Niall Coburn
Niall is a Barrister of the High Court of Australia admitted in 1986 and has over thirty years’ experience in financial markets, securities regulation and the last decade in international class actions mostly in financial services. In 2002, he was awarded an ASIC Australia Day Honour Medal for his work in corporate investigations.
He is a former Principal Lawyer leading major investigations at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and a former Director of Enforcement at the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Niall was part of an international team that wrote the regulatory and financial market laws for the Dubai International Financial Centre working with Arabic regulators while learning Arabic and French. He is the author of ‘Coburn on insolvent trading and corporate investigations’ published by Thomson Reuters and has been a public commentator on financial regulation and compliance.
Niall will be involved in Session 2 discussing the State of Play with Class Actions in both Australia
Phil will form part of the Panel for Session 5 on Stakeholder Disputes when dealing with viable businesses.
Philip Davey
Phillip is a Consultant with Cater & Blumer Solicitors, heading up the firm’s estate planning and farming succession practice. A former founding director of DDCS Lawyers, Phillip has extensive expertise in property law, family law, estate planning and business succession. He has represented clients in complex family and property matters and regularly advises individuals and business owners on estate planning, succession, and dispute resolution.
Phillip holds a Master of Laws with a specialisation in dispute resolution and is a former chair of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators. He also acts as a mediator in family and estate disputes. In addition to his core legal practice, Phillip has experience in commercial law and has been involved in film production and tech start-ups.
Phillip is valued for his clear advice, strategic insight, and steady guidance through challenging personal and commercial issues.
Julie Dobinson
Julie Dobinson is Special Counsel at Carew Counsel Solicitors, an award-winning Melbourne based family law, wills and estates practice. Julie was a founding partner of DDCS Lawyers, a Canberra-based firm specializing in family law and wills and estate matters.
Julie continues to practice as an Accredited Specialist in Family Law, assisting clients in complex parenting and financial matters. Julie is known and respected for her compassion, and her ability to provide strategic advice about complex disputes. Her clients benefit through Julie’s extensive professional network, including financial advisers, valuers, and family consultants. Julie is a Nationally Accredited Mediator and holds a Master of Laws (Dispute Resolution).
In addition to her client work, Julie has made a significant contribution through mentoring and leadership roles. She has served as Chair of both Law Australasia and the ACT Women’s Legal Centre and is a long‑standing member of the ACT Law Society Professional Standards Committee. In 2018 Julie’s contribution to the legal profession was recognized by her colleagues with the Award of ACT Law Society Presidents Medal.
Julie will form part of the Panel for Session 5 on Stakeholder Disputes when dealing with viable businesses.
Scott will form part of the panel for Session 5 on Stakeholder Disputes when dealing with Viable businesses.
He will also hold a key role throughout the conference as Co-Convenor.
Scott Freidman
Scott is an extremely experienced and highly regarded litigator. He is known for expertise in all forms of dispute resolution, his commercial negotiation skills and his strategic advice. He is trusted by his clients for his fearless yet compassionate approach to legal work.
Scott’s clients range from individuals to small and large companies. He is regularly referred work by and from judges, barristers, accounting firms, major national law firms and numerous smaller legal firms and have represented clients in all state and federal courts and
tribunals.
In his role he knows how to get successful outcomes in all disputes, even when these are bitter or complex. Scott assists with delivering commercial, timely and practical advice and service.
Scott proactively seeks to resolve disputes wherever possible by way of alternative dispute resolution approaches. These include negotiation with other parties, mediation or expert determination.
When asked why he enjoys being a lawyer Scott’s answer was very simple. He said: “I enjoy helping people.”
Maureen Jordan
After dinner speaker
Maureen Jordan is a director of the Switzer Group and has 25-year involvement in media and publishing.
As group publisher of Switzer Media & Publishing, Maureen has initiated and managed the publication of specialty books, magazines and content for some of the country's leading organisations. Switzer Media & Publishing holds the Australian & New Zealand licence for Harper’s Bazaar and Maureen is the Publisher of both the monthly magazine and the Harper’s Bazaar website.
Maureen's knowledge of small business and the economy, combined with her legal skills as a solicitor, has enabled her to not only put a firm footing under her own long-established business, but has also given her the credibility to assist others.
Maureen will share some of her more interesting adventures in the publishing world as our after dinner speaker on Thursday night.
Session 8 will be dedicated to Michael's presentation titled More Effective Mediation.
Michael Joseph
Michael Joseph is an NMAS accredited mediator specialising in commercial and farm debt disputes. With over 30 years of experience as a solicitor in the Supreme Court
of NSW and a distinguished career in senior leadership at a national commercial law firm, Michael brings exceptional legal acumen and commercial insight to every mediation.
Recognised as a strategic thinker, Michael is known for his ability to distil complex
issues into clear, accessible frameworks that facilitate productive dialogue. He has mediated disputes involving parties ranging from multinational corporations to small family business owners, both in Australia and overseas.
Michael is listed in Doyles Guide as a Leading Mediator in New South Wales and is recognised in Best Lawyers and Legal 500 Asia Pacific, reflecting his standing at the forefront of dispute resolution practice.
Areas of Practice
- Commercial disputes – such as breach of contract, partnership & shareholder disputes, class actions, building disputes, trade practices and insolvency
- Farm debt mediation - convened under the NSW Farm Debt Mediation Act 1994 and the Queensland Farm Business Debt Mediation Act 2017
- Multi-party and complex mediations across all levels of the courts and tribunal system
- Cross-border and international dispute resolution.
Tanya Lansky
Tanya joined LionFish in February 2022 and was appointed to the Board in July 2023.
Having started her career at TheJudge Global, the then leading London-based brokerage for dispute risk solutions, she quickly became a highly regarded industry peer. Her technical and legal expertise of both the ATE insurance and litigation funding markets were consistently mirrored in her commercialism and ability to get deals closed. In addition to negotiating and structuring insurance and financing agreements, Tanya also spent time educating lawyers and counsel on this niche industry.
In 2020, she was hired by Emissary Partners, the global disputes advisory boutique where her ambition, extensive relationships and economic understanding of disputes
contributed to the firm’s growth and work with investors and litigation funders on optimising the outcomes of complex portfolios and disputes.
Tanya has a dynamic, thoughtful approach that consistently delivers against the needs of any situation. Her quick, agile mind and commerciality are reflected in her
straightforward and transparent approach as well as ability to operate robustly and efficiently. With both her market knowledge and start-up experience, Tanya brings a rare mix of qualities that align with LionFish’s approach and strategy to litigation funding – all which led to her rapidly becoming an integral part of the firm’s management team.
Tanya's session will cover Working with Litigation Funders and the top tips to preparing applications.
His Honour will conduct two individual sessions, Thursday and Friday mornings and form part of the Panel on day one as well.
The Honourable Justice Michael Lee
His Honour commenced work as a solicitor in 1989 with a firm that later became one of Australia's largest national partnerships.
He was made a senior associate of the firm in 1992 and was appointed its youngest partner, in 1995. He eventually became a senior litigation partner and national practice group leader before coming to the New South Wales Bar in 2002.
Justice Lee developed a nationwide and eclectic practice and acted in a very broad range of superior court matters at both first instance and on appeal. He took silk, after 9 years, in 2011. Both before and after taking silk he acted primarily in civil proceedings although he dabbled in the criminal law.
At the time of his appointment his Honour was a leading class action lawyer in Australia. Justice Lee was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia in 2017 and is also an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.
John McGuiness
John is a leading forensic expert and has more than 30 years’ experience in advising clients and providing objective analysis of transactions in major commercial disputes.
John draws on skills from accounting, finance, valuation, costing and general commercial advice to deliver analysis and opinions on matters which generally involve large data sets or complex issues.
He was a founding member of KPMG’s forensic practice.
A significant part of John’s work involves the provision of valuation advice related to assets, equities and other matters in contested settings. He has delivered many valuation reports across a wide range of industry settings.
The settings of John’s work in commercial disputes involve transactions, acquisitions, income tax, projects and construction, warranty and indemnity claims, joint venture issues, long term supply agreements, class actions, regulatory matters, high net worth individuals, accounting reconstruction and intellectual property.
He takes roles as a joint expert or neutral referee to resolve post completion issues on
acquisitions, particularly in working capital adjustments, earn outs and differences in purchase price and true value.
Session 7 will be dedicated to John's presentation on Expert Forensic reports, and the Pro's and Con's of single expert appointment.
Shane joins the panel discussion on Emerging issues in class actions internationally and within Australia
Shane Roberts
Shane brings over 30 years of experience in commercial litigation, with an emphasis on corporate insolvency and recovery work.
Acting both for and against liquidators and other insolvency practitioners, and having personal negligence claims involving stockbrokers, financial advisers and property valuers, Shane offers a litigator's view of what real accountability for consumers and investors looks like and how creditors can secure it.
Shane advises across:
- Commercial Dispute Resolution
- Insolvency & Reconstruction
- Government
- Private Client Services
- Class Action Litigation
Daniel Spendlove
Daniel is a Partner at Signature’s London office, specialising in complex and high value commercial disputes, usually with an international focus.
With over 20 years’ experience, Daniel represents both claimants and defendants in High Court English litigation and international arbitrations. Daniel’s clients include corporations, investment banks, investment funds, bondholders, industrial groups and high/ultra net worth individuals.
Daniel has a particular focus in M&A disputes, litigation involving funds and other investments, joint venture and shareholder disputes, and professional negligence claims. He has been involved in some of the most significant and high profile ‘bet-the-company’ cases in the London litigation market, several of which have featured in The Lawyer’s “Top 20 Cases of the Year.” In recent years he has handled several prominent group claims, and he works closely with a number of leading litigation funders.
Daniel has litigated cases in various offshore jurisdictions (including Cayman and the Isle of Man) as well as key European jurisdictions such as France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. He is particularly experienced in advising clients from the CEE and USA.
Daniel will form part of the international panel conversation at Session 2 on the State of Play with Class Actions in both Australia and United Kingdom.
Peter is the founder of the Switzer Financial Group and one of Australia's bets-known commentors on the economy, financial markets and small business.
Peter Switzer
Peter is better known as Money Man on Sydney's No.1 breakfast show on 2GB with Ben Fordham and is a financial commentor on Sky News. With more than 30 years of experience translating economics, interest rates and market cycles into plain English.
A former university economics lecturer turned broadcaster, publisher and business owner, Peter speaks the language of the people advisors act for.
Looking into the economic and business crystal ball
Peter's session will give an authoritative forecast on what’s happening to
the economy.
What are the federal government policies that could create threats and opportunities for business and what are the strategies to be equipped with to cope with what lies ahead.