Commercial Litigation Conference 2021
213V08: Gain high level strategies related to the key areas commercial litigators need to be on top of in 2021. Master how to navigate insolvency disputes. Examine game changing defamation law reforms. Explore how to handle insurance & professional liability litigation following recent developments. Be prepared for the many consumer law claims facing litigators right now. Understand the latest in trust litigation. Gain your core CPD points while examining case valuations, ethics, & technology.
Description
Attend the full day and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
1 unit in Ethics & Professional Responsibility
1 unit in Practice Management & Business Skills
1 unit in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
*We are currently offering in person registrations to 2021 Victorian events, however should Victorian government regulations not allow for this at the time of the event, your registration will automatically be transferred to live online.
Session 1
The 5 Key Legal Issues for Commercial Litigators in 2021
Chair: Jane Kupsch, Partner, Kennedys; Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation; Chair, Law Institute of Victoria Commercial Litigation Specialist Advisory Committee
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am New Disputes Arising from Insolvency in Response to COVID-19
- Implications of the COVID-19 reforms
- the new small business restructuring and liquidation processes
- extension of safe harbour protections
- restrictions on creditor’s rights
- Trends and recent developments in external administrations: voidable transaction claims, public examinations and creditor’s claims
Presented by Sam Kingston, Partner, Maddocks
9.50am to 10.35am Navigating Significant Changes to the Uniform Defamation Law
- The new ‘Serious Harm’ threshold test
- The new mandatory Concerns Notice
- The new defences of Public Interest and Peer Review
- Changes to the limitation period: when it commences and flexibility in extending it
- Clarification of previously problematic matters including:
- The ‘employee’ test
- Pleading back of contextual truth imputations
- Proper Material for the Honest Opinion defence
- Application of the cap on damages as a scale, or range
Presented by David Gilbertson QC, Howells’ List
10.35am to 10.50am Morning Tea
10.50am to 11.35am The Latest in Insurance and Professional Liability Claims
- The wash-up of the Hayne Royal Commission for financial advisors, mortgage brokers and the insurance industry
- What is the current status of Professional Standards Schemes?
- When do insurers deny claims on professional indemnity policies?
- The implications of a hard insurance market for professionals
Presented by Ben Hall, Partner, Carter Newell Lawyers; Law Institute of Victoria Committee Member, Commercial Litigation Advisory Committee, Courts Practice Committee, and Medical Negligence and Public Liability Committee
11.35am to 12.20pm How to Plead Misleading Conduct
- How to ensure you completely particularise the claim: what to be aware of
- Common errors in identifying the misleading conduct
- Recognising the importance of accessorial liability
- How to plead half-truth and silence
Presented by John Arthur, Barrister, Svenson Barristers
12.20pm to 1.05pm Recent Developments in Trust Litigation
- Obtaining information and accounts from trustees
- Replacing trustees
- The trustee’s right of indemnity
- Litigating constructive trusts
Presented by Professor Emeritus Michael Bryan, University of Melbourne; co-editor, The Law of Trusts: Ford and Lee, Thomson Reuters; co-author, A Sourcebook on Equity and Trusts in Australia, Cambridge University Press
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for Litigators
Chair: Margo Harris, Barrister, Howells’ List
Professional Skills
2.00pm to 3.00pm Valuation Issues in Case Law
- Summary of findings from 100+ judgments
- Deep dive into the most common valuation issues, including:
- Definition of value: value is in the eye of the beholder
- Valuation methodologies: What has been accepted, what has been rejected?
- Discounts: When are they applied?
- Hindsight: Is it okay to look back?
- Tips for instructing valuation experts
Presented by John-Henry Eversgerd, Senior Managing Director, Valuation & Litigation Consulting, FTI Consulting
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
3.00pm to 4.00pm The Ethics of Confidentiality
Examine the key principles and ethical considerations of confidentiality for all purposes, including litigation. Work through the ramifications of these critical issues on both your litigation matters and your practice by exploring real world examples including timely lessons for the legal profession from the Lawyer X case.
Presented by Murray McInnis, Barrister, Holmes List
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Practice Management & Business Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Strengthening Communications Through Technology
- Alternative communication tools, applications and information sharing devices to incorporate into your practice
- Reminder of our legal obligations and the implications for technology use in your practice
- The benefits of non-traditional communication methods when briefing barristers
- Potential risks and considerations
Presented by David J Sanders, Barrister, Greens List
Presenters
Jane Kupsch, Partner, Kennedys
Jane is an accredited commercial litigation specialist and chairs the Law Institute of Victoria’s Commercial Litigation Specialist Advisory Committee. She is recognised in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia for class action litigation. Jane’s experience spans a broad range of commercial disputes in various courts and tribunals. She has been involved in a number of multi-party, large scale disputes (including class actions) in the superior courts. She has also provided ‘clearance’ advice to the producers of a national television program. Jane has particular expertise acting for company directors and officers in litigation and regulatory investigations, and in shareholder disputes.
Sam Kingston, Partner, Maddocks
Sam specialises in insolvency and restructuring, working with clients in all aspects of external administrations, security enforcement and insolvency dispute resolution. He has acted for clients in a wide range of industries in large scale court proceedings involving complicated insolvency issues and Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) claims. Sam also has extensive experience in a diverse range of regulatory issues and investigations, including dealings with regulatory bodies like ASIC and AFCA. He has detailed experience in Royal Commissions and was previously the Principal Legal Officer of the Queensland Racing Commission of Inquiry.
Ben Hall, Partner, Carter Newell Lawyers
Ben Hall is a Partner leading Carter Newell's Melbourne office and an accredited specialist in commercial litigation. He has over 20 years experience as an insurance and litigation lawyer. Ben is instructed by local and international insurers in relation to a wide variety of claims, including professional indemnity, management liability, directors and officers, medical malpractice, and public and product liability. He is a member of the Australian Professional Indemnity Group, the Australian Insurance Law Association, the Building Dispute Practitioners’ Society and the Law Institute of Victoria. Ben is a member of various Law Institute committees, including the Commercial Litigation Advisory Committee.
Professor Emeritus Michael Bryan, University of Melbourne
Michael Bryan is Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Melbourne. He lectured in equity, trusts and restitution at the University of Melbourne for over twenty years, and previously taught law at Queen Mary College, London University, and Oriel College, Oxford. In addition to his teaching in Australia and the United Kingdom he has given presentations on equity and trusts in New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Michael Bryan has written extensively in equity and trusts, and his publications have been judicially considered and approved on many occasions.
Margo Harris, Barrister, Howells’ List
Margo Harris is a barrister with more than 20 years' experience in commercial law.Her career has involved appearing in a wide range of courts and tribunals both Australia-wide and internationally. Before coming to the Bar in 2011, she worked as a solicitor in Australia and London, including in-house counsel at an ASX listed company. Her broad ranging commercial practice straddles diverse industries, including agribusiness, construction and infrastructure, energy and resources, gaming, horse racing, maritime, mining, rail, road transport, sport, telecommunications, and waste management. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators as well as being a nationally accredited mediator.
John-Henry Eversgerd, Senior Managing Director, Valuation & Litigation Consulting, FTI Consulting
John-Henry is a Senior Managing Director in the Forensic Litigation Consulting segment and leads the valuation advisory team in Sydney. He has over 20 years of experience assisting clients with disputes, litigation, transactions, strategy, and their financial reporting and tax requirements. John-Henry specialises in loss quantification and the valuation of shares, businesses, intellectual property, contracts, debt, derivatives and other investments. He has valued businesses and investments located in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America, South America, the United Kingdom, and Europe. John-Henry has lectured on valuation and forensic accounting topics at the University of Melbourne.
Murray McInnis, Barrister, Holmes List
Murray McInnis was admitted in 1979 and employed as a solicitor until he commenced at the Bar. He practised in a wide area of commercial, civil, criminal and administrative law for a period of 20 years at the Bar from 1980 to 2000. He was appointed as a Chapter III Justice of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (now the Federal Circuit Court of Australia) in June 2000. He resigned his Commission on 28 January 2008 and returned to the Bar on 4 February 2008. During his time as a Commonwealth Justice Mr. McInnis delivered almost 800 judgments (with media neutral citations) mainly in general federal law of which approximately 70 have been reported.
David J Sanders, Barrister, Greens List
David brings a wealth of strategic thinking, business and technology experience to dispute resolution. David provides nuanced advice to and advocacy for his clients, whether engaged as a mediator, arbitrator, expert determiner or other neutral evaluator. He brings unique business and technical knowledge and skills to the issues at hand as well as offering cost effective and flexible alternatives to conventional litigation through the Courts. At the Bar, David has a strong practice in trusts, equity and probate - with a special interest in the intersection of technology and death law, including “digital assets”.
David Gilbertson QC
David Gilbertson practises in all areas of administrative, commercial, corporations, media and defamation law. His corporations law practice includes market-related matters, such as insider trading and market manipulation, and schemes of arrangement. David Gilbertson has an extensive practice in media and defamation law. As well as plaintiffs, he has acted for most of the large media outlets and several book publishers in Australia.
John Arthur, Barrister, Svenson Barristers
John is a barrister at the Victorian Bar of over 30 years standing. An experienced advocate, his principal area of practice is general commercial litigation, including contract, sale of land, property, equity, professional negligence, corporations, insolvency, and succession. His particular focus are trials and appeals. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and ACICA and a National Councillor of CIArb and its President and a member of the National Executive Committee of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association. John has published and presented many papers in Australia as well as internationally on topics in varied areas of law and practice, including contract, sale of land, equity, practice and procedure, ADR and international arbitration. He is a co-author of Lexis publications, Civil Procedure Victoria, Lexis Nexis and Australian Uniform Evidence. He also contributes to other publications.
Venue
RACV City Club
Level 2, 501 Bourke St
Melbourne 3000
VIC
Australia
Parking Information
Parking is not included in your registration. Here are some options below.
RACV City Club Car Park. Click here to view rates
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:Tram Stations - William/Bourke St or Queen/Bourke StBus Interchange - Little Collins St or Supreme Court