In-Person CPD Event:
Francis Burt Chambers,
Allendale Square
Level 25,
77 St Georges Terrace
Perth Western Australia
Overview (Program Summary)
Join ACC WA and Francis Burt Chambers for an interactive session on litigation 101 in Western Australia.
Our panel of respected in-house counsel and barristers will take you through the challenges faced by in-house counsel during high-profile litigation, such as:
• Getting across State and Federal court procedures;
• How to translate litigation jargon to senior executives, Ministers and boards;
• How to manage media attention under high pressure;
• Ethical considerations as an in-house lawyer in the public and media spotlight.
Whether you’re managing a legal team, advising senior executives, Ministers or government director generals, or simply want to be ready for whatever comes your way, this event will provide valuable insights, actionable strategies and practical advice you can take straight back to your desk.
CPD Points: 1 CPD Point in Professional Skills, 0.5 CPD Points in Substantive & Procedural Law
Speakers
Introductory Remarks by 
Bill Keane SC, Senior Counsel, Francis Burt Chambers
Bill provides advice and representation in commercial and regulatory disputes. His experience includes competition law, consumer law, intellectual property, commercial contract, industrial and employment law. He has appeared in a wide range of matters, including large-scale and complex disputes in the Supreme and Federal Courts.
Bill is a faculty member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), a section editor (Enforcement and Remedies) for the Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law and has been a faculty member for advocacy training for both the Law Society of WA and the WA Bar Association.
Q&A Panel Facilitators
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| Stephenie Vahala, Assistant General Counsel, Dept of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |
Angelyn Seen, Legal Counsel, Yara |
SPEAKERS
Rachel Joseph, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Rachel Joseph has a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice across a range of industries, with particular expertise in matters involving construction, mining, corporations, contract, consumer and public law. She has appeared as counsel in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, and most state courts and tribunals in Western Australia.
Rachel regularly acts on behalf of both private entities and government instrumentalities, from individuals and small businesses to large-listed companies, joint venture participants and regulatory bodies. Both as sole counsel and as junior counsel, Rachel is adept at working collaboratively as part of a team that includes other counsel, solicitors and subject matter experts. She also accepts briefs directly from in-house legal counsel.
Having spent time as in-house legal counsel at Rio Tinto, Rachel understands the importance of maintaining a strong commercial focus and ensuring that legal solutions align with her clients' objectives and values. She consistently delivers pragmatic legal advice that is underpinned by a clear legal strategy.
Rachel is one of the current authors of Civil Procedure WA published by LexisNexis Australia (colloquially known as “the Red Book”). She is also a member of Bar Council and the Law Council’s Equal Opportunity Committee.
Nicholas Ellery, Barrister, Francis Burt Chambers
Nicholas Ellery is a leading practitioner in industrial relations, employment, workplace health and safety and related fields.
Nick brings a commercial and solutions focused style. He understands the client perspective in difficult legal disputes. He joined the Bar after a 24 year career at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, where he managed the Perth workplace and safety practice, led the Perth office as Partner in Charge for over 10 years, and served on the national Board.
Nick has managed a wide range of high profile and complex safety matters in almost all jurisdictions, including specialist fields such as rail, mine, radiation, oil and gas, and maritime.
He served on the Board of the Employment Law Centre of WA (now part of Circle Green) for over 10 years and is a National Committee member of the Australian Labour Law Association.
Gary Smith, General Manager – Legal (Litigation) Corporate Solicitors Office, Westfarmers Limited
Gary Smith is the General Manager of Legal, Litigation at Wesfarmers Limited, with primary responsibility for overseeing and managing all litigation and disputes across the Wesfarmers Group. This requires being across all potential risks that may impact the Wesfarmers businesses and keeping the Group General Counsel, Executive Management and Board updated as to these potential risks and issues. Wesfarmers is one of Australia’s largest companies and employers, with well-known businesses such as Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks and Target. Gary also oversees the legal team’s legal operations and technology strategy and working group.
Notes
*Competitor Exclusion – ACC Australia Partner’s may request that representative/s of a competitor organisation/s registered for the event be excluded, and ACC Australia reserves the right to make the final decision as to whether a registration is rejected. As a guide, a competitor organisation could be defined as a rival organisation of similar size to the host Corporate Partner, with an established practice, product or service in the area being showcased by the Corporate Partner’s at the event. Please provide a brief statement as to why you have deemed an organisation to be a competitor, in support of any request to ACC Australia to reject a registration.
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