Modules:

• Property

Biography:

Duncan leads the Moray & Agnew’s Canberra real estate team doing work across Australia’s eastern seaboard.  Duncan has over 13 years experience advising both private sector and government clients across a wide range of transactions.

Duncan brings extensive experience in the property sector across all asset types and transactions, His experience includes:

• large scale and complex sales and acquisitions (including all aspects of due diligence related to those matters);
• retail, commercial and industrial leasing;
• staged and mixed use developments and pre-commitment arrangements;
• infrastructure projects (including wind and solar farms); and
• advisory work on property matters and disputes.

Duncan’s previous experience working in one of Australia’s largest consulting firms providing commercial and financial advisory services on property transactions brings a deeper understanding of the property development sector and clients commercial drivers.

Duncan has a proven track record of delivering positive outcomes for clients through his pragmatic and solutions driven advice and commercial acumen.

Awards & Recognition

Listed in “Best Lawyers Australia” under Real Property Law in 2023, 2024 and 2025

Memberships

• Law Society of ACT
• Property Council of NSW
• Property Council of ACT

Modules:

• Intellectual Property

Biography:

Angela practises in all aspects of Intellectual Property including patents, trade marks, copyright, designs and consumer protection. Angela has been featured in Doyle’s Intellectual Property list since 2021. Angela regularly appears in the Federal Court of Australia, including the Full Court, various state Supreme Courts, the Patent Office and the Trade Mark Office.

Prior to coming to bar, Angela was a solicitor in two specialist IP firms. Angela was also the Associate to Justice Nicholas of the Federal Court of Australia where she gained extensive experience in intellectual property disputes and large commercial matters.

Angela graduated with first class honours in law from the University of New South Wales. Angela is also on the Editorial Panel for the Australian Intellectual Property Law Bulletin, is a co-author of the LexisNexis Australia Copyright & Designs chapter on International Copyright and has also authored a number of publications in intellectual property law.

Biography:

Recent transactions include:

• Acting for Blackgold International in relation to its Scheme of Arrangement involving Vibrant Group Limited in Singapore.
• Acting for the share vendors in relation to the sale of JRB Engineering and MRX Technologies to Siemens in Germany.
• Acting for BBX Minerals in relation to its successful defence against a takeover bid launched by Drake Private Investments.

Biography:

Thomas Abraham is a Special Counsel, Commercial and Tax with Macpherson Kelley. Thomas has extensive public and private sector experience and deep expertise in state taxation advice and litigation. During his time as a solicitor in the Legal Services Branch of the State Revenue Office of Victoria, Thomas conducted litigation on behalf of the Commissioner in various state taxation matters. Thomas practices in all state taxation matters across Australia, including land tax, duties, payroll tax, congestion levy and taxation administration matters (eg, assessments, re-assessments, refunds, private rulings, objections, reviews and appeals).

Professional Contact

Thomas Abraham - Macpherson Kelley

Memberships

Thomas is a member of the Law Institute of Victoria’s State Taxes Committee.

Modules:

• Succession

Biography:

Ken is the Founder and principal of Wills & Probate Victoria. Ken was admitted to practice as a legal practitioner in 1982. Since admission, Ken has always practiced in the areas of wills and estates.

Ken has been accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as a wills and estate specialist since 1993 - the first year that accreditation commenced. He is the co-author of the Wills, Probate and Administration Service, Victoria, a two-volume publication which is a leading loose-leaf services dealing with wills and estates for legal practitioners in Victoria.

Ken is also the co-author of Succession Law for LexisNexis. He founded the Wills & Probate Bulletin in 1996 and was the editor of that publication from 1996 to 2008. He was also co-convenor of the Wills & Probate Conference from 1995 to 2008.

Since 1997, Ken has conducted regular workshops for law graduates in the areas of wills and estates for Leo Cussen.

Modules:

• Family

Biography:

Modules:

• Cybersecurity, Data Protection & Privacy
• Technology & Innovation

Biography:

Susannah is a senior lawyer with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer specialising in cutting edge legal issues arising from the adoption of emerging technology, digital assets, automation, and infrastructure. Susannah has over 17 years’ experience with leading firms in Australia, the United Kingdom and Russia.

Susannah is the global co-head of the Digital Law Group driving digital transformation of law including the development of smart legal contracts and digital business transformation in conjunction HSF Kramer’s multidisciplinary teams. Susannah is also a key member of the Emerging Technology Group, a team of specialist lawyers who advise on cutting edge issues arising with the adoption of emerging technologies.

Having worked across multiple jurisdictions, Susannah uses her experience to assist clients navigate complex transactions often in uncertain regulatory environments.

Susannah is Chair of the Digital Commerce Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and Co-Founder and Director of the Digital Law Association.

Recently published Smart Legal Contracts: Computational Law in Theory and Practice, Edited by Jason Allen and Peter Hunn, Oxford University Press (2021) - “Six Levels of Contract Automation: The Evolution to Smart Legal Contracts – Further Analysis” Susannah Wilkinson & Jacques Giuffre.

Professional Memberships & Organisation

• Home | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | Global law firm
• Chair of the Digital Commerce Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
• Co-Founder and Director of the Digital Law Association

Awards & Recognition

• Most Innovative International Law Firm, Asia Pacific Financial Times Awards 2019

Professional Contact

• Home | Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer | Global law firm
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannahwilkinson-b5311161

Biography:

Upon being admitted, Josephine worked as a Judges’ Associate at the District Court of South Australia. Subsequently, Josephine worked at the Supreme Court of Victoria as an Associate to Chief Justice Warren and Justice Sloss. Before joining the Bar, Josephine worked at Griffins Lawyers in the Commercial and Civil Litigation Group. Her practice also included class actions, family law, administrative law, workers' compensation, personal injury, defamation, and criminal matters.

Josephine accepts briefs in most areas of law and appears in all major courts and tribunals.

Biography:

Sally has practiced exclusively in family law for over 14 years during that time has developed a strong practice with substantive experience in all aspects of family law, acting for a range of corporate, institutional, and private clients.

Biography:

Peggy is the Head of Commercial Group – Practical Guidance and is responsible for the content development of a number of practice areas. She works closely with a team of in-house legal writers all with direct practice experience and dedicated to ensuring the content of Practical Guidance reflects the latest developments in law and practice. Peggy comes from a commercial litigation background and has practised for over 10 years as a solicitor in Australia and Hong Kong.

Peggy comments on the latest legal developments for LexisNexis. Some recent examples include:

• Podcast: Evolution of data, privacy & IP: What you need to know in the age of AI where Peggy discusses the main issues that businesses need to know from a data, privacy and IP perspective with Alec Christie, Partner, Clyde & Co.

Contact

peggy.wong@lexisnexis.com.au

Modules:

• Banking & Finance
• Commercial
• Corporations
• Insolvency & Restructuring

Biography:

Modules:

• Consumer

Biography:

Annette Hughes is a Commercial Litigation partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, where she leads the firm's national Product Liability Practice Group. Annette is also on the firm's Executive Leadership Team and Chairs its Diversity Council. Her Product Liability experience is truly international, as she was a partner in the Product Liability group at US firm Sedgwick and Australian firm Allens (2001 - 2011), prior to taking leadership of the Corrs Product Liability Group.

Annette has acted for many domestic and internationally renowned brands, helping them to strategically and effectively manage their product issues from risk management and regulatory matters (compliance, investigations, recalls, etc) through to multi-jurisdictional litigation, and class actions. She is described by her clients as commercial and strategic, cutting through complexity to get the best outcomes.

Annette was assisted by Simon Frauenfelder, Andrew Burns and Shane Cooper.

Modules:

• Banking & Finance

Biography:

Leigh joined MinterEllison in January 2011 in our finance division in the Melbourne office.

He has a broad experience in acting for domestic and foreign financiers and borrowers in the areas of:

• Corporate and acquisition finance;
• Project finance;
• Real property and construction finance;
• Restructuring and workouts; and
• Structured and asset finance.

Prior to joining MinterEllison, Leigh worked in the global project finance group of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Tokyo, and in the banking and finance group of Allens Arthur Robinson in Melbourne. Leigh also worked with Linklaters for three years in Shanghai, London and Hong Kong, where he was involved in a wide range of banking and structured finance transactions. His written work has been published in the International Financial Law Review, World Securities Law Report and Finance Asia.

Leigh is experienced in drafting and negotiating the full range of documentation required to successfully complete finance transactions - including facility agreements, security, hedging and condition precedent documents – as well as reviewing project documents from a financier’s perspective.

Leigh is fluent in Mandarin and has studied and worked in China for more than four years.

Biography:

Liam Prescott is a Brisbane location head of the DLA Piper's Litigation & Regulatory Group, specialising in commercial litigation and domestic and international arbitration. He has a broad commercial disputes practice with a particular focus on the energy and resources, projects and infrastructure and technology sectors. Liam is dual qualified practitioner in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Modules:

• Banking & Finance

Biography:

Keith is a real estate finance lawyer with over 25 years of experience acting for sponsors and bank and non-bank financiers on many large-scale real estate developments, as well as social and economic infrastructure projects - including King Street Wharf, Top Ryde Shopping Centre and World Square, Sydney and Melbourne Convention Centre. Keith acts across the range of real estate asset classes – commercial, retail, residential, retirement, industrial, health, and education facilities and many mixed-use projects.

Keith acts for the major domestic and international banks, Macquarie Group, non-bank lenders and project sponsors. His broad-ranging experience gives him great insights into structuring projects to make them bankable and to manage sponsor capital, as well as the issues of importance to the project sponsors and funders across the capital stack – from senior debt, mezzanine finance, preferred equity and equity capital.

Modules:

• Criminal

Biography:

Paul J. Smallwood is a barrister at the Victorian Bar who practises in public law, in particular criminal law and administrative law. He has appeared in a number of cases before the Supreme Court of Victoria, in both the Trial Division and Court of Appeal. Those cases include:

• Cotton v R (2015) 45 VR 341
• DPP v Cartwright (2015) 45 VR 168
• Bayley v R (2013) 43 VR 335
• Hunter v R (2013) 40 VR 660
• Kosian v R (2013) 40 VR 335
• Rowe v R (2013) 64 MVR 181
• SAJ v R (2012) 36 VR 435
• De Castres v R (2011) 33 VR 493

Another case - R v Creamer [2011] VSC 196 - was reviewed in K Toole, ‘Self Defence and the Reasonable Woman: Equality before the New Victorian Law’ (2012) 36 Melbourne University Law Review 250.

Paul is the Secretary of Liberty Victoria. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne.

Modules:

• Dispute Resolution

Biography:

Ruth has more than five years’ private practice experience at leading commercial law firm Allens, where she specialised in commercial litigation, restructuring and insolvency, and risk and compliance advisory.

Ruth’s dispute resolution experience includes large-scale complex commercial disputes, breach of contract claims, professional negligence claims (against auditors), personal property securities and real property priority disputes, and debt recovery proceedings. She has also advised multi-national conglomerates on risks relating to bribery, corruption and international sanctions.

She has acted in various Australian jurisdictions, including Federal, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Ruth is admitted as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Contact

ruth.engelbrecht@lexisnexis.com.au

Biography:

Michelle obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University in 1996 and has been practising exclusively in Family Law since this time. Michelle has practised Family Law in Canberra, Sydney, Darwin and London before relocating to Griffith in 2011. Michelle is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law with the New South Wales Law Society.

Michelle is an experienced advocate who regularly appears in Family Court, Federal Magistrates Court and Children's Court.