In-House Counsel Conference: Legal & Commercial Imperatives
Insulate yourself & your organisation from today’s emerging risks by gaining strategies & information to help you navigate the latest legal & commercial perils facing in-house counsel. Discover how to navigate the latest workplace law risks, climate change litigation, key developments in insurance law, & tax governance best practices. Gain your core CPD points while examining diversity & inclusion, social media & defamation, & how to effectively deal with regulators. 223V13
Description
Attend 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
Session 1
The Top Legal Issues for In-House Counsel in 2022
Chair: Gail Owen OAM FAICD, Principal Corporate Lawyer, Australian Energy Market Operator
9.00am to 10.00am Workplace Law and Health & Safety Update: In-house Counsel’s Guide for 2022
- COVID-19 and the workplace: vaccinations, return to work and best practices in the new normal
- Sexual harassment in the workplace update
- Changed rules about casual employment
- Underpayments
- New Health and Safety reforms in Victoria
Presented by Benjamin Burke, Partner, Baker McKenzie
10.00am to 11.00am In-House Lawyer’s Checklist for Climate Change Risk in 2022
- Due diligence, risk oversight and disclosure assurance
- Planning, development and major projects: forward looking criteria, end to end climate risk review
- Sustainability terms review: procurement and supply
- Contracts and force majeure, insurance contracts
Presented by Sarah Barker, Partner & Head of Climate Risk Governance, MinterEllison; Best Lawyers 2022, Climate Change Law & Corporate Law
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm Everything You Wanted to Know About Insurance (But Were too Afraid to Ask)
- Occurrence vs claims made policies
- Covering things vs covering liabilities
- Insurance requirements in commercial contracts
- Industry jargon explained
- The law regarding excluding and capping liability
- How liability, indemnity and insurance clauses should fit together
- Indemnity clauses and contractual liability exclusions
- Problems in requiring others to take out insurance for you
- Particular problems caused by COVID-19
Presented by David Leggatt, Principal, Coterminus Legal; Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation; Best Lawyers 2022, Commercial Law, Insurance Law, Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution
12.15pm to 1.15pm Why In-House Counsel Must Engage with Tax Governance Early
- ATO shifting focus to corporations, SMEs and private groups with tax gaps
- More audit activity from the ATO against these entities
- ATO focusing on ADR to resolve these matters, requiring increased legal skills to deal with the matters
- Necessary for companies and in-house counsel to carefully plan tax governance structure
- Tax governance structures and documents will be used as a roadmap by the ATO in any audit activity so it’s critical that it’s created and implemented correctly
- In-house counsel must know strengths and weaknesses in tax governance so the company is ready for audits
- Increasingly frequent inquiries from Boards to in-house counsel on how to deal with these issues
- Guide to how in-house counsel can understand the issues, answer the Board’s questions, and have a tax governance plan in place to minimise audit risks
Prepared by Sue Williamson, Partner, Holding Redlich; Best Lawyers 2022, Tax Law and Megan Bishop, Special Counsel, Taxation, Holding Redlich
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for In-House Counsel
Chair: David Freedman, General Counsel – APAC, Simplot Australia
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm PANEL DISCUSSION: Diversity & Inclusion: The Benefits and the Realities for Organisations
Gain insights from those working at the forefront of diversity & inclusion in organisations. The panellists will share their knowledge and experience in navigating D&I issues, challenges and initiatives while examining:
- The business case for D&I, the benefits for organisations, and where things stand
- D&I at the organisational level: steps for real progress
- How to move forward with diversity & inclusion conversations at the personal level
- Workplace law discrimination and harassment considerations
- Insights from the panel and Q&A
Panellists:
Katya Lakes, Principal, LegalAffair; Seconded as a Senior Legal Counsel to Telstra, Products, Technology, Networks & IT
Lindsay Mackay, Senior Corporate Counsel, Franklin Templeton Investments
Kathy Dalton, Director & Principal, Workdynamic Australia; Best Lawyers 2022, Labour and Employment Law & Occupational Health and Safety Law; Recommended Employment Lawyer (Employer Representation), Doyle’s Guide 2021
Professional Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm In-House Counsel’s Guide to Dealing with the Regulator in the Current Climate
- Navigating ACCC actions
- Disclosure issues: the latest updates, examples & how to navigate the area
- Additional recent ACCC actions and the key takeaways
- Privacy concerns and best practices
- The latest from the OAIC and best practices to maintain to minimise risk
- Latest developments regarding Australian financial services licences
- ASIC enforcement action for company not having a sufficiently robust data security infrastructure
- RG 78 breach reporting
- RG 271 internal dispute resolution
- How to deal with other regulatory issues of note, including bribery & corruption, AML/CTF & directors’ duties
Presented by Stephen Newman, Executive Counsel, Hope Earle Lawyers
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Practice Management & Business Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Managing Social Media & Communications to Minimise Defamation Risks
- Update on defamation reforms, trends & developments
- How to navigate the risks for organisations maintaining a social media page allowing comments on the organisation’s posts
- Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller (S236/2020); Nationwide News Pty Limited v Voller (S237/2020); Australian News Channel Pty Ltd v Voller [2021] HCA 275
- Best practices for monitoring third-party comments
- Training anyone using an organisation’s social media
- How to identify and deal with potentially defamatory communications to minimise risk
Presented by David Gilbertson KC, Chapman’s List
Venue
RACV City Club
Level 2, 501 Bourke St
Melbourne 3000
VIC
Australia
Parking information
Parking is not included in you 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 St
Bus Interchange - Little Collins St or Supreme Court