Construction Law Symposium
It’s been a tumultuous year for construction law. Manage your next construction matter through the uncertainty by arming yourself with the latest legislative updates and reforms, plus best practice advice by attending this extensive program. Benefit from critical information on proposed changes to building regulation and the latest cases. Walk away with an inventory of best practice tips across insolvency, negligence, SOPA, expert witness conduct, project management and plain English drafting. 233N20
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 based on NSW legislation
*The symposium will be directly followed by a Networking Drinks Reception for the in-person delegates
Session 1
Critical Construction Considerations and Practical Approaches
Chair: Vera Culkoff, Barrister, Second Floor Selborne Chambers
9.00am to 10.00am 2023 Proposed Changes to Building Regulation
Explore the biggest proposed changes to building regulation and consider the implications for your construction law practice across the following:
- Extension of Design and Building Practitioners and Residential Apartment Buildings legislation to additional classes of buildings
- Extending contractor licensing beyond residential building
- Replacing the Home Building Act with the Building Bill
Presented by Grant Parker, Partner, Hamilton Locke; Best Lawyers (Global Business Edition), Construction / Infrastructure Law, 2021 – 2022
10.00am to 11.00am Responding to a Security of Payment Adjudication
- Overview: A “hands on” approach to content for an effective Adjudication Response
- Fundamentals: Are you in time and what are the limits of content for your response? How good is the payment schedule?
- The Form of Response: Nominating Authority templates
- Who bears the onus? Attacking the claim is the first point of any response; Jurisdictional issue? Looking for the “knockout blow”
- Expert evidence, should it be obtained, and will it be worth it?
- Addressing the merits: prioritising the targets, attack the largest components of the payment claim first
Presented by Robert Kalde, Partner, Bartier Perry
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15am Insolvency in Construction
- Over-representation of the construction sector in insolvency statistics
- Current pressures: impact of supply chain shortages and global price escalation
- Contractual protection measures to minimise the risk of insolvency
- The role of vigilant contract administration
- What to do when faced with contractor / subcontractor insolvency
Presented by Alex Hartmann, Partner, Baker McKenzie
12.15am to 1.15pm Duty to Take Reasonable Care: Negligence in the Construction Industry
Presented by Tom Davie, Barrister, Queen’s Square Chambers; Author, Annotated Home Building Act, Prospect Media and o-author, Understanding Construction Law, LexisNexis; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2020
Session 2
Ethics, Professional Skills & Practice Management for Construction Lawyers
Chair: Kerrie Leotta, Barrister, 8th Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm Dealing with Witnesses: How to Work Out who to Put in the Witness Box and who to Avoid
A good witness (both lay and expert) will win you a case and a bad witness will lose you one. Yet, so little time is spent sorting out the good ones from the bad and what to do about it if your witness turns out to be awful. Writing down everything your witness says with no regard for admissibility or credibility (or even worse, paraphrasing it into your own lexicon) and just throwing caution to the wind when they get into the witness box is not the way to get the best result for your client.
- Gain guidance to set out the steps to take when taking evidence that will assist in you determining who to call, the ethical considerations that are closely associated with preparing witness’ evidence and practical steps you can take if it all seems to be going South.
Presented by Fiona Clark, Barrister, 8th Floor Garfield Barwick Chambers
Practice Management & Business Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm Project Managing Your Construction Law Matters
- Analyse how project management tools can be applied to running construction cases
- Best practice for running a disputes matter
- Gain perspective on how these same principles can be applied to large front-end matters
Presented by Paul Tobin, Partner, Construction, Projects & Infrastructure, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm Plain English Writing for Construction Lawyers
Take a practical examination of plain English writing for legal personnel involved in the building and construction industry.
- Explore what plain English writing is in a construction law context
- Discuss the changing attitudes towards the adoption of plain English writing in the legal world
- Gain practical drafting tips to enhance your legal writing in both transactional and litigious settings
Presented by Mario Rashid-Ring, Senior Associate; Bartier Perry, Winner, Lawyers Weekly, 30 under 30 Award 2022, Construction and Infrastructure
Presenters
Vera Culkoff
Vera Culkoff graduated in law from the University of Technology, Sydney in early 1990 with First Class Honours and the University Medal. Her practice is in commercial law and equity, with an emphasis in building and construction disputes. Such proceedings have commonly involved complex contractual disputes, misleading and deceptive allegations and the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW). She also practices in the area of wills, probate and family provisions disputes, involving complex issues and large estates. She has experience in class actions, having been involved in commercial class actions against Westpac, ANZ, AMP and GIO. Vera has been involved in litigation on both sides of the fence: having worked at Clayton Utz doing defence work before joining Cashman & Partners and becoming an equity partner (now Maurice Blackburn). She remained a partner of the new firm until 2000, responsible for commercial and product liability litigation. She was called to the Bar in 2000. Vera was joint General Editor of the Australian Product Liability Reporter (from 2006 to 2011) and has conducted presentations at seminars on class actions and, whilst at the Bar, in building and construction law. In Timwin Construction v Facade Innovations [2005] NSWSC 548 (McDougall J), the notion of "good faith" was first argued by Vera and accepted by the Court in the context of the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (Act). It is now an entrenched part of the law in this field. In Vince Schokman v Xception Construction Pty Limited [2005] NSWSC 297 (Einstein J), the question of election under the same Act was first raised by Vera and resolved in favour of the argument put forward by her.
Grant Parker
Grant brings over 30 years of experience specialising in construction and infrastructure projects. He is known for leveraging his expertise to deliver valuable, innovative and tailored advice to clients and their complex problems. Grant has extensive experience providing contractual, project administration and advisory services to public and private sector clients on major construction and infrastructure projects. He is known for applying his detailed understanding of the intricacies of infrastructure assets to mitigate the risks involved. He has also advised on many public-private partnership (PPP) projects both in the United Kingdom and Australia. Grant has worked extensively on environmentally sustainable and alternative delivery of utility services. He has advised on a broad range of emissions reduction and reporting matters and projects, including those involving the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS), the Carbon Farming Initiative and the Emissions Reduction Fund. Grant acts for a range of clients in the public and private sector, including government agencies, property developers, contractors, major subcontractors, service providers, carbon sector participants and not-for-profit entities. Grant has experience working in Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand and prior to joining Hamilton Locke worked at Sparke Helmore, Holding Redlich and Gilbert + Tobin.
Robert Kalde
Robert is an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation, with over 25 years’ experience in building and construction and insurance law. Having worked for boutique practices and running his own niche practice for the last ten years, Robert has developed a stable base of clients in building, construction and related businesses.Acting for developers, builders, subcontractors, building professionals and consultants and private clients, Robert adapts his approach to meet the needs and priorities of his clients, providing honest and pragmatic advice. Robert has enjoyed assisting many of his clients in their growth cycle, tailoring the delivery of legal services to their evolving requirements. Whilst preferring to find alternative pathways to litigation for his clients, Robert enjoys the strategic side of litigation and exploring the psychology behind commercial disputes.
Alex Hartmann
Alex Hartmann is a partner in the construction group of Baker & McKenzie, Sydney and has over 25 years' experience as a construction lawyer working in Sydney, Melbourne and London. Alex's practice covers both the non-contentious and contentious aspects of construction law, ranging from advice on procurement models and contract drafting and negotiation through construction administration to the various forms of traditional and alternative dispute resolution. Major projects on which Alex has worked include: the Sydney Desalination Plant; the Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort; campus developments at UTS; the Village Roadshow Wet 'n' Wild water park; and the redevelopment of 20 Martin Place. Alex deals with architects as designers and contract administrators in negotiating consultancy agreements for owners, as clients in their own right pursuing claims for payment and occasionally in bringing or defending claims against architects.
Tom Davie
Tom is one of Sydney’s most experienced and respected construction law barristers. He is the author of the Annotated Home Building Act and a co-author of Understanding Construction Law. He regards building and construction law as a branch of commercial law. Before coming to the bar in 1998 Tom practiced as a solicitor and partner involved in building and construction, commercial, and planning law at major legal practices across three jurisdictions.
Kerrie Leotta
Kerrie Leotta was admitted as a barrister on 21 July 2087 and practices in the areas of building & construction, Alternative Dispute Resolution (Arbitration/Mediation/Evaluation), commercial, equity, family and professional negligence,. She is the past president and treasurer of the Women's Lawyers Association of NSW, and has served as Past Treasurer Women's' Barristers Forum, Convener Australian Construction Law Discussion Group, Past Deputy Chair Law Council Business Construction (NSW) Chapter, Lecturer in Dispute Resolution in Construction Industry at UTS, Past Judicial Member Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT) and Accredited mediator and Arbitrator . Life member of WLA (NSW) ,Gymnastics NSW and NSW Gymnastics WAG Judges Assembly.
Fiona Clark
Experienced litigation solicitor and barrister with over 24 years experience. I have appeared as counsel in all NSW jurisdictions, including appearing for HIA Insurance in the High Court in one of the seminal cases on the constitution of jurisdictional error when a state tribunal is not bound by the formal rules of evidence. I have also appeared in the Court of Appeal in matters concerning the interpretation of the interim nature of the Security of Payment Act, the Supreme Court in both commercial and residential construction contract defect claims and in over 100 matters before NCAT. I have also been a solicitor for over 20 years and have acted for Allianz, Meriton Apartments, Abbey Group and Probuild. My specific areas of speciality are building and construction, building regulation, insolvency, licensing, insurance with a focus on home warranty insurance, strata law, Security of Payments applications, public law and jurisdictional error of adjudicators, general commercial and equity, appellate law, planning and development and insolvency. I am a certified mediator and have lectured in various legal subjects at the law schools of the University of Wollongong and University of Western Sydney.
Paul Tobin
Paul is a senior construction and procurement lawyer. He assists clients through all phases of projects from conception, tendering, documentation to contract and claim administration, and dispute resolution. Paul advises clients involved in infrastructure projects, building developments and the procurement of major plant and equipment. Paul has significant experience in all forms of dispute resolution, including arbitration, adjudication, expert determination, conciliation, mediation and litigation. Paul works with mining companies, state-owned corporations, government agencies, developers and major building and engineering contractors. Paul has been recommended by Doyles Guide 2021 for Construction and Infrastructure Litigation and has been acknowledged as a leading Construction/Infrastructure Lawyer in AFR’s Best Lawyers since 2016.
Mario Rashid-Ring
Mario Rashid-Ring is a motivated and highly capable commercial litigator specialising in construction & infrastructure. Mario works with a diverse mix of clients, ranging from large multinationals to individuals, and believes that the key to building and maintaining strong relationships is continuous, open and effective dialogue. His technical knowledge of the law, coupled with his degree in Business and Commerce helps Mario deliver tailored and practical solutions to his clients at all times. Ever mindful of the commercial realities of disputes and the specific merits of each case, Mario encourages the strategic use of alternate dispute resolution methods when appropriate. However, when litigation is deemed necessary, he readily assists clients across a range of Australian jurisdictions.
Venue
Cliftons - Spring Street
Level 3, 10 Spring Street
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia
Parking Information
Parking not included in you registration. Here are some options below.
Secure Park 20 Bond Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 1 O'Connell Street - click here for rates
Wilson Park 31 Bond Street - click here for rates
Directions
Nearby Public Transport:
Train Stations - Wynyard 400m OR Martin Place 500m
Bus Interchange - Clarence Street 450m
Ferry - Circular Quay 1.2km