Substantive Law

When modern crises hit a not-for-profit (NFP), it’s rarely just operational. It’s human, public, and trust-critical.

NFPs deliver essential services to vulnerable communities, often with lean teams, volunteers, and funding scrutiny. That means crises escalate fast and the cost is measured not only in dollars, but in people impacted, donor confidence, and licence to operate.

Crisis Management in 2026: Setting up your NFP to Best Respond is a practical 60-minute webcast for not-for-profit leaders, General Counsel and People + Culture leaders who want clearer governance, stronger people safeguards and calmer communications under pressure.

Join us at midday on Wednesday 25 March as our expert panel unpack:

  •  the crisis scenarios hitting NFPs more often - and why they accelerate faster
  •  how to build a crisis-ready governance framework
  •  how to respond in a way that protects people, evidence, and stakeholder confidence
  •  how to move from response to prevention and resilience

Hosted by our own Chief People & Capability Officer, Cassandra Hatton, and featuring Andrew McKenzie, CEO at Word Investments and former Executive Comms at St Vincent de Paul Society during COVID, alongside Law Squared’s own Head of Employment + Workplace Relations, Andrew Brooks, and Commercial + Corporate lawyer, Tess Hauser, you’ll walk away with practical frameworks to prepare, respond and recover — while protecting trust with staff, volunteers, funders, and the communities you serve.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Built for NFPs, this webcast is for the leaders responsible for governance, people, risk and decision-making in a crisis, including:

  •  People + Culture / HR leaders
  •  CEOs, COOs and executive leaders
  •  General Counsel and in-house legal teams
  •  Board members and company secretariat / governance teams
  •  Risk and compliance leaders

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

By the end of the webcast, attendees will be able to:

  •  Spot the crisis patterns most likely to hit NFPs in 2026
  •  Build a crisis-ready governance and operating framework (including roles, delegations, playbooks, thresholds).
  •  Respond to governance breaches/whistleblowing in a way that protects people, evidence, and trust.
  •  Communicate clearly under pressure without creating legal or reputational own-goals.
  •  Shift from responding to prevention and resilience.

Attendees earn 1 CPD.
Register now!

Doors Open: 12 noon
 

Incentivising Contractor Performance to Drive Success

This session explores how well-considered and calibrated incentive structures can align principal and contractor behaviours with project goals, enhance accountability, and deliver measurable outcomes.

We will unpack practical frameworks and real-world examples to demonstrate how the right incentives can transform contractor relationships into high-performing and long-term partnerships.

Scheme Arrangements

As most are aware, a scheme of arrangement is commonly used to implement M&A transactions. Beyond this M&A setting, up until relatively recently it has generally been overlooked that the same framework can be used by corporate groups to implement an internal restructure as an alternative to other more common forms of restructuring. Luke will briefly outline the process, some of the considerable advantages using this framework compared to the more conventional forms and give some recent examples of Australian corporate groups that have successfully implementing these schemes.

AI is no longer just a management issue - it is a board issue.

As boardroom conversations shift from “How do we govern?” to “How can AI help us govern better?”, directors must have a clear understanding of how AI intersects with fiduciary duties, independent judgement and the fundamentals of good governance. Used well, AI has the potential to optimise board processes and strengthen decision-making. Used Poorly, it introduces new governance, legal and ethical risks.

Join Vladimir Kravchenko - Commercial Lawyer, Law Squared, Ivana Kovacevic - Consultation Board Member, Practical Law Australia and Julie McLellan - Advisor to Boards & Directors, and author of the newsletter, The Director’s Dilemma, as they explore where AI can add real value, where caution is required, and why human-led governance remains essential.

Moderated by Law Squared’s Annika Childs, don’t miss this 60-minute webcast on Tuesday 24 February at midday to discover how AI is reshaping the modern boardroom and what directors need to know to use it responsibly.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Grounded in Australian governance and regulatory realities, this session is essential for current and aspiring directors, chairs and company secretaries.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Viewers will gain insights into: 

   • AI Governance and Risk
   • AI in the Boardroom
   • Board Roles, Dynamics and Decision-Making
   • Oversight and Judgement
   • Director Reliance on AI as ‘Expert’ and S189

If you’re considering the safe, responsible adoption of AI at board level, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss!

Attendees earn 1 CPD.
Register now!

ACC Australia and K&L Gates present the next session in our series on the interaction of AI and IP. AI is reshaping the way we interact and work. AI has significant implications for the creation and use of intellectual property. 

In this session, we explore ownership of AI generated material, the potential of AI models to infringe copyrights of others, and how the Australian government is responding to IP-related risks presented by AI. We also provide some practical tips for implementing robust AI governance in the workplace so organisations can use AI to remain competitive and productive, whilst minimising its risks.

This seminar will cover:

   1.  Who owns the IP in AI-generated works?
   2.  Do AI-models infringe copyright?
   3.  The current regulatory position in Australia
   4.  Steps to take when using AI in the workplace
 

Join us on Thursday January 29, 4:30 - 6:00 for our first Session and Social of 2026, at Last Best Brewing - 607 11 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2R 0E1

This presentation by Lawson Lundell's insolvency practice group, Partner, Alexis Teasdale and Partner, Jack Maslen, will begin by providing an overview of formal insolvency and restructuring procedures in Canada, and then will summarize the best practices for how to mitigate the impact of when a business partner enters formal insolvency proceedings. Moderated by Partner, Jonathan Selnes. this session will cover:

• the nature and scope of the stay of proceedings
• treatment of executory contracts
• acquisition opportunities in insolvency proceedings
• emerging developments

Doors open at 7:30am, the Session commences 8:00am AWST with Catering from door opening time.
 
ACC and HFW Australia invite you to join us for an interactive Employment and Safety workshop on 12 February 2026.

Be prepared to join in and share your own expertise as you take on the role of General Counsel for CommodityCo Pty Ltd. You will work alongside co-counsel and their external legal advisers HFW Australia, to deal with an evolving critical safety incident at a CommodityCo site.

With briefing materials provided in advance, this hour-long interactive event will be based on real-world examples, the learnings that come from them and include guidance from experienced safety expert and defence litigator, Simon Billing. 

Please join ACC Alberta and McCarthy Tétrault on Wednesday, Nov 19, for a Lunch and Learn on The exercise of contractual discretion: how to advise your business team during contract negotiation or re-negotiation

Brandon Kain, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, and author of Good Faith in Canadian Contract Law, and Robert Walker, Senior Legal Counsel, Projects & Supply Chain Management, Legal Affairs, Suncor Energy Services Inc, will explore the duty of good faith and the role it plays in the exercise of contractual discretion, as well as the practical guidance legal counsel can give their business counterparts throughout contract negotiation. 

Lyndsey Delamont, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, will moderate this discussion.

Lunch & Learn

Wednesday, Nov 19, 12:00 - 1:00 pm

McCarthy Tétrault

TD Canada Trust Tower

421 7 Ave SW Suite 4000

Calgary, AB T2P 4K9