Join us for a session examining complex family provision matters that can arise in blended families. The topics covered in this presentation include the 'wicked’ stepparent; first family v second (or subsequent) partner; expectation v entitlement; adequate and proper provision; and planning ahead – section 100 statements and other documents.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Intellectual property rights are an important and often valuable class of intangible assets used within businesses. The issues which arise in relation to intellectual property rights in the context of mergers and acquisitions can be complex, and the consequences can be dire when valuable intellectual property rights are not properly assigned to the buyer in a sale. This session will cover complex IP issues in the context of business sales including ownership and licensing issues, as well as contemporary issues which have arisen with the increased use of artificial intelligence within businesses.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

PPSR; Personal Property Securities Register; discharge of interests

This session will look at navigating complex probate applications. Presenter Jennifer Vuu will cover a range of topics including cessate probate, inoperative wills, nominee grants and grants to syndics. The session will also provide practical tips for hitting the mark. 

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

Join presenter Margaret Pringle as she examines complex trust issues, covering topics that include the construction and amendment of trust deeds and cy-près applications. The session will also cover the application of Part 3, Division 3 of the Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) and will also look at applications for judicial advice under section 63.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

Causation and its intersection with an increased risk and increased incidence have raised issues of some complexity and debate for a number of years. The role of the ‘but for’ test, loss of a chance, material contribution and a necessary condition of the occurrence of harm in common law causation were clarified in 2010 by the High Court of Australia in Amaca v Ellis [2010] HCA 5 and Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12. On the other hand, it appears that questions of causation in the assessment of damages for breaches of statutory guarantees may still involve complex issues that are less than clear. In this session, Colin Loveday will lead a discussion on the recent and evolving jurisprudence of causation in claims for damages under the Australian Consumer Law in recent product liability claims.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

Michael Williams, a leading light in the field of intellectual property (IP) in Australia, will discuss the current issues affecting the application of IP legislation to copyright, trade marks and patents. A key focus of this session will be the treatment of AI under IP law.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

This session will look at how the evolution of cybercrime has brought business risks around data into sharp focus.  It will lift the veil on the trends, data breaches, claims, government responses and regulatory reforms, and their impact on businesses in general, and law practices in particular.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

This session was recorded on 27 March 2025 as part of the Crucial pointers in contract law: Mandatory rule 6.1 – live webinar.

Damages for breach of contract and wasted expenditure – Ourania Konstantinidis, Partner, Dentons

This session will cover the High Court’s recent decision in Cessnock City Council v 123 259 932 P/L dealing with the appropriate measure of damages for breach of contract. We will dive into:

• A snapshot of historical cases on damages and how the High Court arrived at the landmark decision.
• The High Court’s guidance on reliance damages for breach of contract with a particular focus on wasted expenditure and the recently established ‘facilitation principle’.
• How the courts will approach disputes involving damages incurred in reliance on contractual promises.
• Important practical strategies as to how you can manage risk when drafting contracts or advising your clients.

Ourania Konstantinidis, Partner, Dentons

A session to assist criminal defence lawyers in identifying torts committed by police – with a focus on First Nations populations in RRR communities.

This session was recorded on Friday, 11 October 2024 as part of the Rural and Private Practice stream at the Annual Conference 2024.

This presentation will undertake an analysis of key changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) by the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 (Cth), which came into force on 6 May 2023.  The session will cover the concept of joint or sole parental decision making, the changes to the legislative pathway, the meaning and application of the term ‘safety’, and the test of ‘unacceptable risk’. It will touch upon the possible impact on the changes referrable to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and on the role of Independent Children’s Lawyers. Analysis of these changes will focus on the ability to rely on past authorities, and on what can be gleaned from early decisions after 6 May 2023 and from overseas jurisdictions.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Family 

This session was recorded on 20 March 2025 as part of the Civil litigators: Mandatory Rule 6.1 – live webinar

Developments in evidence law – Carmel Lee, Barrister, Greenway Chambers

In this session, learn about recent developments in evidence law and their application to civil litigation.

The increasing prevalence of digital assets and AI calls for greater consideration of the way digital matters fit into the law and process of inheritance. Surveys suggest the general public rarely thinks of the digital, including digital access to non-digital property, when giving instructions for wills, and lawyers’ attention to this is only slightly more frequent. Testators may know very little about their digital assets and be very surprised to learn they do not own the material on their streaming services. This session suggests ways to manage. Where overseas jurisdictions have passed legislation, this may not always be useful. Data protection, post-mortem privacy and the right to be forgotten or to be memorialised are all aspects of this developing area of law.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

The principles of Kennon v Kennon (1997) FLC 92–757 (‘Kennon’) are well established. However, Kennon claims regularly fail, for a variety of reasons. Some fail because of a lack of thorough investigation of the allegations, or a failure to adduce clear evidence of the allegations. Some fail because of a failure to adduce corroborating evidence, or where the evidence of the complainant is inconsistent with other contemporaneous evidence. This session will analyse the practical steps that ought to be taken when preparing and running a Kennon claim from both perspectives: acting for the complainant and for the alleged perpetrator.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Family

This videocast was originally captured during the Specialist Accreditation conference 2021 - Employment & Industrial Law stream. 

Around 2.1 million people with disability in Australia are of working age.  This session looks at the following topics around disability and employment:

• What do the numbers tell us?
• Segregated employment
• Disability discrimination issues – areas of unlawful conduct; reasonable adjustments; inherent requirements
• Intersection of WHS laws and disability discrimination

Any practitioner that regularly deals with security interests knows that the regime prescribed by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is highly complex. As lawyers we are responsible for ensuring registrations are valid and effective. The session will cover critical concepts necessary for giving stakeholders certainty about their security interests, examine how the Courts have recently dealt with particularly complex issues, and identify what lessons lawyers should learn from those matters.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

PPSR; Personal Property Securities Register; discharge of interests