Meet the judges

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.

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.

Andrew Lacey is recognised as a leading Australian commercial litigator. He is the Managing Principal at McCabes and heads the litigation and dispute resolution group.

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.

Ann-Maree David is the National Executive Director of The College of Law, the largest provider of practice-focused legal education in Australasia. She has worked as a lawyer across public and corporate sectors and in private practice as a solicitor. She is also an experienced Board Director and Chair.
Ann-Maree is driven by her passion to support all Australian lawyers through mentoring & coaching and education & training. She has a particular interest in promoting greater diversity in all its forms throughout the profession

Bree Knoester is an award-winning Australian lawyer and the founder of Brave Legal. Recognised for excellence in medical negligence and complex litigation, she has received industry accolades for both her legal expertise and leadership of a high-performing boutique practice. Bree’s breadth of practice spans coronial inquests, public hospital negligence claims, birth trauma matters, and complex catastrophic injury cases. Known for strategic precision and forensic preparation, she acts in high-value, high-stakes disputes against major health services and insurers, delivering outstanding outcomes while shaping conversations about accountability and standards in healthcare.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Mellissa Larkin is the Founder and Managing Director of award-winning boutique law firm Peripheral Blue. Since 2016, she's been making waves in the legal industry in Australia advocating for a client-centred model of practice and championing the flexible workplace. Her views on the culture of overwork in law, lawyers' mental health, and women in business have been featured in multiple industry and business publications.
Prior to founding Peripheral Blue, Mellissa worked in dedicated Project and Construction Teams in international and top-tier firms in Ireland and across the Disputes and Corporate Teams of a national firm in Australia. She also worked in house for blue-chip companies.
In 2016, Mellissa Larkin walked away from the career she had spent two decades building over two continents, to found Peripheral Blue with the aim of disrupting the legal and professional services industries by giving clients access to top tier, responsive legal and advisory services in a flexible and affordable way.
Mellissa was named as the Innovator of the Year in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards in 2022 and as the South Australian Winner in the Small Business category of the 2020 Telstra Business Women's Awards. Her firm, Peripheral Blue was a finalist in the Telstra Business Awards 2019.
Mellissa holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from Flinders University and a Master in Laws from Trinity College, Dublin.

I am a purpose driven Chief Legal Officer with multidisciplinary legal expertise across several different industries and sectors.
I am currently General Counsel and Head of Property at Sydney Fish Market. Previously, I have held senior in-house legal positions at Lendlease Corporation and Commonwealth Bank.
I have a passion for pursuing excellence in the delivery of in-house legal services.
As a Member of the Law Society’s In-house Corporate Lawyers Committee, I have spoken at numerous events and conferences on topics of interest to in-house lawyers. I am also an Executive Committee member of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia.

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 frequently 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 Dentons' partner Toby Blyth on a textbook on privacy and surveillance in the workplace (published by Wolters Kluwer).

Perpetua (“Pepe”) Kish is one of Australia's most progressive and multi-award-winning family lawyers. She is Director of Balance Family Law, where for more than a decade she has helped separating families resolve conflict without litigation. Across matters ranging from collaborative settlements to high-conflict parenting and financial disputes, she has not had a matter progress to a final hearing in over ten years, reflecting her consistent commitment to resolution over escalation.

Pepe is a co-founder and Chair of The Kind Lawyers movement, and one of the architects of "Kind Law," an emerging approach to legal practice that challenges traditional adversarial models in favour of using the law responsibly to achieve stable, workable outcomes. The Kind Lawyers has developed international reach, with emerging partnerships now developing abroad. Pepe is also a director of Pacifica Congress, a leading multidisciplinary organisation of family law professionals across the Pacific region, and an elected board member of the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals (AACP), the national body supporting collaborative, interdisciplinary family dispute resolution in Australia.

In 2026/27, Pepe will serve as Guest Editor of a forthcoming Kindness in Law special edition of the Bond Law Review, developed in partnership with Bond University. A sought-after keynote speaker, she presents nationally and internationally on conflict resolution, collaborative practice, legal innovation and the future of a more human-centred justice system. Pepe has been selected as an honoree of the Icons of Change International Awards 2026.

Her multidisciplinary background includes training in conflict management coaching, parenting coordination, child-informed mediation, collaborative coaching and advanced collaborative law, along with accreditation as a mediator. She holds postgraduate qualifications in Human Services (Child Welfare and Development) and previously worked as an Associate in the Children's Court and as a case manager in child protection, experience that continues to shape her belief that effective advocacy requires both legal excellence and a deep understanding of people.

Rachael is a Professor in the Bond University Faculty of Law. She is Co-Director of the Bond Dispute Resolution Centre and Bond’s Centre for Professional Legal Education. Her areas of teaching and research expertise include dispute resolution, family law and domestic violence, lawyer and law student well-being and legal education (particularly foundations of law and transition in, through and out of law school). Rachael is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow, the winner of a National Teaching Citation and an Australian Teaching Excellence Award, and she is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She founded the Australian Wellness Network for Law and co-founded the ADR Research Network. Rachael has been on the Women’s Legal Service Management Committee in Brisbane since 1993 and held the role of President from 2004 to 2020. She is now an Ambassador for the Service. In 2013 Rachael was named Queensland Woman Lawyer of the Year.

Rebecca has advised developers and landowners on industrial, commercial and residential development projects, is on the board of Mackillop Rural Community Services and now works as general counsel at PAYCE Consolidated Limited.

Steve Lancken has been a full time mediator since 1999. During that time, Steve has conducted over 2,000 mediations. Steve has worked in Queensland mediating Native Title issues and in Liberia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nepal and Northern America. Steve has conducted mediations for Australia’s largest and most successful organisations such as ASIC, ACCC, QANTAS, GPT, AGSM, Mission Australia, the Salvation Army, Australian Treasury, Australian Government Solicitors and Department of Defence. Steve also works with Australia’s largest banks and insurers.
Steve enjoys the opportunity to do the most interesting and challenging work and contribute to social justice, teach, educate and contribute to his profession.

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™.

www.prodonovich.com

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

Currently Group General Counsel & Company Secretary at CSIRO/AARNet Telco joint venture, REINet (Research & Education Industry Network), Teresa is an experienced corporate lawyer, Board member and governance professional with extensive experience in both private practice and in-house roles across highly regulated sectors.
Teresa commenced her career working at one of Australia’s premier law firms, before going in-house where she has held the roles of Supervising Counsel / Divisional General Counsel at Telstra Corporation Limited, Group General Counsel & Company Secretary at ASX-listed Elixinol Global Limited, and as General Counsel & Company Secretary at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). As a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and a Graduate of the AICD, Teresa is recognised for her expertise as a trusted advisor, delivering practical, strategic, and results-oriented legal counsel.

Theo Kapodistrias is a multi-award-winning lawyer, based in Hobart, Tasmania. He is also an award-winning speaker, MC and public speaking + presentation skills coach, running his own business. Theo is also the author of A Way With Words, published by Rethink Press. This book became an Amazon Best Seller in 5 categories in its first 24 hours on sale. He's held senior legal roles currently as Senior Legal Counsel at Gentrack, previously as General Counsel at Evergen and the Legal and Commercial Manager at Tourism Tasmania. He has been recognised for his work in the legal and community space winning several awards and has been named one of Australia's Most Influential Lawyers by the Australasian Lawyer Magazine in both 2022 and 2023. He was also named the Speaker of the Year at the 2022 International Coaches Awards. He is a Non-Executive Director of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia and previously at Business Events Tasmania. In 2025, he was appointed as Chair at Story Island Project Tasmania. In ACC Australia, he is also the Tasmanian Divisional President and Chair of the Sole Legal Officer Special Interest Group. In 2021, Theo took on the role as Executive Director and Licensee of TEDxHobart and is the host of a podcast titled ‘Craft Messages That Matter.’ In 2023, he delivered his own TEDx Talk at TEDxKatoomba titled "Lessons from my Ethnic Lunchbox

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.