Program Overview

• CPD Intensive – Family Law Stream - Friday 19 Mar
  • 8:50 AM Webinar Launch
    The webinar will launch ten minutes before the intensive begins. It is recommended that you log in a few minutes early to test your settings and familiarise yourself with webinar features.
  • 9:00 AM Opening & Welcome

    Welcome, introduction and sponsor acknowledgements.

    Chair: Kepler Ryan, Chair, LIV Family Education Working Group, Senior Associate, Lander & Rogers

  • 9:10 AM Keynote Address – View from the Bench

    With Victoria’s courts having actively changed the way they operate in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and longer-term technological change underway, collaboration and ongoing coordination between all key stakeholders has been key.

    In this keynote presentation, judiciary members will cover the common and avoidable issues arising in matters in Family Court coming out of the pandemic and provide guidance that will assist you when preparing or briefing for an appearance in the current climate.

    Compliance area: Substantive Law/Practice Management & Business Skills

    Keynote speaker: the Honourable Will Alstergren, Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia

  • 9:45 AM Wellbeing Break
  • 9:55 AM Drug Testing in Family Law Matters

    Supervised drug screen tests can subsequently affect parental responsibility obligations and decision-making while the child is in their care.

    This session will use key cases to highlight various drug screening tests available and experts will discuss the conditions family law practitioners should be including to provide reliable results and how evidence obtained from such tests can be used in interim and final stages of a matter.

    Topics include:

    • Hair follicle testing and urine drug testing – how tests are conducted and results interpreted
    • Pros and cons of each form of testing
    • What factors affect the test results
    • Optimal testing conditions lawyers should consider

    
    

    Compliance area: Substantive Law/Practice Management & Business Skills

    Presenters:

    • Dr Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Manager of Toxicology, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
    • Sarah Pullan, Lawyer, CE Family Law
      
  • 10:55 AM Morning Tea Break
  • 11:15 AM How to Deal with Difficult, Stressed & High Conflict Clients

    We’ve all been there – dealing with difficult, stressed and high-conflict clients.

    Particularly in family law, there is little doubt that client emotions run high. Unsurprisingly, many of our clients are in high-conflict situations and experiencing high stress. Dealing with difficult clients takes a lot of energy and can create additional stress.

    As dedicated family lawyers, knowing how to effectively engage with high-conflict clients is a must. Learning and developing new skills for dealing with stressed or difficult clients is at the cornerstone of our practice.

    This session will explore the underlying nature of high-conflict behaviours and teach you proven, effective techniques for dealing with difficult clients.

    You will learn about:

    • Common characteristics and patterns of high-conflict personalities
    • Practical tips for communicating with difficult clients
    • What NOT to do with difficult and stressed clients
    • Useful strategies for de-escalating high conflict situations
    • How to manage your own stress and emotions during high-conflict situations

    
    

    You will leave this session with a deeper awareness of how to interact with difficult clients and effective strategies for breaking the cycle of high conflict interactions.

    Compliance area: Professional Skills

    Presenter: Venita Dimos, Director, The Mediation Company
    

  • 12:15 PM Lunch Break
  • 12:45 PM Child Support Agreements in the Era of COVID-19 – Martyn v Martyn [2020] FamCA 526

    With the government recently announcing the biggest decline in employment since the 2009 recession and with many businesses set to fail due to the pandemic, the financial circumstances of many family law clients have been, or will be, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. How will this affect separating or separated families? How will assets be valued? Can the income into the family be maintained?

    This session involves a discussion of the Family Court decision of Martyn v Martyn [2020] FamCA 526 and highlights key considerations for family law practitioners when advising their clients on Binding Child Support Agreements, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, what constitutes “exceptional circumstances” and “hardship”, in an application to set aside a Binding Child Support Agreement in the circumstances of a global pandemic.

    Compliance area: Substantive Law

    Presenter: Rachel Peattie, Senior Associate, Clancy & Triado, Accredited Specialist, Family Law
    

  • 1:30 PM Break
  • 1:35 PM State of Flux – Impact of the Pandemic on Binding Financial Agreements

    The financial impact on Australia’s economy, as a result of business closures, is forecast to hit $50 billion. In the sphere of family law, the financial impact must be recognised as a factor effecting various aspects of a Binding Financial Agreement (such as spousal maintenance, valuations, property settlements and superannuation), so that you can continue to provide accurate advice.

    In this session David uses practical scenarios to explore the following:

    • The impact of JobKeeper as a government benefit on the spousal maintenance provisions of a financial agreement
    • Is there now a greater likelihood of such agreements being set aside because of hardship
    • Should more caution be now adopted regarding the need to obtain properly scoped formal valuations of real estate and businesses
    • The effect of this changed landscape on our formal letters of advice
      

    
    

    Compliance area: Substantive Law/Professional Skills

    Presenter: David Gillard, Consultant, Lander & Rogers; Accredited Specialist, Family Law
    

  • 2:20 PM Wellbeing Break
  • 2:30 PM Parenting Coordination – What Family Lawyers Need to Know

    It is unfortunate that parenting orders often have gaps or can be ambiguous or confusing, like who looks after children when they are sick and can’t attend school or whether school holidays start on the last day of term or the next morning?

    Having someone punished for breaching an order, doesn’t solve the underlying problem if the parents have differing understandings of what the order means. According to former Chief Justice the Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC, “the court gives a decision – it doesn’t resolve a dispute”.

    As a fairly new concept in Australia, the session will describe both a judiciary and solicitor perspective from the Hon Diana Bryant AO QC and parenting coordinator Vanessa Matthews.

    Topics include:

    • Benefits of parenting coordination
    • The future of Australia’s family law system with respect to this approach
    • Maximising positive outcomes for family law clients using parenting coordination
    • Parenting coordination process and real-life examples

    
    

    Compliance area: Professional Skills/Practice Management & Business Skills

    Presenters:

    • The Honourable Diana Bryant AO QC, Former Chief Justice, Family Court of Australia
    • Vanessa Matthews, Managing Director, FDRP and Mediator, Matthews Family Law & Mediation Specialists, Accredited Family Law Specialist and Parenting Coordinator
      
  • 3:15 PM Afternoon Tea Break
  • 3:30 PM Ethics in Practice

    Facilitated by LIV ethics experts Donna Cooper and Michael Dolan, this closing session brings together attendees of all three intensive streams to collaboratively discuss and formulate solutions to challenging ethical issues that can arise in property, family and succession law practice.

    Discussion topics include:

    • A solicitor’s paramount duty to the court and administration of justice
    • Inadvertent disclosure of confidential material
    • Confidentiality
    • Conflict of interest

    
    

    Compliance area: Ethics & Professional Responsibility

    Presenters:

    • Michael Dolan, Special Counsel, Ethics and Professional Practice, Law Institute of Victoria
    • Donna Cooper, Head of Ethics, Wellbeing and Practitioner Support, Law Institute of Victoria
      
  • 4:30 PM Conference Close & Virtual Networking
    Following the close of the conference at 4.30pm, attendees are invited to remain online to connect and network with fellow attendees until 5.15pm.