Modules:

• Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy

Biography:

Helen is a Partner at Johnson Winter Slattery. She is a technology, intellectual property and data privacy specialist, with extensive experience acting for high profile government and corporate clients in a diverse range of industries including health, energy, telecommunications, financial services, education and manufacturing.

Helen’s legal practice has a focus on core system and digital transformation projects, advising clients on projects to replace or upgrade core technology systems.  She is experienced in major ICT procurement, systems integrations, outsourcing and cloud services, and data privacy.

Publications

• Practical Guidance: Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy
• Privacy, Confidentiality and Data Security (PIC)
• Privacy Law Bulletin – various privacy regulation articles

Awards & Recognition

• Leading Individual – Data Protection in Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022
• Leading Individual – TMT: IT & Telecommunications
  Asia Pacific Legal 500, 2018
• Brisbane Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2019
• Brisbane Information Technology Lawyer of the Year
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2018
• Brisbane Telecommunications Lawyer of the Year
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2017
• Best Lawyer – Intellectual Property, Outsourcing and Privacy & Data Security
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2018-2019
• Best Lawyer – Information Technology
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2013-2019
• Best Lawyer – Telecommunications
  Best Lawyers Peer Review, 2014-2019
• Preeminent – Leading TMT Lawyers, Brisbane, 2017-2018
  Doyle’s Guide to the Australian Legal Profession

Speaking Engagements

Helen is a regular presenter at industry conferences and to key government and corporate clients on a range of technology, data privacy and cyber security topics including:

• Privacy compliance;
• data breach response and notification;
• cyber security and the role of in-house counsel;
• navigating the legal risks in using cloud computing;
• overseas disclosures of personal information;
• legal risks in the use of social media;
• privacy compliance in health services;
• ICT contracting;
• Agile software development contracting;
• IP issues in government contracting.

Professional Organisations & Memberships

• International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) ANZ – Member
• Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ) – Member

Professional Contact

Helen Clarke | Partner

Johnson Winter Slattery

Tel: +61 7 3002 2545

Mobile: +61 411 399 643

Email: Helen.Clarke@jws.com.au

Modules:

• Technology & Innovation

Biography:

As an associate and accredited trade mark attorney, Emma brings a wealth of expertise across the full spectrum of intellectual property law. With a career spanning advisory work on complex transactions and contentious matters, Emma has developed a reputation for delivering clear, strategic guidance to clients navigating the intricacies of IP rights. Her experience includes advising on high‑value asset sales where intellectual property formed a significant component of the transaction, ensuring that ownership and transfer of rights were handled seamlessly. In addition, Emma has provided counsel in research and development agreement disputes, including matters involving agricultural innovations such as wheat, demonstrating both technical understanding and practical problem‑solving skills.

Beyond trade marks, Emma has worked across patents, designs, copyright, and confidential information, offering holistic advice that reflects the interconnected nature of intellectual property. Clients value her ability to balance commercial objectives with legal precision, tailoring solutions to protect and enhance business assets.

Committed to supporting innovation and growth, Emma continues to build a practice grounded in professionalism, collaboration, and a deep appreciation of the role intellectual property plays in shaping competitive advantage.

Modules:

• Personal Injury QLD

Biography:

Brett Charrington has been in practice at the private bar in Queensland since April 1996. He has specialized in personal injury litigation for most of his career, with a sub-specialty of dust disease litigation.

His practice is evenly divided between plaintiff and defendant litigation.He has appeared in all jurisdictions in Queensland, and in the Supreme Court of Victoria. He appeared in the Commonwealth Commission of Inquiry into the Outbreak of Equine Influenza in Sydney in 2007 – 2008.

Modules:

• Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy
• Technology & Innovation

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.

Biography:

David focuses on complex commercial and contractual disputes in various Australian jurisdictions. His practice includes damages claims for breach of contract, injunctions for specific performance or to prevent a breach, debt recovery and enforcement of guarantees and securities, as well as statutory causes of action under company and consumer protection laws. David also advises clients on a range of defamation, contempt and related media issues.

He has significant experience in a number of industries, including banking and finance, telecommunications and petroleum (downstream).

David regularly advises clients on dispute resolution strategies, which often involve engaging in different forms of alternative dispute resolution both prior to and after the commencement of proceedings, such as representing clients in mediation or facilitation.

David was recognized as one of Australia's leading lawyers in the Best Lawyers in Australia list published in 2013.

Modules:

• Criminal

Biography:

Rose is a criminal defence lawyer at Legal Aid NSW, representing both adult and juvenile clients in a variety of jurisdictions in NSW.

Rose has practiced as a criminal defence lawyer at the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT and in private practice. She also has experience in Commonwealth prosecutions, as well as holding various roles in the public sector.

She also teaches at the University of Sydney Faculty of Law.

Modules:

• Mergers & Acquisitions

Biography:

Belle’s practice spans both corporate transactional and advisory work, with a focus on regulated public fundraisings and both private and public mergers and acquisitions.

A substantial part of Belle’s work involves helping clients “do deals”, primarily in the form of buying and selling businesses, and raising money through the issue of equity or debt instruments. This requires Belle to have a deep understanding of Australian company laws, takeovers laws, fundraising laws and the ASX Listing Rules.

Belle also regularly advises on the governance and affairs of listed and unlisted public companies, in particular, issues concerning compliance, continuous disclosure, corporate governance, executive remuneration (including termination benefits and related party benefits), directors’ duties, and responding to shareholder activism.

Belle is experienced in advising offshore clients in relation to making investments in Australian assets (including dealings with the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board).

Professional Organisations & Memberships

• Marque Lawyers

Professional Contact

Direct line: +612 8216 3023

Mobile: +61 433 628 636

Email: bellej@marquelawyers.com.au

Modules:

• Corporations

Biography:

Nick specialises in corporate and commercial transactions, with a particular emphasis on acquisitions and disposals of businesses and companies. His expertise includes joint ventures, commercial contracts, governance, corporate law, due diligence and foreign investment.

Nick has represented Australian (private and government), European, Asian and United States clients operating in various industry sectors, including clients in the manufacturing, distribution, electricity and agribusiness sectors. He is highly regarded for his negotiation skills and pragmatic approach. Nick also undertakes governance and commercial work for a range of not-for-profit organisations.

Modules:

• Immigration

Biography:

Sharon Sobolev is a Senior Associate with our Brisbane office in Australia and is a registered migration agent with over ten years experience in the Australian migration industry. Sharon provides assistance to both corporate and individual clients across a range of industries, particularly in the CSG-LNG, engineering and construction, mines and resources industries.

Sharon specialises in the employer nominated categories of temporary and permanent visas as well as advising on the correct use of short term business visitor visas. Sharon also offers clients guidance and assistance around immigration compliance, audit and monitoring with a strong focus on educating and training key personnel to address key strategic issues around immigration compliance and corporate policy. Sharon also briefs clients on major changes in immigration law that impact upon foreign national employees.

Sharon also has experience in advising individual clients under the Skilled Migration, Family and Partner categories.

Biography:

John is a solicitor and registered migration agent with experience in immigration law in Australia and New Zealand, with a focus on providing immigration advice and assistance to individuals and businesses in the Asia Pacific region.

John's business clients operating across a variety of sectors, including telecommunications and information technology, engineering, resources, entertainment, financial services, retail, and professional services.

Biography:

Val Gostencnik is a Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission, which is the national workplace relations tribunal.

Prior to this appointment in April 2013, Val was Practice Group Leader of the National Workplace Relations Practice Group at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. During this time, Val was sought equally by governments, corporations and charitable organisations and was an expert and author on workplace legislation and its impact on business and society.

Val was at the forefront of workplace reforms - leading the Corrs' National Workplace Relations Practice Group to act for major Australian and international companies on enterprise agreements and workplace practices, including Multiplex, Downer EDI, Thiess and Transfield Services, from test cases before the High Court to coronial inquiries. Val worked across all court and tribunal jurisdictions, and was Solicitor Instructing Counsel Assisting the Victorian 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission.

Val's other passion was managing Corrs' Giving Back program, which covered the firm's pro bono legal offerings, philanthropy and staff volunteering.

Val now acts as a consultant for the LexisNexis Practical Guidance - Employment law module.

Biography:

Rowena McNally completed her Bachelor of Laws in Queensland in 1988 and is admitted as a solicitor in Queensland. She has practised as a lawyer with a major law firm and as an in-house lawyer in both the corporate and semi-government sectors.

Rowena has experience in managing both legal and non-legal organisational sections. Her expertise is in the area of directors' and officers' duties and corporate governance. She is an experienced company secretary and company director. Rowena is a past Queensland and National President of ACLA. She is the former Sugar Industry Commissioner and has served as a director of a number of companies including the Mount Isa and Gladstone and Burnett Water Boards, Queensland Law Society, Cerebral Palsy Queensland and Cerebral Palsy Australia, Catholic Health Australia, WorkCover Queensland and the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia.

Modules:

• Construction

Biography:

Christopher is a Partner of HFW Australia. He is a leading Queensland construction litigation lawyer (Doyles Guide, 2025-2018).

Christopher’s national practice encompasses back-end, project delivery and front-end on major projects throughout Australia.

Christopher's recent experience includes acting for a major Japanese contractor in an AU$1.2B international arbitration arising from the AU$50B Ichthys LNG project in Darwin, an AU$500M infrastructure dispute in the Supreme Court of Queensland, a commercial arbitration for a publicly listed mining company, several disputes arising from the AU$21B Sydney Metro project and advising on the world-first Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Project spanning Victoria to Kobe, Japan.

Christopher is the Queensland editor of the Building and Construction Law Journal.

Awards
Leading Queensland construction litigation lawyer (Doyles Guide, 2024-2018)

Modules:

• Criminal

Biography:

Te’res is an accredited specialist in Children’s Law. She graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2001. In 2002 she joined Legal Aid NSW and soon after the Children’s Legal Service division of Legal Aid NSW. Te'res was appointed as a Magistrate to the Local Court of New South Wales in 2022.

Modules:

• Technology & Innovation

Biography:

Peytee Grusche assists clients in the areas of research and development, commercialisation of intellectual property, patent, trade mark and design registration and enforcement and she is also a Patent and Trade Marks Attorney. She has a Doctor of Philosophy (Cancer Cell biology) from the University of Melbourne/Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute. Her research focussed on the pathways contributing to tumourigenesis using Drosophila Melanogaster.

Peytee is also experienced in advising on commercial agreements including collaboration agreements in the areas of medical technology, biotechnology and agricultural biotechnology; licences of intellectual property and information technology supply agreements. As a result of her Doctoral studies, Peytee has a firm grasp of the technology being created or licensed and can apply legal principles in commercial settings of collaboration and licensing.

Awards & Recognition

• Legal 500 Asia-Pacific – Key Lawyer, Intellectual Property (2022)

Memberships

Member of the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ) which is an association of lawyers, patent attorneys, licensing managers and academics who advise and work in relation to Intellectual Property Laws.

Speaking Engagements

2025

• Speaker and organizer of the IP Commercialisation Workshop entitled "Partner, Protect, Profit" organised by the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub on 13 August 2025
• Presented a talk entitled "Universities, CRCs and IP" at the Society of University Lawyers conference on 17 October 2025

Modules:

• Criminal

Biography:

Kylie Bell is currently Executive Director of Regional Services at Legal Aid Queensland, a role which leads and manages service delivery of LAQ’s 13 regional offices.

Immediately prior to that Kylie was the Director, Practice Management, Criminal Law Services. Kylie has practiced in criminal law for over 20 years, predominantly practicing in the area of serious crime – representing clients on charges which include Murder, Manslaughter, Importation of Border Controlled Drugs, Trafficking, Rape, Torture and complex Fraud offences. Kylie has also represented clients at Inquests, compulsory hearings and in proceedings under the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003.

Kylie was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2001, and is on the High Court Register of Practitioners. Kylie also appeared as a criminal law duty lawyer for over 20 years.

Biography:

Anthony is a senior technology and telecommunications specialist. He specialises in outsourcing, complex global IT and telecommunications arrangements, strategic sourcing, the Internet and e-commerce.

His practice includes cloud computing, domestic and cross-border outsourcing, reviewing and negotiating long term supply and outsourcing arrangements, vendor management, technology disputes and M&A transaction support.

Modules:

• Criminal

Biography:

Terry was admitted as a solicitor in 1994 and is a partner of the law firm Arthur Browne & Associates in Townsville. He is an accredited specialist in criminal law. During his career he has been involved in virtually all aspects of criminal law, including representation in numerous complex and high profile matters throughout regional Queensland. He was previously a member of the Queensland Law Society Criminal Law Committee and a current member of the Criminal Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee.

He is a previous member of the Access to Justice and Pro-Bono committee and has served as a board member of Legal Aid Queensland. Terry is also an experienced lecturer at the James Cook University School of Law in the subjects of conveyancing and drafting, trust accounts, advocacy and criminal sentencing.