Australian Eastern Standard Time (DST observed)

Come experience a virtual fireside chat between Caroline Cox, Chief Legal, Governance & External Affairs Officer, BHP, and Prabir Chakrabarty, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Director of Corporate and CLO Engagement.

Get inspired and learn first-hand the journey of a CLO who leads a team of more than 450 professionals across Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia and oversees BHP’s Legal, Governance, Ethics and Compliance, Sustainability and Public Policy, Audit, Social Value, and Corporate Affairs Functions.
 

2022 and the start of 2023 will be remembered for the momentous developments in climate and energy law and policy at both the Commonwealth and State level in Australia. Since the change in Federal Government in 2022, Australia has also re-engaged on the international stage on issues such as climate change and biodiversity, as well as introducing a raft of legislation and policies, that has recently culminated in the Safeguard Mechanism reform at the national level. State Governments are following suit and are implementing a range of changes aimed at transforming their energy, economic and climate trajectories. It is clear that immediate, effective and meaningful action is occurring across governments, industry and society, but that much also remains to be done. 

The breadth of ambition means that all industries, including the legal industry, are working fast to stay up-to-date on the range of issues and to take advantage of the vast opportunities presented by the clean energy and decarbonisation transition. 

This seminar will cover: 

• the key recent energy and climate regulatory and policy reform announced across Australian jurisdictions that is driving project development and investment; 
• potential new reforms on the horizon; and 
• practical considerations and challenges for in-house counsel and industry professionals in navigating the reforms to achieve meaningful project and investment outcomes. 

Lawyers attending this webinar in full can claim 1.5 CPD point in Substantive Law.

Unlock your in-house legal team’s potential!

Join this transformative webinar and uncover practical steps every in-house lawyer can implement.

This webinar steps through 5 things every in-house lawyer can do to better manage their work the moment they walk out of this session.

From the Optus and Medibank data breaches of 2022 to more recent attacks on Latitude, the rate and severity with which Australian businesses experience cybersecurity incidents is on a notable rise. Increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals and increasingly voluminous payloads of personal information are creating a perfect storm for both the private and public sector.

In this CPD session, Melissa Fai and Simon Burns, Partners in the TECH + IP team, explore the current cyber-threat landscape, demystify the complex web of legal obligations, and equip you with actionable strategies to bolster the ability of your in-house team to meet-the-moment when it comes to cybersecurity.

Cyberattacks are sharply on the rise in Australia, with 15% more reported data breaches in 2022 being due to cyberattacks as against 2021.

Additionally, further reforms to the Australian Privacy Act are expected to be announced later this year following the reforms late last year which increased the penalties of mishandling personal information or failing to report notifiable data breach.

Law Squared, who have signed on as an official supporter of Privacy Awareness Week 2023, will take you through a guided privacy and data training session focusing on:

• An overview of some of the anticipated changes to the Privacy Act.
• The importance of privacy awareness within organisations.
• Good data hygiene practices for staff to avoid mishandling personal information.
• How to reduce the risk of a data breach in day-to-day operations.
• How to handle data breaches.
• Practical steps that can be implemented to ensure you remain safely ahead of the curve. 

Modernising Legal Operations: How digitising legal contracts reduces costs and improves efficiency 

The need for legal departments to reduce contract cycle time, improve visibility and maintain compliance is more important than ever.  

Join this webinar to find simple ways to save your legal team time, effort and cost through digitisation.  

Hear how legal departments have transformed their contract operations and generated benefits for their teams and stakeholders. We will share their challenges and how digitising contract management helped them accelerate business, save time and reduce risk. Hear about the features, tools and solutions that are used most by our legal customers and how you can quickly and easily get started with your transformation journey.  

Join this live virtual discussion to learn: 

• What is driving investment in the digital transformation of contracts? 
• How to streamline contract processes to reduce turnaround times - generating, sending, negotiating and signing. 
• Why improved visibility into contracts and contracting processes reduces risk and improves compliance?
• How to scale your team by doing more with the same. 
• How DocuSign empowers legal teams. 

The overlap between tax and disputes is complex and can create tensions within organisations that are not prepared for them.  Julian and Muhunthan will chart a course through this broad topic.

They will explore:

• ​​The perennially contentious topic of when to bring in the lawyers (both internal and external);
• The equally contentious topic of whether to go to litigation;
• Avoiding, mitigating and navigating reviews, audits and ultimately litigation;
• Current ATO programs and focus areas, and an overview of State and Territory focus areas; and
• Some of the ATO’s areas of sensitivity so that you do not inadvertently poke the bear where it is sore!

Networking and buffet lunch: 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm

Presentation: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Listed companies are feeling more and more vulnerable to unsolicited takeover approaches given market dynamics and the greater willingness of financial sponsors to pursue ASX listed entities.  

Boards will expect their company’s inhouse legal teams to do what they can to prepare the company for receipt of a control proposal. 

This webinar, hosted by Gilbert + Tobin’s market leading M+A team in conjunction with ACC Australia, will help in house legal teams to consider, prepare for and understand how respond to both formal offers and unsolicited approaches in relation to takeovers and mergers. 

This session will focus on:

• developing a takeover response strategy;
• being prepared for the critical first 48 hours;
• being alive to continuous disclosure obligations; and 
• unpacking some of the key strategies and tactics that may be deployed if necessary.

Gilbert + Tobin are also hosting Be Empowered: Navigating the Key Elements of Public M+A on Tuesday 22 August 2023, which members might also be interested in attending. Click here for more details.

General counsel and company secretaries of listed public companies (and other disclosing entities) are tasked with helping their board ensure the company complies with its statutory obligations, including its continuous disclosure obligations. Getting it wrong can have a range of implications for the company and its officers, including suspension from ASX, an ASIC infringement notice, civil and criminal penalties, not to mention the risk of litigation and serious reputational damage. 

This seminar will introduce in-house counsel and company secretaries to Australia’s continuous disclosure framework, and will explore a number of hotspots including: 

• leaks and lost confidentiality; 
• upgrades or downgrades to earnings guidance and earnings surprises;  
• material exposure to ESG issues; and 
• regulatory investigations or other material events potentially causing financial loss or reputational damage.