Family Law Evidence and Advocacy Masterclass
Join an experienced panel of family law advocates and gain the knowledge and skills to represent your client effectively in the Family Court. This masterclass focuses on practical skills for effective advocacy in the courtroom, the role of evidence in practice, Section 38 Orders and their use, and a greater understanding of how companies or trusts are divided as a result of a dispute, from an accounting perspective. Don’t miss your chance to attend this highly practical program. WEB233NZA39
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD hours
Chair: Stuart Cummings, Barrister, Surrey Chambers
9.00am to 10.00am Effective Advocacy in the Courtroom
- Identification of key issues for resolution in Court and how to achieve the outcomes you want
- Effective preparation for court hearings and evidence drafting
- Advocacy techniques in court when presenting submissions
- Witness examination and tips for remaining on topic when cross examining in particular
Presented by Daniel Vincent, Director, Cullinane Steele Limited
10.05am to 11.05am Evidence in the Family Court and Interlocutory Remedies
- What is and is not evidence: why does it matter both from both the client and lawyer's perspectives?
- Inadequate and poorly drafted evidence: remedies
- Soliciting further evidence: interlocutory procedures in the Family Court
- Useful case law
Presented by Simon Jefferson KC
11.05am to 11.15am Break
11.15am to 12.15pm Section 38 Orders and Their Effective Use
Got an uncooperative self- represented party on the other side? is your clients application being ignored but you don't have the information to go formal proof it? Is your client unable to fund an accountant to report to the Court? Section 38 may be your secret weapon. This session will cover section 38 and how it can be utilised to get information where co-operation is lacking including the process to be followed some useful cases and persuasive principles to get the application granted.
Presented by Jo Hosking, Barrister
12.20pm to 1.20pm Dividing Companies and Trusts
Understand how to divide a company or trust in the context of a family law dispute or post litigation.
Presented by Sian Heppleston, Analyst, Hussey and Co Chartered Accountants
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how to become an effective advocate in the courtroom
- Understand when and how to use evidence in the family court
- Gain practical insights into section 38 orders and their effective use
- Understand how companies and trusts are divided as a result of a dispute or litigation
Presenters
Stuart Cummings
Stuart Cummings commenced practising law in 1979 as an old-fashioned "law clerk" while completing his law degree. He was admitted in May 1982 and has practised, in the earlier days, in a number of jurisdictions before specialising in Family Law in the late 1980s. Over the past 30+ years that family law focus has further narrowed to a predominance of work in the relationship property area, including trusts, companies and complex disputes. Stuart has practiced as a Barrister sole since 1990, spent some years as a contributing author for Brookers Family Law on family property and is convenor of the Auckland District Law Society Family Law Committee and Chair of the Family Courts Association, Auckland.
Daniel Vincent
Daniel specialises in complex family litigation, often involving international and cross border issues. He appears regularly in appellate jurisdictions, most recently in respect of the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction but also on relationship property and trust matters. In addition to his private practice, he also maintains a busy Lawyer for Child practice. He has over 20 years’ experience in litigation and is an experienced advocate in both appellate and trial contexts. Having led the family team at Thomas Dewar Sziranyi Letts in Wellington for a number of years, he has recently joined Cullinane Steele where he leads the litigation team.
Simon Jefferson KC
Simon Jefferson has had more than 38 years' legal experience specialising almost exclusively in family law since 1983. After 20 years as a partner with Shieff Angland, Simon left to practice at the independent bar in June 2006, and was elevated to the status of Queen's Counsel in 2013. Simon has appeared in the Family Court, the High Court and the Court of Appeal. A number of his cases feature in the Law Reports and he is particularly noted for his appellate advocacy. Appointed a Fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2005, he was also an Executive Member of the Family Law Section of the New Zealand Law Society from 2001 to 2008. Between 2001 and 2005 he led the faculty created by the New Zealand Law Society to train lawyers for appointment as legal representatives of children in the Family Court. He is editor of the Practice and Procedure Manual for Thomson Brookers. He has also contributed to a number of publications including the Ethics in Practice Guide (A Guide for Counsellors), and presented papers at conferences in New Zealand, the United States, Australia and Cambodia.
Jo Hosking
Jo was admitted to the bar in 1998 and has practiced mainly in Family Law since then. In recent years Jo's interest has become focused on relationship and trust property and spousal maintenance cases. She has appeared in the Family Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and (as instructing solicitor) in the Supreme Court. Jo enjoys the strategic and commercial aspects of relationship property dispute resolution and working collaboratively to find solutions to relationship property problems. Jo has recently been appointed to update Fisher on Relationship Property (Chapter 11 Relationship Property And Trusts). Jo also undertakes lawyer for child work in the Rotorua Court. Since September 2015 Jo has been practising as a barrister in based in Rotorua where she was previously a partner in a specialist family law firm.
Sian Heppleston
Sian Heppleston joined Hussey & Co as an Analyst in January 2019. She is a member of the specialist team, and primarily assists with valuations and assessments of economic loss relating to relationship property and commercial disputes. Prior to Hussey & Co, Sian worked at Lyne Davis Opinion Limited for two years, also undertaking specialist work.