This session will look at what is necessary, in an electronic age, to constitute an informal will, and considers what constitutes a “document”. Presenter Anthea Kennedy will also consider the importance of the deceased’s intentions when considering an informal document, the role of computer experts in cases when determining the existence of a will, and the part played by interim and stop gap wills.  In examining these issues, the session will focus on relevant legislation and recent Court decisions.

 This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

This session was recorded on 28 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that various Conference sessions contain graphic details that some may find distressing, including but not limited to references to sexual offences, PTSD and violence. Please review the program and use your discretion before proceeding.
 
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support. 

In this session, Raoul Wilson SC will consider both inter vivos and testamentary trusts from a probate litigator’s perspective. The session will cover estate objectives, administration considerations and the susceptibility of inter vivos and testamentary trusts to attack in probate and equity cases.

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

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

This session will involve case reviews of recent judgments from the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the NSW Court of Appeal in applications for Judicial Review of decisions, including: Members’ decisions in damages assessments and miscellaneous claims assessment disputes; Merit Reviewers’ decisions in statutory benefits disputes; and decisions of Medical Assessors, Review Panels, and the President’s Delegates. 

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

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

This session was recorded on 29 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that various Conference sessions contain graphic details that some may find distressing, including but not limited to references to sexual offences, PTSD and violence. Please review the program and use your discretion before proceeding.
 
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support. 

Join us for a comprehensive look at pivotal cases which have helped shape the legal landscape for government lawyers over the past year.

This session was recorded as part of the Government Solicitors stream at the Annual Conference 2024.

Christine Lithgow, Principal, Christine Lithgow & Associates

Keith Redenbach, Principal Solicitor, Redenbach Legal

Join presenter Catherine Hallgath for a presentation covering the latest developments in leasing. Through an examination of recent cases, this session will ensure specialists are informed about the complexities that can arise in the course of leasing negotiations and agreements.

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

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Property

This session was recorded on 29 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that various Conference sessions contain graphic details that some may find distressing, including but not limited to references to sexual offences, PTSD and violence. Please review the program and use your discretion before proceeding.
 
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support. 

This session was recorded on 19 March 2024 as part of the Property law: One day intensive - live webinar.

Litigating with abandon: the obstacles to obtaining a declaration that an easement has been abandoned, Sydney Jacobs, Barrister, 13 Wentworth Chambers 

In this session on easements, Sydney Jacobs will discuss:  

• Navigating section 89 of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (power of the Court to declare easement abandoned or to modify) and related section 49 of the Real Property Act (Power of the Registrar -General) 
• When to use one pathway other than the other ? What are the rights to appeal such decisions? 
• What is the general judicial attitude to claims that an easement has been abandoned? 
• The presumption in the above legislation that an easement is abandoned if no use for 20 years e.g. What type of conduct constitutes “use“? 
• Recent cases by reference to sketches: Castle v Achdjian [2022] NSWSC ; Sheppard v Smith [2021] NSWSC 1207 and on appeal to the NSWCA in 2022. 
• The effect of Gan v Xie [2023 NSWCA to “gist” evidence as opposed to “direct speech” evidence in these types of matters.

This session covers the recent changes and proposed changes to defamation law in Australia, including an analysis of some recent cases. Stewart O’Connell also discusses how these developments impact the social media user, as well as how these changes impact the way the legal practitioner represents the social media user. 

This session was recorded on 28 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that various Conference sessions contain graphic details that some may find distressing, including but not limited to references to sexual offences, PTSD and violence. Please review the program and use your discretion before proceeding.
 
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support.   

Join us for an insightful look at the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and how this discretionary power was used to pardon Kathleen Folbigg.

This session was recorded as part of the Government Solicitors stream at the Annual Conference 2024.

This session will explore a selection of the myriad complex and varied issues that can arise in the administration of deceased estates. Topics will include proof of death by fact, inference or presumption; rights of burial and associated disputes; issues of domicile and the validity of foreign wills; lost wills and the presumption of revocation by destruction; and recent amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) affecting changes to trustees. The presentation will focus on the law underpinning these difficult areas of practice, provide practical examples, and offer pointers to practitioners in assisting their clients to navigate the potential minefield of deceased estates.

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

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

This session was recorded on 28 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

This session explores the negligence risks that may arise in a busy commercial litigation practice. Beginning with a refresher on the scope of a solicitor’s duty to their client in a litigation context, the session focuses on: the doctrine of advocates’ immunity and its limitations; the scope of the duty to warn; and mitigating risk in the settlement of claims. Examining key principles from recent case law, the session offers practical strategies for experienced litigators to minimise the risk of claims.