Abuse Law Symposium
We have assembled a team of experienced thought leaders & experts in Abuse Law who will share their knowledge & arm you with the critical information needed to stay ahead. Regardless of whether you appear for claimants or defend claims you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in all things evidentiary in the morning & elevate your knowledge in the evolving area of personal injury law in the afternoon. From institutional abuse claims in juvenile detention to legal capacity & so much more. WEB233N50Z
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units including:
4 units in Substantive Law
3 units in Professional Skills
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Session 1
Evidence in Abuse Law Claims
Chair: Maria Skordou, Director, Restore Legal
Professional Skills
9.00am to 10.00am Understanding Psychiatric and Psychological Impact of Abuse on Individuals
- Type of abuse
- Type of individual
- Developmental stage at which abuse is experienced
- Social and environmental factors
Presented by Dr Ghazala Watt, Consultant Psychiatrist, MindSense Centre of Psychiatry.
Professional Skills
10.00am to 11.00am Using an Expert Occupational Therapist for an Abuse Matter: “The When, the What and the How”
- Determining quantum for past and future care needs and employability for victims of historical abuse with significant vulnerabilities such as substance abuse, addictions and abusive relationships as well as severe intellectual deficits and physical disabilities
- Understanding how the occupational therapist assesses function, uses assessment protocols observes life skills and abilities
- The learning experience will be assisted using examples of redacted reports previously completed
Presented by Nancy Stephenson, Occupational Therapist, Consultant, Assess Medical Group
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
Professional Skills
11.15am to 12.15pm Historical Child Maltreatment and the Changing Nature of Child Protection Practices
Professor Bob Lonne and Prof Maria Harries provide an overview of child protection policy and practice and follow this with an interactive Q&A session concerning how expert witnesses assist in abuse claims and litigation.
- The ways in which social constructions of the children, childhood and the family have altered and have shaped interventions by the state to protect children from harm
- A critical examination of the findings of judicial and other inquiries into child protection system outcomes for children, families and communities
- How people can be harmed by their experiences with child protection agencies
- What legal expert witness reports can provide regarding historical child maltreatment
Presented by Prof. Bob Lonne, and Prof. Maria Harries AM, Consultants, Ferret Consulting
12.15pm to 1.15pm Approaches to Assessing Economic Loss in Historic Abuse Cases
- Issues, traps and public policy considerations arising in economic loss claim
- Analyzing the approach taken to quantifying economic loss the Lonergan v Trustees of the Sisters of St Joseph and Anor
- What losses are compensable and how are they proved
- Circumstances in which a Court will prefer a Farlow/buffer/cushion assessment
Presented by Martin Slattery, Partner Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers
Session 2
Liability, Legal Capacity, Appellate Case Review and Young Offenders and Abuse
Chair: Leanne McDonald, National Abuse Law Leader, Shine Lawyers
2.00pm to 2.45pm Institutional Abuse Claims in Juvenile Detention: The NSW Experience
- Historical and contemporary detention
- Changing landscape of detention
- Disclosure and veracity of allegations
- Establishing breach of duty
- Nexus between abuse and adult behaviours
- Pushing for change
Presented by Josh McKay, Managing Partner/Director, New Path Legal
2.45pm to 3.30pm Rebutting the Presumption that Every Adult has Capacity
- Identifying some warning signs that might suggest an adult does not have capacity
- How you might then go about making that assessment
- What needs to be done if the presumption of capacity can be rebutted
Presented by Jed McNamara, Special Counsel & State (Qld/NT) Team Leader, Maurice Blackburn
3.30pm to 3.45pm Afternoon Tea
Professional Skills
3.45pm to 4.30pm Investigating Claims
In this presentation you will work through the methods by which you can investigate your clients' claims to identify the identity and whereabouts of perpetrators and witnesses.
Presented by Susan Anderson, Barrister, Chambers 33
4.30pm to 5.15pm Appellate Case Update from Around Australia
Examine the latest Court of Appeal decisions on important legal principles affecting civil claims for historical abuse.
Presented by Luke Geary, Partner, Mills Oakley
Testimonials
Great spread of viewpoints, topics & industries
Very full of content which is great. Extremely beneficial and important to be aware of (and make changes where needed).
Presenters
Maria Skordou
Admitted to practise as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 31 January 2000, Maria Skordou has practised exclusively in the area of compensation law for the last 21 years. In May 2002, Maria joined a growing plaintiff litigation firm which now has a national presence and is listed on the ASX. She was employed by that firm for over 16 years, becoming a partner in June 2009. On 1 August 2018, Maria launched Restore Legal in which she will continue to engage in her passion of helping every one of her clients achieve the best possible outcome at the earliest opportunity.
Dr Ghazala Watt
Dr Ghazala Watt is a consultant Psychiatrist (MRCPsych, FRANZCP) and an Independent Medical Examiner, experienced in all aspects of general adult psychiatry including however not limited to mood and anxiety disorders, trauma and stress related conditions and psychotic disorders. Dr Watt’ subspecialties include Historical child sexual abuse, intergenerational trauma and Transcultural Psychiatry. She has a vast experience working in different cultural setting in Asia, Europe, as well as working with Australian First Nation communities. Dr Watt holds accreditations with ABIME, AMA 4, AMA 5, AMA 6, GEPI 2, WorkSafe VIC, TAC VIC, NSW MAA and Comcare PI. She is also a trained Expert Witness, Certified by the Australasian College of Legal Medicine.
Nancy Stephenson
Nancy Stephenson has been practicing as an occupational therapist for 37 years. She is highly experienced in medico-legal assessment, total and permanent disability assessment, activities of daily living assessment, care needs assessment, vocational assessment, and functional capacity assessment. She has worked in occupational rehabilitation for many years conducting worksite visits, functional capacity assessments, designing return to work programs and case managing injured workers. She has been conducting medico-legal assessments for more than 15 years and is an experienced expert witness. She provides medico-legal assessments for personal injury, medical negligence, historical sexual abuse claims and workplace and industrial accidents.
Prof. Bob Lonne
Bob Lonne, PhD is a Professor of Social Work with a distinguished 40-year practice, managerial, academic and research career in child protection, being an advocate for systemic reform and prevention strategies for child abuse and neglect. He has consulted for a range of Australian and international agencies about practice, policy and system developments. He is an accomplished author and was a former National President of the Australian Association of Social Workers. Professor Lonne has completed numerous high-quality reports as a legal expert witness in civil litigation, Coronial inquiries and judicial inquiries; being cited over 40 times in the final report of the Queensland Carmody judicial inquiry into the child protection system. His reputation is for combining extensive research of the legal/institutional context with a hands-on understanding of how policies and culture shape practice, and how this can lead to harm and unintended consequences. Professor Lonne is the co-founder of Ferret Consulting.
Prof. Maria Harries AM
Professor Maria Harries AM is a nationally and internationally recognized social work practitioner, researcher, and scholar in the areas of child and family wellbeing, child protection/maltreatment, family violence and mental health over a career spanning fifty years. She has undertaken multiple reviews of services, conducted inquiries into child deaths and incidents of serious malpractice, and has led and been engaged in re-designs of child and youth safety services across Australian jurisdictions. She has often testified as an expert witness and is experienced at preparing reports for civil court matters. Professor Harries has been particularly active in establishing and supporting services for vulnerable populations including survivors of abuse including sexual abuse. She has always pursued an evidence-base that links academic research to teaching, policy development and practice excellence. She is a co-founder of Ferret Consulting.
Martin Slattery
Martin’s diverse career – journalist, guitarist, lawyer – means he has the life experience and the professional expertise to provide what his clients want when it matters – excellent technical advice, combined with practical solutions. With a strong common law background, Martin is an expert litigator. He has significant commissions of inquiry and royal commissions experience. He has a unique insight and empathy into how the various parties to a dispute perceive the same circumstances that are the nub of the issue. As a musician, his clients trust him to explain the complexities of intellectual property law so they avoid pitfalls and take advantage of opportunities. Martin also works with his clients to protect their intellectual property assets through trademark registration and copyright advice and litigation. Martin also works in the not-for-profit team, providing advice to clients from the not-for-profit sector. This includes governance and regulatory compliance advice, drafting commercial contracts and undertaking property transactions. Martin is responsible for the running of the Melbourne office.
Leanne McDonald
Leanne is an expert in abuse law claims who has spent over 20 years seeking the acknowledgement, justice and restitution her clients deserve. A part of the Shine Lawyers team since 1994, Leanne has used her passion and legal expertise in a number of different roles throughout this time but has found her home leading the National Abuse Law Team. Now the National Abuse Law Strategist, Leanne’s focus is on ensuring excellence across our abuse law practice so that survivors of abuse can continue to secure justice and achieve the best outcomes possible. Leanne continues to lead reform in the area, providing submissions to government allowing a smoother path for survivors.
Josh McKay
Josh McKay has over 18 years’ experience in the legal industry, working in senior government positions, the charitable sector, and in a range of private practice settings. His varied work experience has positioned him well to establish New Path Legal. Josh is highly specialiezd in institutional abuse claims advancing the legal right of survivors of sexual abuse, with a focus on claims involving historic and current juvenile detention facilities, religious institutions, charities, and public and private schools. Josh refuses to be shackled by the way things have been done in the past, he is not afraid to push for change when it is needed. With an inside understanding of Government policy and processes, Josh knows how to get outcomes clients truly deserve. Josh is experienced in working with people who are traumatized and in dealing with incidents that happened decades ago. He has a gift for communicating, and making clients feel comfortable and supported.
Jed McNamara
Jed McNamara is Special Counsel and Queensland Head of Abuse Law, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. Jed is a highly experienced personal injuries compensation Associate in Maurice Blackburn’s Maroochydore office on the Sunshine Coast. He also sees clients in our visiting office in Gympie. Jed helps clients with a range of compensation claims. He also a senior member of the firm’s national sexual and institutional compensation team and has a particular interest in bringing claims for the survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Jed is specially trained in trauma informed practice which ensures he works with clients to access justice in a way that recognizes the complex trauma they have suffered. Jed holds a Bachelor of Laws and has been practicing in personal injury compensation law for more than 20 years.
Luke Geary
Luke is a Partner in the Mills Oakley Not-For-Profit & Social Enterprise team in Brisbane and has extensive experience in the Not-For-Profit sector. Luke has a particular expertise assisting institutions in responding to claims of child sexual abuse under a restorative justice framework and in accordance with best practice principles identified by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. In this regard, Luke appeared as a legal advisor in a number of public hearings before the Royal Commission, he participated in many of the Royal Commission’s roundtables (both public and private) for the development of policy positions and has appeared before the Australian Senate Committee and worked with the Commonwealth Redress Taskforce in its design of the National Redress Bill (which is anticipated to provide assistance in justice outcomes for approximately 60,000 Australians). Luke is regularly briefed by major institutions in the most sensitive and significant common law abuse claims and assists in their delicate resolution in a trauma-informed way. Additionally, Luke acts for survivors of abuse in claims against State government institutions, assisting them to obtain either common law or redress justice outcomes compassionately and giving them assistance in finding healing in their lives.
Susan Anderson
Susan Anderson enjoys a broad civil practice. Susan joined the private bar in 2003 following serving as associate to His Honour McPherson JA for two years. A good portion of her practice involves psychiatric injuries. This means she acts for clients with a wide range of claims including public liability, medical negligence, sexual abuse, workplace bullying, nervous shock and physical assault claims. She also maintains practice in property, commercial, physical injuries and administrative law. This broad practice gives Susan experience across a wide range of legal issues. Susan has run many appeals and trials in state and federal courts as well as the QIRC, QCAT, and the AAT. She has undertaken extensive specialized trial and appeal advocacy training to hone her advocacy skills and facilitate the efficient administration of justice. Susan acts for plaintiffs and defendants.