At the helm throughout as chair was Ian Hanger QC. Keynote speaker  the Hon Robert Fisher from New Zealand started proceedings with insights into mediation practice. Peta Stilgoe expanded upon these themes in her presentation drawing on her experiences in P & E and QCAT mediations.  Andrew Crowe SC provided an update on Commercial mediation. The morning sessions concluded with insights from Justice Daubney on  “Mediation, Justice and the Rule of Law”.

The afternoon session family law panel was facilitated by Kathryn McMillan SC and comprised Gary Fleetwood, Bruce Thiele and Sue Waterman as well as contributions from the audience. Dr Anne Purcell, a regular conference contributor, provided reflections on “current approaches for working with clients’ grief”.  Final session day one, with a visually appealing PowerPoint display, was Doug Murphy SC on the topic of  “From Gladiator to Mediator — challenges for lawyers who change hats!”

Saturday evening provided a further opportunity for collegiality and further discussion over sunset drinks and dinner. 

The second day of the conference commenced with a workshop on negotiation skills by Michael Klug. Michael was able to draw upon a wide range of research and material for this lively session that included a practical analysis of negotiation styles  and provided feedback on strengths and areas for further development. The final session was “You be the mediator”.  In this highly interactive session audience members were selected to play the role of the mediator. Brilliant performances by The Hon Justice May and Charles Brabazon QC added greatly to this finale session.

The combined efforts of presenters, the organising committee and Bar staff produced a highly effective conference.

Helene Breen

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ABA Advanced Trial Advocacy Course

Date: 23-27 January 2012

Venue: Melbourne

Accreditation details: ABAC12, 10 CPD points, ethics and advocacy strands

Please click here Hyperlink: http://advocacytraining.com.au/

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BAQ Annual Conference 2012 – Practice in the Modern Era

2-4 March 2012, Sheraton Mirage Resort & Spa, Gold Coast

The preliminary program for the BAQ Annual Conference 2012 has now been released. Presentations will cover the mandatory areas of ethics, advocacy and practice management as well as providing incisive updates on a wide range of civil and criminal law topics. The conference will feature sessions on the following topics:

Keynote presentation:

• The Hon Justice Kiefel AC, High Court of Australia

Statutory interpretation: Text in context — is the taxonomy failing?

• David Jackson QC, Panel: The Hon Justice White, Shane Doyle S.C.

Advocacy topics

• Evidence practice and procedure — The Hon Justice Byrne RFD
• Federal Court developments — The Hon Justice Lander
• Trials in 2012 and other trends — The Hon Justice Byrne RFD
• Criminal practice developments — Soraya Ryan
• Civil law perspectives — John Bond S.C.

Civil law topics:

• Tax considerations in non-tax cases — Sandy Thompson S.C.
• Agreement to defeat creditors — Kathryn McMillan S.C.
• Corporate and individual insolvency situations and practical considerations — Craig Coulsen
• Review of the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act 2004 — Bob Holt S.C.
• Section 79 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (C’th) – His Honour Judge McGill S.C.

Criminal law topics:

• Self-defence in violent domestic relationships – Jeff Hunter S.C.
• Recent developments – His Honour Judge Long S.C.
• Applications to cross examine witnesses in committal hearings – Angus Edwards
• Dangerous prisoners – Peter Davis S.C., Paul Smith
• Impact of the Moynihan reforms – Craig Chowdhury
• Cross examination on documents and prior inconsistent statements – Kerri Mellifont S.C.

Practice management topics:

• Bang for your buck: chambers’ models and costs – Mark Moshinsky S.C.
• How to organise your chambers — Richard Lilley S.C.
• Lessons from England – Shane Doyle S.C.

Ethics topic:

• Between the devil and the deep blue sea: conflict between the duty to the client and the duty
  to the Court – The Hon Justice Ken Martin, Peter Callaghan S.C., Walter Sofronoff QC,
  Michael Stewart S.C.

 Accreditation details: 10 CPD points, all mandatory strands

To access the full program click here.

 

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2012 Environmental Law Enforcement Conference

Date: 3 — 7 July 2012

Venue: Dubrovnic, Croatia

Accreditation details: RP120703, 10 CPD points, ethics and advocacy strands

Please email Ralph RPDevlin@halsburychambers.com or Peter peter.kelly@halsburychambers.com for further information