Meet Our Authors

  1. Sophie Redmond

    Sophie Redmond

    Executive Counsel and Team Leader, Harmers Workplace Lawyers

    Sophie Redmond

    Sophie Redmond

    Executive Counsel and Team Leader, Harmers Workplace Lawyers

    Biography:

    Sophie holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of New South Wales. She was admitted as a solicitor in 2003.

    Prior to joining Harmers, Sophie worked as an in-house lawyer at the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (England, Scotland and Wales). Prior to that, she worked as a solicitor in the litigation group of a leading Australian law firm.

    Sophie provides advice to both employers and individuals on a broad range of matters including discrimination and harassment claims, issues arising from termination of employment, advising on employment contracts and policies, and conducting workplace investigations. Sophie also provides in-house training for clients on matters such as performance management, inappropriate workplace behaviour, and occupational health and safety regulation (including the harmonisation reforms which take effect from 1 January 2012).

  2. Patrick Fair

    Patrick Fair

    Managing Partner, Patrick Fair Associates

    Patrick Fair

    Patrick Fair

    Managing Partner, Patrick Fair Associates

    Biography:

    Patrick Fair is the principal of Patrick Fair Associates, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Information Technology, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment at Deakin University, the Chairman of the Communications Security Reference Panel at the Communications Alliance, and a member of the IoT Alliance of Australia Security Workstream.

  3. Melanie Marks

    Melanie Marks

    Director/Principal, elevenM

    Melanie Marks

    Melanie Marks

    Director/Principal, elevenM

    Biography:

    Privacy practice lead of elevenM, Melanie has established and run privacy governance programs for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the National eHealth Transition Authority. Now, Melanie works with Australia’s most prominent brands to manage privacy, data governance and other risks of the digital age and drive innovation. Former President of IAPP ANZ, Melanie has also served on the advisory boards of InfogovANZ and Hello Sunday Morning and is an Expert Advisor to LexisNexis on privacy and data protection.

    Awards & Recognition

    • Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP) – International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
    • Former President and Board Member of IAPP ANZ
    • Former Advisory Board Member of Information Governance ANZ

    Memberships

    • International Association of Privacy Professionals
    • Information Governance ANZ

    Speaking Engagements

    • Many previous speaking engagements

    Professional Organisation

    elevenM Consulting
    https://elevenm.com.au/
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-marks-51427814/

    Professional Contact

    melanie@elevenM.com

  4. Riyad El Choufani

    Riyad El Choufani

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at Legal Aid NSW

    Riyad El Choufani

    Riyad El Choufani

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at Legal Aid NSW

    Modules:

    Biography:

    Riyad is a Law Society of NSW accredited specialist in criminal law. He commenced his career in criminal law in 2010 with Nyman Gibson Stewart (now Nyman Gibson Miralis) Lawyers. He is currently employed with Legal Aid NSW and has worked at offices in Penrith, Sydney and Newcastle. Riyad has represented clients in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, Supreme Court, District Court and Local Court. He has practised extensively across summary, committals and indictable practice areas. Riyad regularly works with experienced counsel in serious matters, including senior counsel in several high profile homicide cases. He is an experienced advocate in Local Court and District Court proceedings. Riyad has prepared and presented papers on matters of criminal practice and procedure including Fitness in Local Court Proceedings and Breaches of Suspended Sentences.

  5. Dr Julian Parmegiani

    Dr Julian Parmegiani

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury New South Wales. Forensic Psychiatrist

    Dr Julian Parmegiani

    Dr Julian Parmegiani

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury New South Wales. Forensic Psychiatrist

    Biography:

    Dr Parmegiani is a psychiatrist in private practice and the director of Chambers Medical Specialists. He is the principal author of the Psychiatric Impairment Rating Scale. He regularly provides his expert opinion to the courts on personal injury matters.

  6. Gavin Douglas

    Gavin Douglas

    Partner, Mills Oakley

    Gavin Douglas

    Gavin Douglas

    Partner, Mills Oakley

    Biography:

    Gavin is a partner in the Corporate Advisory Team in Sydney.

    He brings a wealth of experience having previously acted as a partner of a boutique law firm in Sydney and a principal of a corporate legal practice in Perth.

    Gavin regularly acts for listed, public and large proprietary companies.

    His expertise includes corporate and commercial law with a particular focus on:

    • regulated and private treaty acquisitions, divestments and restructurings;
    • fundraising via equity capital markets; and
    • domestic and foreign investment.

    Gavin is a ‘hands-on’ lawyer who enjoys providing high quality strategic, tactical and practical advice.

    Recent transactions include:

    • advising on the sale of Australian Contract Mining Pty Ltd to Westgold Resources Limited (ASX: WGX)
    • advising the independent directors of Universal Coal plc (ASX: UNV) on their successful takeover defence of a hostile bid by IchorCoal N.V.
    • advising the independent directors of Universal Coal plc on a recommended takeover offer by Coal of Africa Limited (ASX: CZA)
    • advising on the sale of Financial Choice Pty Limited to Spring FG Limited (ASX: SFG)
  7. Monica Allen

    Monica Allen

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Commercial. Formerly Associate, Bartier Perry

    Monica Allen

    Monica Allen

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Commercial. Formerly Associate, Bartier Perry

    Modules:

  8. Joni Pirovich

    Joni Pirovich

    Special Counsel, formerly at Mills Oakley

    Joni Pirovich

    Joni Pirovich

    Special Counsel, formerly at Mills Oakley

    Biography:

    Joni is highly regarded for her client advisory and policy work with respect to the legal and tax implications of blockchain and digital assets. Increasingly, Joni's work includes input into the development of smart legal contract templates so that, by design, laws are complied with and investor and consumer protections are upheld.

    Joni brings unique experience and insight to her technology-focused advisory practice, drawing on her strong foundations in tax compliance, advisory and disputes – across a range of industries and clients – to provide a best practice advisory approach that is responsive to each of her clients' thresholds for compliance effect and dispute management and resolution.

  9. Anna Walsh

    Anna Walsh

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury New South Wales. Principal, Anna Walsh Legal Consulting

    Anna Walsh

    Anna Walsh

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury New South Wales. Principal, Anna Walsh Legal Consulting

    Biography:

    Anna Walsh is a Solicitor who has specialised in medical law litigation for more than 15 years. A former Principal of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, and a recognised expert in her field, Anna has been involved in a number of high profile cases that have contributed to the law on duty of care, causation and damage. She sits on various key industry committees, has published widely in the area of medical law, and is a regular speaker at legal conferences. In 2011, she was the named the Woman Lawyer of the Year in Private Practice by the NSW Women Lawyers' Association.

    Anna is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Law at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney, where she has lectured in various subjects including Torts, Health Law, and Mental Health Law. She is currently completing a PhD in law, and is a Principal of Anna Walsh Legal Consulting. Her qualifications include LL.M, LL.B (Hons), B.Nurs (Hons).

  10. Craig Wappett

    Craig Wappett

    Partner and Personal Property Securities Advisor, Johnson Winter & Slattery

    Craig Wappett

    Craig Wappett

    Partner and Personal Property Securities Advisor, Johnson Winter & Slattery

    Biography:

    Craig has over 25 years specialist experience in banking and finance, securities, financial product regulation, restructuring and insolvency across a variety of industries including financial services, manufacturing, mining and resources, IT, property development, agriculture, tourism, transport, hospitals and medical facilities.

    Craig is one of Australia's leading experts in securities law. He has written numerous publications and presented to many conferences and seminars on this and related topics. He was a member of the Australian Attorney General's Consultative Committee on Personal Property Securities Reform.

    During his career Craig has practised in Sydney, Brisbane and Toronto, Canada.

    Craig's expertise in the field of personal property securities include:

    • Advising a number of banks, finance companies and other businesses (including manufacturers, suppliers and resource companies) on the implementation of the PPSA in Australia, including amendment of documentation, document replacement, process and risk management.
    • Direct working experience with the PPSA legislation in Canada between 1989 and 1992.
    • Direct experience working with clients on the implementation of PPS reforms in New Zealand.
    • Publications such as Wappett, Whittaker & Edwards (eds), Personal Property Securities in Australia (LexisNexis, 2010), Wappett, Essential Personal Property Securities in Australia (LexisNexis, 2012) and Wappett & Allan, Securities over Personal Property (Butterworths, 1999).
    • Authoring numerous journal articles, seminar and conference papers on personal property securities.

    Publications and Editorial Contacts

    Personal Property Securities in Australia, Looseleaf Contact - LN LL Publishing

    Awards & Recognition

    Craig is one of Australia's leading experts in securities law. He has written numerous publications and presented to many conferences and seminars on this and related topics. He was a member of the Australian Attorney General's Consultative Committee on Personal Property Securities Reform.

    Speaking Engagements

    Craig is a part time lecturer at the University of Queensland. He has conducted numerous presentations, seminars and workshops on the PPSA for:

    • Industry representative bodies and associations (including the Australian Bankers Association, the Australian Mining and Petroleum Law Association, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association and the Australian Institute of Credit Management)
    • Professional education conferences (including the Federal Court Judicial Education Workshop, the Queensland Bar Association and the annual Credit Law Conference)
    • Various financiers and insolvency practitioners

    Professional Organisation

    Johnson Winter & Slattery

    Professional Contact

    Tel: +61 7 3002 2511
    Email: craig.wappett@jws.com.au

  11. Nicholas Ellery

    Nicholas Ellery

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Employment. Former Executive Lawyer, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

    Nicholas Ellery

    Nicholas Ellery

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Employment. Former Executive Lawyer, Corrs Chambers Westgarth

    Modules:

    Biography:

    Nicholas is known for pushing the boundaries. As a front-line workplace relations lawyer, his name is linked with ground-breaking cases and high-profile industrial disputes. Nick regularly appears as counsel in the superior courts and tribunals for leading companies from a diverse range of industries including resources, construction, utilities, health, maritime, insurance and the government sector.

    Nick has been recognised by his peers and the industry as one of the leading strategists and resolvers of disputes in his field.

  12. Erin Bedford

    Erin Bedford

    Director, Bedfords Legal

    Erin Bedford

    Erin Bedford

    Director, Bedfords Legal

    Modules:

    Biography:

    Erin studied law at the Australian National University from 2003 until 2007. She was awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws followed by a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with distinction.

    Prior to commencement of her University studies Erin worked at a legal practice in Canberra City and this experience confirmed her interest in the law. During university she worked for KJB Law as a paralegal in a variety of areas and positions and commenced full time work with KJB Law as a solicitor at the beginning of 2008.

    Erin's areas of practice include, amongst other areas, estate planning including preparation of wills and enduring powers of attorney.

  13. Dimitra Dubrow

    Dimitra Dubrow

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury Victoria. Principal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

    Dimitra Dubrow

    Dimitra Dubrow

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Personal Injury Victoria. Principal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers

    Biography:

    Dimitra Dubrow is a Principal in the medical negligence department of Maurice Blackburn and a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law. Dimitra has practiced in the area of medical negligence since 2000 and acts exclusively on behalf of plaintiffs. She has a broad practice including obstetric and birth trauma cases, cases involving emergency department care, delayed diagnosis of cancer and coronial matters. Dimitra is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria's Public Liability and Medical Negligence Committee and the AMA/LIV/VicBar Medico-Legal Standing Committee.

  14. Ian Hill

    Ian Hill

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at Crockett Chambers

    Ian Hill

    Ian Hill

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at Crockett Chambers

    Modules:

    Biography:

    Ian practices in criminal law and has appeared in all of the major Australian jurisdictions. Essentially a trial advocate, Ian has also appeared before State Appellate Courts and in the High Court. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1997.

    Ian has appeared in many major criminal trials including lengthy and complex "white-collar" fraud trials. Such appearances have been before the Supreme Courts of Victoria, NSW, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

    He also practices in Sports Law having been formerly a member of the AFL Tribunal and the Chairman of several AOC Appeals Boards.

    Ian also teaches advocacy workshops in PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Nauru.

  15. Sean Field

    Sean Field

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy. Special Counsel, formerly at Maddocks

    Sean Field

    Sean Field

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Cybersecurity, Data Protection and Privacy. Special Counsel, formerly at Maddocks

    Biography:

    Sean is a Special Counsel in the Maddocks Technology, Media and Telecoms Team and a founding member of the Maddocks Cyber and Data Resilience Practice Team and the Maddocks Digital Currency and Blockchain Team.

    Sean has extensive experience in the technology, telecommunications and defence sectors and has a long history of advising his clients on cyber security and privacy issues. He has published numerous articles in the cyber resilience field and owner of the LinkedIn Group, the Pacific Cyber Resilience Network.

    Publications

    Speaking Engagements

    • The Regulation of Digital Currencies and Crypto Assets in Australia, presentation to the Australian Digital Commerce Association, March 2018
    • Data Security and Cyber Risk, presentation to the Victoria Congress of the Institute of Public Accountants, March 2018
    • Cyber Security and the Law, Continuing Legal Education presentations to clients, February 2018
    • Data Security and Cyber Risk, presentation to the Corporate Superannuation Association, July 2017
    • The NIST Cybersecurity Framework, various presentations during June, July and August 2017

    Professional Organisations & Memberships

    Member of the Victorian Society for Computers and the Law

    Professional Contact

    Direct: 61 3 8615 3397

    Mobile: 0417 681 830

    sean.field@maddocks.com.au

  16. Sophie Dilda

    Sophie Dilda

    Solicitor, formerly Legal Assistant at Bartley Cohen Law

    Sophie Dilda

    Sophie Dilda

    Solicitor, formerly Legal Assistant at Bartley Cohen Law

    Biography:

    Sophie spent three years while completing her law degree working as a legal assistant at a leading boutique disputes and commercial litigation law firm where she was exposed to an array of commercial disputes with a focus on professional indemnity.

    Sophie served as Associate to the now retired Honourable Justice James Douglas of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2019 and the Honourable Justice Ann Lyons, Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2020. During this time Sophie gained experience in a broad variety of matters and developed an in-depth understanding of advocacy as well as practice and procedure in Queensland.

  17. David Randle

    David Randle

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at 7 Garfield Barwick Chambers

    David Randle

    David Randle

    Former contributor to Practical Guidance Criminal. Barrister, formerly at 7 Garfield Barwick Chambers

    Modules:

    Biography:

    David has a wide range of experience appearing as an advocate in all jurisdictions in NSW, and has successfully appeared unled in contested substantive proceedings in the NSW Court of Appeal, Court of Criminal Appeal and Common Law Division of the Supreme Court.

    The following is a short selection of recent cases that David has appeared in (some client names abbreviated for matters not widely in public domain):

    R v Tuhakaraina [2016] NSWCCA 81 – unled, successfully resisted Crown appeal for inadequacy of sentence

    JC v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2014] NSWCA 228 – unled, successful judicial review challenge to lower court decision relating to statutory interpretation

    R v JR (No.4) [2013] NSWSC 1106 – led by S Russell, acquittal for murder and manslaughter following judge-alone trial

    WorkCover Authority of NSW v SF (3 October 2014, NSWDC, unreported) – unled, acquittal for various offences relating to onsite workplace death; favourable costs order made

    R v Moylan [2014] NSWSC 944 – led by Sutherland SC, widely publicised sentence proceedings relating to protester’s hoax ANZ-press release for Whitehaven Coal; full-time custodial sentence not imposed

    BSF v Roads and Maritime Services [2014] NSWSC 858 – unled, successful judicial review challenge to public authority’s decision to cancel public transport accreditation in denial of procedural fairness

    Prior to coming to the Bar, David was a senior member of two of Sydney’s leading private law firms that specialised in criminal law and, prior to that, land use and environmental planning.

  18. Sebastian Thomas Wilson

    Sebastian Thomas Wilson

    Director

    Sebastian Thomas Wilson

    Sebastian Thomas Wilson

    Director

    Modules:

    Biography:

    After being admitted to practice in 2018, I joined Tierney Law, where I am now a Director and Leader of our Property Law Practice Area. I also practice in Commercial Law.

    I am a current member of the Property & Commercial Law Committee for the Law Society of Tasmania and an author of legal texts and precedent material for the leading international legal publisher, Lexis Nexis.

    In 2021 I obtained my Graduate Certificate in Legal Business from the College of Law.

    I have a keen interest in finding practical solutions for my clients to assist them to grow their lives and businesses.

    Memberships

    Member of the Property & Commercial Committee for the Law Society of Tasmania

    Professional Organisation

    Tierney Law

    Professional Contact

    03 6220 2777
    sebastian@tlaw.com.au

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