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.

Kiri is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at TurksLegal, a specialist commercial law firm who has established a strong reputation in the insurance, commercial and banking sectors.

Kiri works closely with the Chairperson and the Board, overseeing the day to day operations of the business, as well as developing the ongoing vision for the firm's future along with creating and implementing successful strategies and systems across our 200 strong East Coast practice.

Having over 15 years of experience across a range of business critical areas including Human Resources, Marketing, Business Development, Operations, Finance and IT, Kiri is able to provide solutions which deliver a competitive edge while meeting commercial realities.

Kiri is passionate about mentoring and developing future leaders and is always willing to share her experiences both personally and professionally to assist others in their pursuits. She currently mentors a number of females who are in different stages of their career progression.

Prior to becoming CEO of TurksLegal, Kiri was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at an international accounting and business advisory firm.

Kiri’s other most recent successes have been winning Executive of the Year - 2020 Women in Law Awards and COO of the Year - 2019 Executive Awards.

Adam Butt is an Australian Barrister based in Sydney who specializes in international arbitration, commercial litigation and human rights law. Prior to joining the New South Wales Bar he practiced as a solicitor at Allens Linklaters and as a senior associate in the international arbitration team at Clayton Utz.
Adam has acted on numerous international investment and commercial arbitrations with seats in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and the Caribbean, including several matters as assistant to Hon James Spigelman AC. He acts on complex commercial and human rights cases and regularly leads teams in Federal and state Supreme Courts, in cases both for and against the Crown. He has won major native title and Aboriginal land claim disputes across Australia, in addition to significant claims brought under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).
During 2020 to 2023, Adam was a finalist each year in Australia’s Lawyers Weekly Barrister of the Year Award, including winning the Award in 2021.
Adam has postgraduate degrees in law and politics from New York University and Cambridge where he placed first in several subjects, and has been a visiting scholar in negotiation at Harvard. He is also admitted as an attorney in New York. Previously, Adam worked with the judges at the ICTY in The Hague, on the trial of Slobodan Milošević, and as a permanent part time assistant to two eminent international arbitrators.
Adam is a current member of the NSW Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee. He regularly publishes and presents in Australia and overseas on ADR, expert evidence, contract and civil procedure. He has been a board member of several international ADR bodies in Australia and overseas.

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.

David Cullen is the Group General Counsel of AMP Limited. David has been with AMP since 2004, and has held positions including Group Company Secretary & General Counsel, Governance.
David has almost 25 years’ experience in the legal profession, with extensive experience in the areas of M&A, corporate law and corporate governance. Before joining AMP, David worked for law firms Blake Dawson Waldron and Gilbert + Tobin and spent two years with the ASX.
David is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

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.

Nicholas brings intellectual rigour, curiosity and creativity to all his work. As a Restructuring and Insolvency Partner, Nicholas is driven by the appeal of never having to face an ordinary situation, and always needing to bring innovative and novel solutions to the table. Whether helping clients address future risks, restructure debt or operations, sell assets or navigate troubled times, he keeps the lines of communication open and brings his trademark creativity and plain speaking to problem solving.

Advising on contentious and non-contentious issues arising from corporate distress, Nicholas represents financial institutions, insolvency practitioners, distressed debt funds, creditors, debtors and company directors. He has worked across a diverse range of industries, including retail, mining, media, construction and financial services.

Nicholas is also the chairperson of KYUP! Project, a charitable organisation with the aim of ending the scourge of domestic violence and empowering the next generation to champion their safety and wellbeing.

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.

Luke Furness a Senior Associate in the Commercial Litigation team at Clayton Utz. He specialises in all types of disputes with a particular focus on tax and duties disputes.

Luke is also the former CEO (and current board director) at Out for Australia, a national LGBTIQ+ student mentoring not-for-profit. In his time at Out for Australia, Luke was involved in pairing over 1000 students with volunteer mentors, who supported students to transition into the workforce. Luke has contributed to a number of publications and interviews for ABC Radio, Lawyers Weekly, and Wellness Daily. He is also a regular presenter on diversity and inclusion in the workplace and has spoken at major functions for Brisbane City Council, Suncorp, Commonwealth Bank, and Aurizon.

Luke graduated from the University of Queensland in 2013 with a Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Laws before completing his Master of Laws at the University of Sydney in 2016.

Hugh Griffin is the Managing Partner, and co-founder of Hazelbrook Legal. Hugh is an industry recognised corporate and financial services specialist, and was recently awarded 2022 Corporate Partner of the Year and Financial Services Partner of the Year in the Australian Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year awards. Hugh specialises in all aspects of corporate law, including public and private M&A, corporate contracting, financial services, governance and regulatory law, and has more than 20 years experience assisting startups through to listed global entities.

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.

Glenn is a passionate and driven corporate and transactional lawyer, specialising in mergers and acquisitions and complex commercial arrangements.

Glenn advises both Australian and international clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including corporate transactions, advisory work, joint ventures, capital raisings, shareholder arrangements, corporate structuring and reorganisations, as well as directors’ duties.

He is an experienced negotiator and provides our clients with accurate, succinct and practical solutions to challenging and technical issues.In addition, Glenn has been recognised as a Leading Corporate/M&A Lawyer (Small & Mid-Market Matters – NSW) in Doyles Guide 2018 and has also been listed in Best Lawyers over the past four years for Equity Capital Markets Law and M&A Law. Glenn has also received recognition as one of Australia’s leading lawyers in private equity (IFLR 2012, ALB 2009, ALB 2007).

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.

Geraldine Johns-Putra is an experienced corporate lawyer and expert in enterprise governance, purpose, business & human rights and modern slavery. She runs her own practice in Melbourne focussing on enterprises seeking purpose, and actors in the impact economy. She is legal advisor to not-for-profits making an impact in this space, including B Lab Australia & NZ and Impact Investing Australia. Her purpose is to use the law to build more purposeful enterprises & ecosystems for a happier world.

She has over 20 years' experience practising law in Australia, the UK, Hong Kong and China. She has worked with large global and Australian law firms and was a partner of a top-tier Australian law firm for several years. She sits on the Council of Monash University.

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.

Pepe is committed to assisting families to separate in a better way, working with her clients to resolve their family law matters sensibly, with purpose, and minimal financial strain, empowering them to move forward and begin the next chapter in their lives.

Practicing family law for over 12 years, Pepe is trained in conflict management coaching, advanced collaborative law and Human Services. She is also a qualified financial mediator and parenting co-ordinator, both of which are services that we also offer.

In 2020, Pepe created the The Kind Lawyers, and with 8 other family law professionals, is driving a movement that is all about changing the conversation about divorce from one of combat, to kindness. Her innovative approach to family law has seen her and Balance Family Law recognised with over 23 national and international awards and accolades, including Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2020, Family Law Partner of the Year at the Partner of the Year Awards 2021, and Sole Practitioner of the Year at the Australian Law Awards 2021.

Pepe is a Director of Pacifica Congress, a not-for-profit organisation that brings together family law professionals from the Pacific region who are working together to ensure that children and their families are better equipped to overcome the harm caused by family conflict. She is also an active member of the ACT Law Society’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, the Canberra Collaborative Family Lawyers, and the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals. Pepe is also the Co-Chair of Connecting Lawyer Mums, an organisation that seeks to provide networking and community connections to parents practicing law.

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

His experience in commercial litigation and dispute resolution spans a broad range of jurisdictions and industries.

Andrew acts for both public and private clients including medium to large Australian and international businesses, major manufacturers, property developers, insurance and finance brokers and financial institutions.

Andrew has particular expertise in corporations and competition law disputes, intellectual property disputes, including copyright and trademark infringements and regularly advises on directors’ duties.

Acting for a number of insolvency practitioners, he provides advice to directors and shareholders on all aspects of insolvency, with a focus on practical and cost-effective solutions for clients.

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.

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.

Rachel is general counsel and company secretary at Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited, leading a team which manages the diverse array of legal issues which arise across the business. Prior to joining Nine Entertainment Co. in 2015, Rachel was a partner at Gilbert + Tobin for many years where she specialised in mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance.
Rachel is a director and company secretary of Giant Steps, a charity which runs schools for children and young adults with autism in Sydney and Melbourne.

Matthew Littlejohn currently practices in-house as part of the Office of the General Counsel within the Victorian State Government. Prior to this, Matthew was at the Bar in the Northern Territory where he had a broad practise across personal injury, medical negligence, class action, and social justice litigation. He has also previously worked at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, and was the Regional Office Leader of their Darwin office when it was established in 2015.

In 2016, Matthew won the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 award for his work in Insurance Law, and in 2017 was named Young Gun of the Year at the Australian Law Awards. Matthew again won the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 award in 2019, this time for his work as a junior barrister.

Anna Lozynski is an award winning executive general counsel & author, turned Change Agent, Advisor and Influencer.

Starting out at a major Australian law firm, she has spent the majority of her legal career in-house working in the banking, automotive and cosmetics industries. In 2021, Anna has donned her entrepreneurial shoes, and started her own business, on a mission to help law and business adapt to the digital age, launching her own Advisory service.

She believes that innovation is invigorating, change is energising and efficiency will never go out of fashion.

In addition, she is an Advisory Board Member to Mys Tyler (a fashion tech startup), She Breaks The Law (a global female innovator network), and sits on the CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium) Australia Chapter.

Described as a change agent, Anna is a sought-after commentator, mindset coach and consultant both domestically and internationally – seeking to shift the dialogue in order to propel the corporate world forward.

You are invited to join Anna’s online communities @legallyinnovative and LinkedIn as well as @annaloz on Clubhouse.

Jane Needham has been a barrister at the New South Wales Bar since 1990 and was appointed senior counsel in 2004. She practises in succession, protected estates, equity, real property, administrative law and revenue, and has appeared in inquests, inquiries and royal commissions including representing large institutions in Royal Commissions into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Aged Care Quality and Services, and Disability. She was a Deputy President and Divisional Head of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal from 2002-2011. Jane is recognised as a leading lawyer in succession and estate law, and has a national and international practice in that area.

She was President of the NSW Bar Association from 2014-2015. During that time she had a particular interest in improving access to flexible practice for barristers, including by way of supporting child care places for NSW barristers and frameworks for flexible practice. She has also overseen the NSW Bar’s work on gender equality and anti-bullying and harassment programmes. She was one of the NSW Bar Association’s Advocates for Change, and was 2019 Patron of NSW Young Lawyers.

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).

Stephen Page is a principal of Page Provan, Brisbane. Admitted in 1987, Stephen became an accredited family law specialist in 1996. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted reproduction Attorneys. Stephen is an international representative on the Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee of the American Bar Association. Stephen is a director of the Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand. He has written and spoken around the world about family and fertility law.

Caryn is a Partner and the Chief Knowledge and Innovation Officer at Gilbert + Tobin. She leads the Legal Service Innovation Team and G+T Innovate. These teams provide specialised services to support Gilbert + Tobin’s legal service delivery, and also deliver new tools and services benefiting the firm’s practice and clients. Caryn’s role encompasses responsibility for over 70 lawyers and business professionals working across Innovation and Legal Transformation, Legal Technology, Knowledge Management, Data/AI and Legal Project Management.

Prior to this role, Caryn worked as an Equity Capital Markets and M&A lawyer in both Australia and the UK.

Caryn is a regular speaker at global legal technology and innovation conferences and was recognised as one of Australia’s top legal innovators in the Financial Times Asia-Pacific Innovative Lawyers Awards 2018. Caryn also won “Innovator of the Year” in the Women in Law Awards in both 2019 and 2020 and Partner of the Year Awards in 2021.

Caryn has a passion for expanding the focus and content of legal education to enable lawyers to succeed and thrive in a changing legal environment. Caryn has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Laws from UNSW and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. She is also a Certified Practising Project Practitioner and Certified ICAgile Professional.

Andrew is Group General Counsel and Company Secretary at HMC Capital (ASX: HMC), an ASX-listed fund manager which invests in high conviction and scalable real asset strategies. HMC Capital is the manager of HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN) which listed in November 2020 and owns approximately $5 billion assets. HMC Capital’s second ASX-listed externally managed trust, HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT (ASX: HCW) listed on ASX in September 2021 and owns approximately $1.5 billion assets.

Andrew was awarded General Counsel of the Year at the 2022 Australian Law Awards and has been named twice in the globally prestigious GC Powerlist Australia in 2022 and 2023. He has also been widely recognised by Doyles Best Lawyers Guide as a leading in-house lawyer. Andrew was the three-time consecutive winner of Construction and Real Estate Lawyer of the Year in 2019, 2020 and 2021 at the Corporate Counsel Awards. He was named in the Australasian Lawyer In-House Leaders list for 2022 and 2020 and was a finalist for Dealmaker of the Year 2020 at the Australian Corporate Lawyer Awards. He has also been named as a global leading governance professional in the Modern Governance Top 100.

He is dual-qualified as a solicitor in Australia as well as England and Wales and has worked at top law firms in Australia and the United Kingdom and more recently worked as Senior Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at GPT Group, one of Australia's leading real estate investment trusts.

Andrew has served on the Law Society of New South Wales In-House Corporate Lawyers Committee. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Andrew is a member of the Governance Institute of Australia and a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia. He has also served on the Property Council of Australia Future Directions Committee (NSW Division). During that time he was Chair of the Property Council of Australia's Future Leaders Mentoring Program Subcommittee.

Andrew is also a Non-Executive Director of Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC), a global Christian charity which reaches millions whose programs are heard on AM and FM stations worldwide, as well as by satellite and the internet.

Troy Swan is the Chief Legal Officer, Company Secretary and Board Member of the $1.4billion office products company Winc Australia & New Zealand. Winc was formed following the acquisition of Staples & OfficeMax by US based private equity firm Platinum Equity.

He has been publicly recognised as one of Australia's leading corporate lawyers and was named the 2017 Australian Lawyer of the Year (FMCG) and a General Counsel of the Year finalist in both 2016 and 2017. He became only the second Australian lawyer to win the prestigious International Value Champions Award in San Francisco and was recently named in Washington, the Association of Corporate Counsel Member of the Year, from over 43,000 lawyers worldwide for his commitment to the legal community and profession. This was the first time this honour was ever awarded to a lawyer outside America.

Known for his business judgment, he is highly active within the Sydney legal and business community. He is a regular speaker and media commentator on legal affairs, innovation and large scale legal service delivery models and leads an award winning legal team based in Sydney.

The Croesus Holdings Group comprises six companies, which provide services in Project Management; Corporate Legal Compliance; Management Training & Education; Environmental GRC; ADR (mediation, arbitration & adjudication); and Litigation Funding.

Previously, Garry was Managing Director of an international Investment Bank with offices in Sydney, Vancouver, New York, London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Singapore. Those activities involved him in international capital raising; public listings; distressed company “turn-arounds”; workplace & employment relations; drafting & management of contracts; project management; governance & risk assessment; corporate strategic planning; supply chain logistics & human rights; corporate legal compliance; environmental sustainability; and optimising management outcomes.

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.

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.

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).