2024 judges

Jenna Adamson is a partner with New Zealand law firm, Wynn Williams.
Based in the firm’s Tāhuna Queenstown office, she is a member of the firm’s national property team supporting clients in the private and public sector with retail, commercial and industrial property related matters, including leasing, developments and portfolio management.
She also advises retail, tourism and hospitality businesses on commercial matters, including e-Commerce, consumer and competition law.
Adamson practiced in Australia for over 10 years, including leading an award-winning real estate team within top tier Australian firm, MinterEllison, and as In-House Legal Counsel for L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand.
Judge of the Australian Corporate Counsel Awards 2021, Adamson is also a past Award finalist in numerous Australian industry awards, including Australian Corporate Lawyers Award In-House 2020 and LawyersWeekly Australia Top 30 under 30 Property 2017. She was also listed in the Property Council of Australia Top 100 Woman in Property 2017.

Vice-President, General Counsel and Ethics & Compliance Officer (Capgemini Australia, New Zealand, China and Hong Kong) | GC Powerlist 2022/3 | In-house Leader 2022 | GC of the Year finalist | Equality advocate | Parent | Laughs a lot

Linda Baxter is the Director, Continuing Professional Development and part of the senior management team at Leo Cussen Centre for Law. Having previously been in private practice followed by a regulatory investigative role, Linda also writes materials and trains legal practitioners in Ethics & Professional Conduct.

Claire is a senior lawyer and professional coach, based on the east coast of Australia. Claire has over 30 years of experience gained through senior management appointments with some of the world’s largest companies and at top-tier law firms. As well as practising law, Claire is an internationally qualified executive coach (PCC) and in 2018 she founded a global professional coaching practice in which she coaches private and corporate clients, specialising in senior lawyers and executives, to empower them to move their career and leadership dreams into active, actionable, pursuits. Outside of her executive life, Claire is a non-executive director of multiple ASX-listed companies and is an Industry Professional Fellow with the University of Technology Sydney, School of Law.

Claire has been recognised as one of Australia’s best lawyers and female executives, including having been awarded the “Excellence Award for Women in Law”, “General Counsel of the Year”, “Female Executive of the Year in Asia, Australia & New Zealand”, “Mentor of the Year” and was featured in SmartCompany's International Women's Day Showcase.

Nicole is the General Counsel and Company Secretary of CAR Group. In addition to managing the legal function across CAR Group, Nicole is responsible for governance, risk and sustainability.

Nicole has over 20 years of legal experience, having commenced her career working across a number of legal areas at one of Australia’s premier law firms. For the past 15 years Nicole has worked in-house, advising leading online companies. Nicole has extensive experience in acquisitions, disputes and intellectual property and a strong focus on corporate responsibility.

Nicole holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Certificate in Corporate Governance from INSEAD.

Prior to this appointment Dr Boersig worked as an Assistant Secretary in the Federal Attorney-General’s Department, responsible for a number of areas including Indigenous law and justice and human rights. Before joining the Attorney-General’s Department John practiced law in NSW, as a lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service and in private practice. He established the University of Newcastle Legal Centre and was Director of the Professional program in 1994. He was a part-time Presiding member of the Guardianship Tribunal for many years.
John has a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Sydney, and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Canberra. He was awarded the Public Service Medal in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Professor Jürgen Bröhmer is a Professor of Law at the Law School of Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. He joined Murdoch University at the beginning of 2012 as Dean of the Law School and Professor of Law. He served in that function until the creation of the new College of Arts, Business, Law and Social Sciences (ABLSS)of Murdoch University in 2019. Before joining Murdoch University, he worked at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW, Australia, having commenced there in 2006 and leading that Law School from 2007 to 2011. Professor Bröhmer received his law degree from Mannheim University in Germany and his doctorate and post-doctoral habilitation from Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany, where he worked at the Europa-Institute of Saarland University from 1992 to 2006 and continues to be part of the visiting faculty.

Professor Bröhmer is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. His areas of expertise are Public International Law, German and comparative constitutional Law,European Union law, international trade and international human rights law.

Jürgen has authored two and co-authored one monograph in specific areas of public international (State Immunity and the Violation of Human Rights, Kluwer Law International, 1997), German constitutional and European Union Law (Transparency as a Constitutional Principle – Basic Law and European Union, Mohr Siebeck, 2004), edited many other books (most recently: 70 Years German Basic Law – The German Constitution and its Court – Landmark Decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany in the Area of Fundamental Rights, November 2019 and the Chinese translation in 2023) and published numerous articles and book chapters (more info and list of publications at https://sites.google.com/view/jb-publications).

Katrina Bullock (she/her) is an award-winning general counsel and finance broadcaster. She began her career as a commercial lawyer at a top tier Australian law firm, before moving in house within the tech and environment industries.

Katrina was appointed General Counsel of Greenpeace Australia Pacific in 2018 and is responsible for the legal, governance and integrity functions of the charity. Greenpeace uses peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.

Katrina has worked on high-profile litigations, regulatory investigations and corporate advisory matters for ASX 100 and Fortune 500 companies. She is passionate about strategic climate litigation and movement lawyering.

In her role as a finance journalist she analyses political, economic and business developments which impact global markets and provides market commentary on equity and commodity movements. She also interviews CEOs, economists, fund managers and politicians to empower investors to make better informed investment decisions.

Katrina holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours first class, division one), Bachelor of International Business (Distinction) and a Diploma of Legal Practice. She has undertaken broadcast training with TV Pro Global and is currently undertaking a PhD in Law focused on climate change disclosures and director’s duties for companies operating within the finance sector.

Outside of work Katrina enjoys scuba diving, board game nights and adventures. You are invited to join Katrina’s online communities on Instagram @the_corporate_greenie and Linkedin.

Joseph Catanzariti AM is a Vice President of the Fair Work Commission, the national workplace relations tribunal.
Prior to his appointment to the Fair Work Commission, Joseph was a senior Partner of Clayton Utz and Practice Leader of the Workplace Relations, Employment and Safety Practice Group. Joseph was a trusted adviser to many of Australia’s leading companies and government departments. Joseph was also a highly experienced Commercial Litigator.

Joseph is a Visiting Professorial Fellow of the School of Law and the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies, School of Business at Sydney University.

Joseph is the Chair of the College of Law.

Joseph is also co-author of Workplace Bullying published by LexisNexis.

He has previously held the positions of President of the Law Council of Australia, President of the NSW Law Society, Chair of the Workplace Committee of the Law Society of New South Wales (2000 - 2013), and Secretary of the Industrial Relations Society of Australia (1997-2011).

Joseph was awarded Life Time Recognition, Industrial Relations Society of Australia / Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association 2011, and the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales in 2015.

Joseph is a fellow of the Academy of Law.

On 26 January 2016 Joseph was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

For 30 years Stephen Colbran has demonstrated an extraordinary capacity to engage, inspire and motivate undergraduate law students and teachers. He is well known across Australia for his passionate advocacy for online legal education, the scholarship of e- learning and teaching and as a specialist in Civil Procedure (litigation). He has spent his career overcoming challenges faced by online learners, transforming legal education for the 21st century and engaging with students in preparation for their contemporary legal careers.

Stephen has created the ReMarks e-grading system, conducted research and published findings, delivered conference papers, workshops, and training at most Australian Universities and transferred the system to educational institutions nationally and internationally. He has a passion for developing interactive visual methods of legal education, effective learning resources and providing better feedback and assessment as a driver for student learning.

His research interests include legal automation, online legal education, judicial performance evaluation, judicial branch efficiency, civil procedure, litigation, podcasting, postgraduate research and supervision networks, e-grading systems, MOOCs, iTunesU, branching animation, digital flashcards, e-learning.

In 2012, under his leadership the CQU Law degree became the first open access accredited law degree available via iTunesU and Google Education Suite. Stephen is recognised as an outstanding teacher achieving widespread recognition for his textbooks, electronic teaching resources and educational software.

Website: http://onlinelegaleducation.wordpress.com
Film: http://youtu.be/ohNFs60Ayh4

Stephen Colbran is also an expert in judicial performance evaluation and improving the efficiency of courts. He has worked on projects in Australia, Canada and Turkey and given numerous governments and courts advice on this issue. Stephen has considerable experience in business process mapping of superior courts and their interaction with the executive branch, court computer systems and judicial data, and achieving greater judicial efficiency.

Ann-Maree David is an Executive Director of The College of Law, the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia. She has worked in the legal profession for over 30 years, in public and corporate sector roles and in private practice as a solicitor.

Ann-Maree has held a career-long passion for developing and delivering education and training programs to enable all involved in the delivery of legal services to thrive both personally and professionally.

In addition to leading the College of Law’s Queensland campus, Ann-Maree is Immediate Past President of Australian Women Lawyers and a Director of the Australian Gender Equality Council. She also chairs the Queensland Law Society’s Equity & Diversity Committee.

Ali joined LexisNexis in 2017 as Head of Legal for the Pacific Region. Ali and her team work with LexisNexis’ Australian and New Zealand businesses providing advice across issues from intellectual property and digital media through to privacy and competition laws.
Ali has held senior legal roles across a variety of industries internationally, including higher education, renewable energy and leisure. Ali’s focus is on working closely with the business to address both the opportunities and the challenges presented by rapid advances in technology, changing customer needs and the evolving nature of legal practice across the region and the world.

Mary is the Managing Partner of Swaab, a Sydney based mid-sized commercial law firm. Mary was appointed to this role in 2014. She leads by example, with an authentic leadership style and a focus on promoting and protecting the well-being of people in the legal profession. In 2019, Mary was the recipient of Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year in the category of Wellness Advocate.
Mary also leads a dynamic team of property lawyers at Swaab. She is an accredited NSW Law Society specialist in property law. During 2017 to 2022, Mary was recommended by Doyles as a leading NSW lawyer in Property, Real Estate and Leasing.
Mary is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was a Board member of Minds Count Foundation (a mental wellbeing charity) for 9 years until early 2024, is a long-standing Board member of Cameron Brae Pty Ltd (a property development family owned company) and is a Board member of Odyssey House NSW.

Tony Dormer is a senior adviser of a multi-discipline professional services firm that he established over 40 years ago and that merged in September 2017 to form Tricor Services (Australia) Pty Ltd www.tricorglobal.com The firm provides in-bound and out-bound business advisory, management consulting, tax and compliance, outsourced payroll and CFO services, bookkeeping, corporate secretarial services and financial investment services.

Tony’s personal specialist skills and extensive experience are around taxation services, mergers and acquisitions, business valuations, corporate restructuring, as well as business planning and business development issues generally. His entrepreneurial style and ability to 'think outside the square', has enabled Tricor to provide clients with a level and style of service that is unique among business advisory and accountancy practices.

From 2007 to 2019 he was a Board Member and/or Councilor with the NSW Business Chamber. He was elected President in February 2014 and held the position of Deputy President as well as Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Chair of the Business Environment and Economics Committee within the NSW Business Chamber. He now serves as a Past President.

He was also the former Chairman of Kreston Australia and New Zealand and was previously one of eight Directors on the international board of Kreston International, a position he held for seven years. Kreston is one of the largest networks of independent accounting business advisory firms in the world.

He also serves as a non-executive director on Profit and Not for Profit Boards.

Tony is a Fellow with Chartered Accountants (FCA), Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD) and Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) with the Taxation Institute of Australia.

Prior to developing his practice, he had extensive experience at General Manager level with several leading private organizations. This commercial experience is a major ingredient in his philosophy and the range of services offered by him.

He also co-authored a book on leadership titled “Born to Lead?” with Charisse Grey

Tony is available for selective Director appointments.

Michael is a purpose driven Chief Legal Officer, Executive Leader, Board Member and Governance Professional, with multidisciplinary expertise across several different industries and sectors.

Michael is based in Sydney and is currently General Counsel and Head of Property at Sydney Fish Market. As member of the Executive Group, he is responsible for the Legal and Property Functions at Sydney Fish Market, including executive level strategic decision making in relation to commercial, operations, legal and ESG aspects of the iconic Sydney Fish Market.

Michael has a passion for pursuing excellence in the delivery of in-house legal services and exploring the future of legal services delivery by advancing the role of technology adaption and digital transformation.

Annie is the founder and principal of Cyber GC - a legal and consulting practice dedicated to helping Australian businesses prepare for and fight cyberattacks. Annie is a multi-award-winning cybersecurity lawyer and was recently awarded General Counsel of the Year (Australian Law Awards - Lawyers Weekly - 2021), Technology, Media and Telecommunications Lawyer of the Year (Corporate Counsel Awards - Lawyers Weekly -2021) and Australian In House Counsel of the Year (Australasian Law Awards 2021).

She brings to Cyber GC the experience gained in 20 years as a technology lawyer, 12 years working for one of the largest technology companies in the world and 6 years as global legal counsel for Accenture Security, one of the largest security companies in the world. She specialises in advising on enterprise security risk, including legal regulation, and the impact on the whole organisation of cybersecurity issues.

Alana Heffernan is the Head of Legal and Operations for the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, NSW/ACT Branch.

In this role, Alana leads the legal team in their advocacy for the Union, its members and officials. She also oversees the day-to-day operations of the Union, including its governance, administration, human resources, and finance functions.

Alana uses her experience in both employment law and management to work with the senior officials of the Union to ensure it meets its short- and long-term strategic goals. Alana’s experience across private practice, in-house legal roles and business management has equipped her to be a strategic and tenacious advocate, and able to communicate with stakeholders from all backgrounds.

Cassandra is the CEO for a private family office in Saudi Arabia, and prior to this worked as a sports and corporate risk lawyer for over 14 years.

Phillip is a Director at CKG, and a veteran legal search and recruitment consultant, where he leads an expert team which provides bespoke legal search, talent management and market intel to top ASX Listed, Fortune 500 and large privately held corporate partners. Phillip diligently promotes ‘diversity and inclusion’ as a cornerstone principle whilst partnering clients to identify, secure and manage talent across a broad variety of sectors and regions.

As a member of the LGBTIQ community he believes differences are what make us stronger as a community and profession. Phillip has been involved with various charitable organisations over the years, most notably The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.

Sue Kench is the Global Chief Executive and Co-Chairman China of King & Wood Mallesons, Asia’s leading international law firm.
Sue took on the Global Chief Executive role in 2017 after leading the firm in Australia for four years as Chief Executive Partner, Australia. Sue was the first woman in Australia to lead a top tier law firm in that role and is the first Australian female to lead a global law firm and a China firm.
Sue works closely with the Global Chairman and the firm’s International Management Committee to lead the firm’s international growth strategy. Sue is based in Hong Kong and spends significant time in China and Australia.
She became a Partner of legacy Mallesons Stephen Jaques in 1996 and has held a number of board, management and leadership positions in the firm over the past two decades.
Amongst her many professional achievements, Sue has received a number of accolades and acknowledgements for her impact and influence on the legal profession in the Asia Pacific. These include:
• AFR Power List 2020 – Legal
• The Lawyers Weekly Lawyer of the 21st Century award recognising her significant professional achievements between 2000 and 2020 (2020);
• Doctor of Letters honoris causa from Macquarie University in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the law (2019);
• The esteemed ‘Legal leader’ award, at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards, in recognition of her significant role in driving King & Wood Mallesons growth and success across APAC (2018);
• The Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence (2018); • The Lawyers Weekly Executive of the Year award (2017).
Sue is on the Board of Directors of AUSTCHAM Beijing and is a member of The Wall Street Journal CEO Council, Chief Executive Women and the Business Council of Australia.
Sue is married with three children.

Bree Knoester is the founder of Brave Legal and one of Australia’s leading personal injury lawyers.

Bree has practiced for over 18 years as both a barrister and solicitor; and has represented clients in some of Victoria’s largest compensation settlements.

Bree prides herself on being an empathetic yet tenacious lawyer, possessing a deep understanding of the law and a fearless approach to representing her clients’ interests. Most importantly, Bree understands that being injured affects almost every part of your life and having the support of an understanding, compassionate and experienced legal team is essential to achieving the best possible outcome – for your case, and for you.

In recognition of her experience and exceptional client results, Bree has won numerous industry awards including ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Personal Injury Litigation (Best Lawyers® in Australia 2020); and ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in Medical Negligence (Best Lawyers® in Australia 2023). Bree has also been extensively recognised by Doyle's Guide, including being named Preeminent practitioner – Asbestos & Dust Diseases Compensation (Doyle’s Guide 2020 & 2021); and Preeminent practitioner - Work Injury Compensation (2020 & 2021). She was a Partner of the Year Finalist for Litigation, as named by Lawyer's Weekly in 2019.

As one of Victoria’s most experienced personal injury lawyers, Bree is regularly approached by the media for commentary on high-profile cases and as a spokesperson for the most seriously injured.

If you’d like to arrange a time to speak with Bree, call us today on 03 9070 9816, email [email protected] or send us a message via our contact page.

You can also connect with Bree on social media.

I am the Founder and Managing Principal of Legalite – a multi-award-winning new kind of law firm that is breaking new ground in simplified and forward-thinking legal services.

I started Legalite with one clear vision: to flip the traditional law firm model on its head. Through pioneering the delivery of innovative and bespoke services that give our clients maximum value, Legalite has established itself as a market leading firm with above industry average growth.

As an advisor to some of Australia’s most well-known brands, my expertise encompasses franchising, regulatory compliance and national and international expansion. More than just a technical advisor, I am focussed on providing future-ready, strategic and innovative advice. This extends to advisory board services.

I’m genuinely passionate about fostering meaningful relationships with clients, colleagues and industry connections. I’m proud to lead, and work alongside, a diverse, award-winning team of gun lawyers and professionals who are equally as passionate about changing the future of the legal industry.

Andrew is a strategy and media expert working with business, legal and professional services leaders to solve communications challenges. A former business journalist with The Australian he is an award winning media & communications consultant and advisor, with over 25 years experience.
Both in-house and through his consultancy Crackle Communications, Andrew has advised CEOs and leadership teams across law, professional services, finance, mining, development, litigation, retail and technology. His experience ranges from crisis management and industrial relations, to media coaching and corporate transformations.
Andrew also teaches public communications at UTS and UNSW, holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, a Master of Politics and Public Policy from Macquarie University, a Graduate Diploma of Journalism & Communications from UTS and a BA from the University of Sydney.

Paul is a Partner in our Employment & Safety team in Melbourne.

Paul is an Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations. He has a strong focus on resolving high risk disputes in the workplace for employers. This requently involves employee misconduct, union disputation, governance and workplace culture, industrial action, vulnerable stakeholders, media interest and reputational risk.

Paul’s solutions extend across a range of industries such as education, technology, logistics, health, aged care, faith-based, bio-medical and labour hire and cover legal issues arising at all phases of the employment relationship (pre-employment, during employment and post- employment).

Paul played a critical role in State and Federal judicial and court administration for a 10-year period while working at the Supreme Court of Victoria and Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, where he worked with two Chief Justices. Paul also held an executive position at the Family Court of Australia where he was responsible for overall delivery of registry services to the judiciary and self-represented litigants as well as the management and supervision of 60 registry staff.

He is the co-author with Denton's partner Toby Blyth on a textbook on privacy and surveillance in the workplace (published by Wolters Kluwer).

Sue-Ella specialises in helping lawyers and law firms create more rewarding practices through purposeful business strategy and positive client engagement.

Sue-Ella established her award-winning consultancy Prodonovich Advisory in 2005.

Her In-House roles have included Director of Marketing, Arthur Anderson; Director of Marketing & Business Development, Baker McKenzie; and Partner, Crowe Horwath.
Sue-Ella is a member of the teaching faulty of The College of Law, The Law Society of NSW, The Law Institute of Victoria, and FMRC. In 2011 she was inducted into the APSMA Hall Of Fame for services to the Australasian Professional Services Industry and in 2019 she was made a Fellow of the College of Law Firm Management. Her qualifications include an MBA, Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) (Law & Marketing) – VC List, the AICD Course for Company Directors, and the Net Promoter® Client Loyalty Program™.

Scott is a General Counsel with extensive experience advising listed entities in regulated environments . Scott’s pragmatic approach ensures the organisations he acts for maintain good standing with regulators, their peers and the broader community, while being able to confidently deliver the experiences expected by consumers. Scott has led teams of varying sizes and particularly enjoys helping junior lawyers develop their skills and understanding of complex commercial environments.

Troy Swan is the Group General Counsel and Board Member of the $1.3 billion office products company Winc. Winc was formed following the acquisition and merger of Staples, OfficeMax and Corporate Express in Australia and New Zealand by leading US based private equity firm Platinum Equity.

He has been publicly recognised as one of Australia's leading corporate lawyers and was previously an Australian Lawyer of the Year and an Australian General Counsel of the Year triple finalist. He was also the Association of Corporate Counsel Global Member of the Year, from over 43,000 lawyers worldwide, with this being the first time this honour was ever awarded to a lawyer outside America.

He became only the second Australian lawyer to win the International Value Champions Award in San Francisco and was also named the Association of Corporate Counsel Winner for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility.

Known for his business judgement, he is highly active within the legal and business community, being named a Judge at the Australian Law Awards, New Zealand Law Awards, Corporate Counsel Awards, Partner of the Year Awards and the 30 Under 30 Law Awards.

He is a long standing Member of the Law Society Corporate Lawyers Committee, is a regular commentator and speaker on legal and business affairs and leads an award winning legal team based in Sydney, Australia.

Adrian Tembel is an economics and honours law graduate of the University of Adelaide. He began practising corporate and technology law in 1993 at his law firm Thomson Geer. He became a Partner of that firm in 1997 and its Chief Executive Partner in 2009. He is also a part-time Commissioner of the South Australian Productivity Commission and a Director of the Hackett Foundation.

As Deloitte Legal APAC & Australia Growth Client Lead and Partner, I have the privilege of driving our legal practice's growth and client engagement across the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, I enhance our intangibles, data and technology legal capabilities and deliver integrated, multidisciplinary solutions that meet the evolving needs of our clients.

With over 25 years of experience, my professional journey has taken me through various leadership roles globally. Before joining Deloitte, I was the Asia-Pacific CEO for a global corporate performance specialist group, where I established its first base outside London. I also spent 15 years in senior leadership positions at leading global law firms, including Partner and Global Head of the Intellectual Property and Technology Group, and Co-Country Managing Partner, Australia.

Specialising in intellectual property and technology strategies, I help clients navigate complex legal and business challenges. At Deloitte, we leverage our global scale and diverse expertise to provide innovative solutions in IP, Data & Technology, Contracting, Climate & Sustainability, and People & Workplace areas.

Beyond my professional pursuits, I am deeply passionate about mental health advocacy. I currently serve as the Chair of Minds Count Foundation and have previously been on the Board of the Corporate Mental Health Alliance (Australia) and The Arts Health Institute. I firmly believe that prioritising mental health and wellbeing is crucial for creating high-performing teams.

Although I live in Sydney, Australia, I feel part of a global business community and regularly work with organisations worldwide. My commitment to excellence and innovation drives me to continually seek better ways to serve our clients and people and make a positive impact on the world.

Desi is an Australian Legal Practitioner and Mentor of Practical Legal Training at Leo Cussen Centre for Law, Victoria, Australia. She was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2005 and has practiced in mid-tier, suburban and private firms. In 2013, Desi completed a Graduate Diploma of Education with a focus on legal studies and literature. As a certified mental health first aid trainer, Desi is a strong advocate for mental health, the wellbeing of new lawyers and the profession as a whole. She regularly presents at conferences in Australasia as an ambassador for mentally healthy workplaces and has recently become accredited in social impact measurement.

In 2019 she contributed to a book chapter on time perspective in relation to wellbeing and productivity in Lexis Nexis’ ‘Wellness for Law: Making Wellness Core Business.’ Desi sits on the International Bar Association’s Wellbeing Taskforce charged with tackling the problem of poor mental health among the world’s lawyers and in promoting working practices to help to improve wellbeing within the legal profession. She is also an officer on the IBA Academic and Professional Development Committee.

Desi has recently launched her workplace consultancy Wellceum supporting legal and professional services integrate a longitudinal measurement and assessment system to help manage psychosocial risk, comply with legislative duties as well as unlock opportunities for improved employee resilience, increased productivity and make visible social impact. Most notably, Desi was recently named Australia’s Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Wellness Advocate of the Year for 2021.

Steven is a 19-year lawyer, having spent 10 years in-house at Hewlett-Packard working across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific, with several years as Vice President, South Pacific General Counsel and Group Secretary. Before that, he worked for Norton Rose and Baker McKenzie in London, Sydney and Cologne.

In 2017, Steven founded and is CEO of a consulting and solutions company, Gen2Law, specialising in helping legal departments, law firms and law companies innovate and transform to the next generation of legal and ops services through technology and process modernisation.

Steven speaks and writes frequently on the future of legal services, contributing to
publications by the AFR, Association of Corporate Counsel and “Remaking Law Firms” by George Beaton, published by the American Bar Association. He is a Committee Member for the Future of Law and Innovation in the Profession (FLIP) initiative of the Law Society of New South Wales and holds advisory board positions for the International Association of Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) and several technology start-ups.

Lara is a professional performance, leadership and mental fitness coach and former law partner. She is passionate about helping lawyers and professionals to develop their leadership and build their resilience and wellbeing so they can become high performers and meet the challenges and pressure of work and life to achieve their potential.
Lara is the co-founder and director of global coaching firm Coaching Advocates which offers, individual and team coaching, training and consulting services in the legal sector.

Lara has been coaching professionals since 2017 on a one-to-one basis as well as in groups and teams. She is also a Senior Facilitator, speaker and trainer. Lara’s focus is on supporting ambitious lawyers and professionals to build their self awareness, challenge their perceived limitations and tap into their strengths and inner resources to help achieve their results. Ultimately Lara helps professionals to become in charge their minds and therefore their results.

Lara is a certified Master Practitioner and Trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming which is a powerful transformational tool that she incorporates into her coaching, training and facilitating to create effective and sustainable mindset development. She is also an internationally certified coach with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).