In-House Counsel Summit
Issues covered include: consumer data right, consumer law, ACCC, penalties, Royal Commission into the Financial Sector, employment law, mental health, whistleblowing, regulatory compliance
Description
In a perfect world you wouldn’t have to worry about keeping up with new laws and the latest trends that are having a drastic impact on in-house practice right now. You’d have a vast team and endless resources to meet your obligations and guide your organisation. But the reality is that in-house counsel are being asked to do more with less while keeping up with a rapidly evolving legal landscape. We can’t give you that perfect world, but we can give you the information, updates and tools you need to succeed.
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 conference was recorded in NSW on 6 March 2019
Session 1
New Law, Key Updates and Modern Trends
Chair: Tania Juric, Associate General Counsel & Director Head of Legal, South Pacific, HP
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am: Consumer Data Right: A Seismic Shift in Data Regulation
- Key features of the Consumer Data Right
- The regulatory framework and the key players
- How will data transfers work in practice?
- What’s at stake? Compliance monitoring and consequences of non-compliance: remedies and enforcement powers for breaches
- A look ahead: what’s coming next and what you need to do to prepare
Presented by Valeska Bloch, Partner and Alex Ortner, Senior Associate, Allens
9.50am to 10.35am: En Garde: Consumer Law Crackdown and the ACCC, Substantially Increased Penalties and how to Avoid the Risks
- New and significantly higher penalties now in force for contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law
- Risks arising from increased ACCC activities under the ACL
- ACCC’s compliance and enforcement priorities for 2019
- Update on additional consumer law reforms and the impact on in-house counsel
- How to ensure your business operations are compliant with the ACL
Presented by Sonia Stewart, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
10.35am to 11.20am: The Royal Commission into the Financial Sector: the Wide Ranging Impact and What it Means for Companies Across Australia
- The key findings that in-house counsel need to have on their radar
- Beyond the implications for the banking and financial sector: the wider impact on companies and governance
- Changes in regulatory enforcement powers, levels and strategies: game changing developments that won't be limited to financial services entities
- Lessons for in-house counsel and strategies to implement going forward
Presented by Dr Hillary Ray, Partner, Cowell Clarke
11.20am to 11.35am Morning Tea
11.35am to 12.20pm: Employment Law Update
- The Fair Work Ombudsman’s expanded statutory powers, recent actions, and increased penalties
- Modern slavery laws update, supply chain transparency, and reporting
- Additional key developments in employment law
Presented by Paul Lorraine, Executive Counsel and Team Leader, Harmers Workplace Lawyers
12.20pm to 1.05pm: Mental Health in the Workplace: Education and Prevention
- The mental health landscape in Australia
- Mental illness: prevalence, definitions, types, signs, causes
- The neurobiology of chronic stress and its impact on mental capital
- Prevention and intervention: consideration of policies and procedures
- Skills for in-house counsel to implement in their role
Presentation by Rachel King, Applied Neuroscience
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
CPD Compulsory Units for In-House Counsel
Chair: Tania Juric, Associate General Counsel & Director Head of Legal, South Pacific, HP
Ethics & Professional Responsibility
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Whistleblowing: Pending Changes, the Current State of Play, and What it Means for You
The Financial Services Royal Commission has highlighted the importance of an internal whistleblowing program for bringing corrupt and unethical conduct to light. Australia has long been lagging behind in legal protections for whistleblowers, but this situation may change very quickly.
- The new whistleblower protection bill (currently pending in Parliament) and potential compliance problems from an employment law perspective
- Features of a robust internal whistleblowing program
- Your ethical and professional responsibilities as a solicitor and as in-house counsel
Presented by Elizabeth Ticehurst, Director, Workplace & Employment Law, KPMG; Accredited Specialist in Employment & Industrial Law
Practice Management & Business Skills
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Didn’t Someone Else Used to do that for Me? How to Handle an Increased Workload and Heightened Expectations as More Work Moves In-House
- Taking on additional commercial and strategic functions
- Efficiently allocating an increased workload to others for better results
- Leveraging technology to deal with the demands and making a business case for adopting new technology within your organisation
- When it simply makes sense to turn to outside counsel and how to successfully advocate for doing so
Presented by Shoshana Shields, Director of Legal, Google Australia and New Zealand
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
Professional Skills
4.15pm to 5.15pm: Competition Regulatory Compliance: Creating and Managing an Effective and Efficient Compliance Program
With increasingly dire consequences for non-compliance, having a thorough and effective competition regulatory compliance program is essential for Australian organisations. However compliance comes at a significant cost in terms of time and money. Ensure your organisation’s compliance scheme is not only effective but efficient.
- Examine what makes for a successful compliance regime
- How might the new concerted practices provisions affect your organisation?
- What are some special risks that arise in particular situations, including M&A transactions?
Presented by Stephanie Panayi, Special Counsel, Clayton Utz