in Franchising, Insolvency and Regulatory law. Alicia is a Fellow of FINSIA, a committee member of the ACCC Consultative Committee for Small Business and Franchising. a board member of the Law Institute of Victoria’s Accredited Specialists Board and has been recognised by her peers in the Best Lawyers awards for Litigation since 2016.


Ms. Sarah Davies, Director, Sarah Davies Legal
Sarah Davies is a director of Sarah Davies Legal Pty Ltd, and specializes in commercial litigation for clients involved in agribusiness, financial services, property development and building & construction matters. She is an accredited specialist in commercial litigation, having received the highest achievement award when she completed her accreditation in 2010. She has experience with disputes involving commercial contracts, property transactions, joint ventures, corporations, trusts and managed investment schemes, public offer documents and issues relating to the provision of financial services. Sarah also chairs the board of a mutual banking institution.


Mr. Wynand Mullins, Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting
Wynand Mullins is a forensic accounting expert specialising in dispute advisory, financial investigations and contentious valuations. Wynand has appeared as an expert witness in a number of courts. He has also prepared expert reports relevant to loss and damage, financial investigations and valuation matters in legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Family Court of Australia, New South Wales Land and Environment Court, Grand Cayman Court and the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In 2018, Wynand was engaged by Macquarie University and approved by CA ANZ to lead the successful design and delivery of the Forensic Accounting Specialisation accreditation course, launched in Australia and New Zealand. Wynand is a Chartered Accountant based in Sydney. He previously led the New South Wales forensic accounting practice of an international chartered accounting firm and has worked in forensic accounting, corporate recovery and business advisory practices in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.


Mr. Michael Kanan, Senior Director, FTI Consulting
Michael is a highly regarded forensic expert with more than 15 years’ experience in transaction services and dispute advisory with a particular emphasis on business valuations and financial modelling. Michael has valued businesses and investments in Australia, New Zealand, North America and United Kingdom at all stages of the commercial life cycle. Michael has extensive experience in expert witness and consulting expert roles and provides advice to clients, their legal advisers and the courts on contentious business, finance and accounting matters to help resolve disputes. Michael’s independent expert, consulting expert, and expert determination assignments often require the application of business valuation or economic loss quantification methods, including financial modelling and cost of capital analysis.


Brian Rom, Special Counsel, HWL Ebsworth
Brian is a construction lawyer with more than 20 years' experience. He has conducted many high value arbitrations, court proceedings, and expert determinations in Australia and internationally. These have involved complex technical matters, including claims for delay, disruption, and prolongation costs. He regularly conducts adjudications and mediations. His general disputes experience covers oil and gas, renewables, shipping, mining, logistics, property, general commercial and fraud related matters. Prior to moving to Australia in 2008, he practiced in London for eight years on multi-jurisdictional arbitrations and court proceedings. Brian is a regular speaker on construction law and general contract related topics. In the 2023 Doyle's Guide, Brian is listed as a "rising star" for construction, infrastructure and projects law matters in the Victorian legal market and as a future leading lawyer within the area.


Mr. Kieran Smark SC, 153 Phillip Barristers
Kieran Smark was admitted as a barrister in 1991 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2007. He practices in defamation and commercial law and has appeared in many trials and appeals in those areas. He also advises in relation to equity, property and intellectual property matters.


Mr Steven Brown, Chairman, Etienne Lawyers
Steven Brown is highly experienced lawyer with an extensive knowledge in all aspects of commercial law, with an intimate knowledge of the Corporations Law and the Australian Securities Exchange business and listing rules, being involved in corporate structuring, compliance, corporate takeovers, company floats, the preparation of prospectuses, employee share schemes and advising on directors' duties, and insolvency and securities law and practice. Steven currently lectures: in the Masters of Banking Law Course conducted by Macquarie University; in the Master of Finance for FINSIA in the areas of securities and insolvency and contract law and law, regulation and ethics; and for the Property Investors Association of Australia in security law and practice. Steven has published a number of articles on commercial subjects. He has lectured for the Australian Institute of Company Directors from 1989-2008, lectured in the Master and Doctorate courses at UTS in corporations, finance and securities law from 1989-1995, and is currently lecturing in the College of Law Masters course in commercial drafting and business structuring.


Darrell Kake, Partner, Longton Legal
Darrell is a partner at Longton Legal and has conducted court proceedings in NSW, QLD, VIC and the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea. Darrell is a NSW Law Society accredited specialist in commercial litigation and a member of the NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Commercial Litigation Advisory Committee. Before his return to NSW, Darrell was previously the equivalent in Queensland. Darrell is an adjunct lecturer in the College of Law’s specialist Masters of Law (LLM) in Commercial Litigation and was an officer in the Australian Army Reserve for over 20 years.


Vicky Antzoulatos, Joint Head of Class Actions, Shine Lawyers
Based in Sydney, Vicky Antzoulatos is the Joint Head of Class Actions. Working with a team of carefully selected legal professionals, Vicky strives to bring justice and recognition to individuals across Australia who have suffered as a result of corporate wrongdoing. "I chose law to be an advocate for social justice." Vicky has a comprehensive understanding of the class actions legal space, with almost 25 years as a legal professional. She appreciates that class actions present a unique interplay between often novel legal issues and procedures designed to protect the interests of various stakeholders. Vicky graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Laws and was awarded the Lionel Murphy Memorial prize for labour law. She went on to study her Masters of Laws at Sydney University. She was admitted to practise in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1999. Since her admission, Vicky has worked almost exclusively in class actions and commercial litigation, including representative proceedings in Australia using Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 and its cognates in state jurisdictions. Vicky has conducted significant class actions against public authorities and international corporations in different areas of law including securities, financial services, consumer, employment and social justice. The cases that she has led at Shine Lawyers include cases against Carnival Corporation, the Royal Bank of Scotland, McDonalds and BSA. Vicky has conducted numerous legal education presentations on class actions and is regularly sought out by Australian media to provide comment on industry developments. Outside of class actions, Vicky is passionate about racial and gender discrimination issues that arise in the law. She is proud of her Greek heritage, which gives her a unique insight into communicating with her clients.


Matthew Jones KC, Barrister, Level Twenty Seven Chambers
Matthew has over fifteen years’ experience as a barrister. He was listed as “Preeminent” junior counsel in Doyle’s Guide in the areas of Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Insolvency and as “Leading” in Arbitration and Construction and Infrastructure. In his first year after taking silk, Matthew was listed as “Leading” in Insolvency and Restructuring and “Recommended” in Litigation and Dispute Resolution. Matthew is also recognised in the fields of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Insolvency & Reorganization Law and Litigation by The Best Lawyers in Australia. Matthew’s practice focuses primarily on resources, building & construction, shareholder disputes, professional negligence and insolvency. He also has strong practices in insurance, intellectual property, banking & finance and property matters. His referring solicitors include top tier national and international firms, interstate firms, Crown agencies and numerous mid-tier and smaller firms. He holds a Certificate in Adjudication in relation to security for payment legislation, has post-graduate qualifications in arbitration and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.


Stuart Price, CEO, CASL Management Pty Ltd
Stuart is the CEO and Managing Director of Australian litigation funder CASL, that he and John Walker founded in 2020. Stuart has a financial services, governance and risk, and investment background in the United Kingdom, Australia and the Middle East and has been involved in the litigation funding industry since 2014. Stuart has worked on a number of significant cases including Stolen Wages (QLD) and was instrumental in establishing the Association of Litigation Funders of Australia.