Directors & Officers: Duties, Risks & Liabilities
213N43: Examine new developments in director’s duties, including the impact of new legislation, the rise in insolvency risks, and the perils of distressed transactions. Analyse the many new and increasingly urgent employment law and health & safety obligations facing directors & officers. Master how to avoid or deal with risk & liability by examining the latest in civil penalties, privilege, and ethical obligations. Gain a guide of directors & officers and warranty & indemnity insurance.
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Andrew Pavuk, Executive Principal, Pavuk Legal
2.00pm to 2.45pm Director's Duties: The Latest Obligations
- D&O duties in high risk situations
- Insolvency issues and insolvent trading
- Distressed transactions
- Additional recent and important changes and developments
Presented by Shannon Finch, Partner, Jones Day; National Chairman, Corporations Committee, Law Council of Australia; Sydney Corporate Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers Australia 2020, and Katie Higgins, Partner, Jones Day
2.45pm to 3.30pm Workplace Law Liabilities & Trends for Directors and Management
- Update on contemporary employment and safety law including:
- Due diligence safety requirements
- Industrial manslaughter and increased penalties
- Sexual harassment, discrimination and general protections claims
- Underpayment issues
- Understanding the risks of accessory and individual liability
- Analysis of recent cases, damages and penalties
- Anticipated future developments
- Best practice tips to mitigate legal risks
Presented by Ian Bennett, Special Counsel and Josephine Lennon, Senior Associate, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
3.30pm to 3.45pm Afternoon Tea
3.45pm to 4.30pm Directors & Officers and Civil Penalties
- Accessorial liability
- Determining penalties
- Privilege
- Ethical obligations when acting for Directors & Officers
Presented by Ian Latham, Barrister, Denman Chambers
4.30pm to 5.15pm Directors & Officers Insurance and Warranty & Indemnity Insurance
- Examination of D&O insurance
- Explanation of Side A, Side B and Side C cover
- How D&O insurance interacts with a Deed of Access & Indemnity
- Insights into current observations on the market
Presented by Peter Yeldham, Partner and Mandy Tsang, Special Counsel, King & Wood Mallesons
Presenters
Andrew Pavuk
Andrew established Pavuk Legal in 2007 and has over 25 years experience as a specialist in the areas of Financial Services, Corporate Law, Taxation, Life Insurance, Superannuation, Managed Funds, Estate Planning and Succession. Previously he was also a partner of Gadens Lawyers and Piper Alderman Lawyers. Andrew’s clients include private clients, small and large businesses, financial intermediaries, accountants, superannuation trustees, financial institutions and not for profit entities. Andrew has acted for many Financial Product Issuers including Life Offices, Fund Managers and Superannuation Funds in product development, drafting disclosure documentation, restructuring of legacy products and dispute resolution with regulators, intermediaries and customers.
Shannon Finch
Shannon Finch is a leading corporate lawyer, with experience in M&A, private equity, equity capital markets (IPOs and secondary raisings), debt capital markets, restructurings, and workouts. Shannon chairs the Corporations Committee of the Law Council of Australia and works with the Treasury, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on corporate law reforms, including simple corporate bonds, the crowdfunding regime (public and private), product design and distribution, and Banking Royal Commission reforms.
Katie Higgins
Katie Higgins has extensive experience advising companies, financiers, insolvency practitioners, investors, and directors on restructuring and insolvency matters. She also advises companies and financiers on a wide variety of debt and structured capital markets transactions. Katie is consistently recognized as a leading insolvency, restructuring, and finance lawyer by legal directories. Katie is a member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) and INSOL International. She has also lectured on debt financing as part of the masters of law course at the University of Sydney.
Ian Bennett
Ian is an experienced workplace lawyer specialising in employee relations, work health and safety (WHS) and coronial inquests. He provides practical and pragmatic advice to help employers effectively manage complex legal issues arising in the workplace. Ian assists clients to effectively manage issues and develop strategies that look at the bigger picture and mitigate potential flow-on effects (such as public relations, commercial arrangements, insurance and regulatory compliance). He commonly advises on matters involving discrimination, long-term absenteeism, bullying and harassment, fitness for duties, dismissal disputes, industrial instrument interpretation, restraint of trade, policy and procedure development and WHS investigation, prosecution and enforceable undertakings.
Josephine Lennon
Josephine is a specialist employment lawyer at Sparke Helmore Lawyers, dedicated to commercial results and client focused practice. She has experience across a range of employment law issues, including restraint of trade proceedings, unfair dismissal and general protections claims, discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace investigations and contractual disputes. She started her career in a boutique civil practice where she gained a breadth of experience with civil matters, including commercial litigation, corporate law and estate law.
Ian Latham
Ian Latham is a barrister at Denman Chambers specialising in employment and industrial law, particularly in the area of civil penalty. He has appeared in many civil penalty cases particularly ABCC v Parker (No 1) and (No 2), BKH Contractors Case (No 1) and (No 2) and FWO v ZNZ, FWO v A-Z and FWO v Robit Nominees. He writes for the Lexis Fair Work Act Service and the Lexis Industrial Relations Act (NSW) Service. He writes articles on workplace law including papers on civil penalties such as The Fair Work Ombudsman and workplace issues: the investigation process, 23(5) ELB and Practice and procedure in defending FWO prosecutions 23(4) ELB.
Peter Yeldham
Peter Yeldham is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution group in the Sydney office of King & Wood Mallesons, with expertise in insurance advice and disputes, and general commercial litigation. In his insurance practice, Peter provides policy response advice in relation to Professional Indemnity, Directors & Officers insurance, cyber insurance, Contract Works insurance, and Industrial Special Risks policies. Peter assists clients prepare notifications and formal claim submissions and is often called upon by the banking and finance, mergers & acquisitions and real estate practice groups to provide bespoke advice and views on policy wording, potential claims coverage, or insurance obligations in large contracts (including infrastructure projects).
Mandy Tsang
Mandy specialises in insurance law and has acted for a number of domestic and international clients on contentious and non-contentious insurance matters. Mandy’s experience includes advising on insurance products, coverage issues and insurance disputes, in particular in relation to directors and officers liability claims. She also advises on and negotiates the insurance aspects of complex major transactions and projects. As insurance issues arise on all different types of transactions, she has advised on a large variety of matters including PPPs, large scale insurance disputes and transactional liability insurance cover.
Venue
The Grace Hotel
77 York St
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia