Event information
Venue: Establishment Ballroom Merivale, 252 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Overview
The inaugural GC Disputes Summit Australia will bring together leading GCs and in-house counsel across the country to discuss how the GC community will adapt to the new regulatory and investigations landscape in light of the Hayne Royal Commission. Panel discussions will range from regulatory investigations and enforcements and associated class action risk, to climate change litigation and cross-border recovery and tracing of assets. Attendees can expect high-profile speakers, plenty of time for debate and discussion, and networking drinks to end the day.
Agenda
| GC Disputes Summit – Australia | |
|---|---|
| 1.30pm | Registrations |
| 2.00pm | Opening remarks |
| 2.10pm | Panel I – The Rise of the Regulators
This session will focus attention on the governance challenges faced by corporates when dealing with what can be a simultaneous triad of (1) regulatory investigation and associated punitive enforcement (be it civil and criminal), (2) associated remediation of customers or systems and (3) associated class actions on behalf of customers or shareholders. |
| 3.00pm | Panel II – Climate change litigation – what is on the horizon and how to mitigate risk for your organisation
Climate change is no longer just an ethical issue but now also a financial one. To what extent will a failure to disclose risks to the market expose your organisation? Climate change litigation represent a commercial and reputational risk for corporate Australia. In recent years there has been a number of high profile class actions commenced by shareholders overseas relating to climate change issues. There has also been one such action filed in Australia. What developments can we expect to see for climate change litigation in Australia and what steps can you take to ensure your organisation is prepared? Our panel of leading litigation and ESG experts will discuss the developments in this space including what might lie ahead for climate change litigation in Australia. |
| 3.50pm | Coffee Break |
| 4.05pm | Panel III – Fraud prosecution and enforcement
Focus will be on: investigation and prosecution of civil fraud (internally within an organisation or against it by external parties); urgent court actions (freezing search orders and recovering confidential information); and cross-border recovery (including enforcement of foreign judgments) and tracing of assets |
| 4.55pm | Panel IV – Managing board, governance, and reputational risk Australian businesses face an increasingly complex framework of established and evolving legislation and regulations concerning civil, criminal and regulatory risks. Coupled with a landscape with more active regulators, dramatic media headlines, potential personal liability, and where “community expectations” serve as a barometer for assessing corporate behaviour, the task for boards and senior executives in effectively managing conduct risk can seem overwhelming. In this panel we look at how the company’s legal team can help navigate that task. |
| 5.50pm | Closing remarks |
| 6.00pm | Drinks and canapes |
| 8.00pm | Event Concludes |
Speakers
Chris Pagent, partner, Corrs
Chris focusses on bet-the-company litigation. He specialises in class actions, securities litigation, white collar, product liability and property claims. He regularly acts for leading financial services institutions, disclosing entities, international manufacturers, public instrumentalities, professional service providers, and c-suite officers.
His expertise is acknowledged in many Australian and international directories, including Chambers Asia Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Doyles’, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific and the Australian Financial Review’s Peer Review.
Chris is a member of the Law Council of Australia’s Class Action Committee, the National Product Liability Association and the Defence Research Institute.
Andrew Korbel, partner, Corrs
Andrew is an experienced litigator and has been a trusted adviser to both the private sector and government for more than 20 years. He works with clients to resolve complex and high-value commercial disputes, and protects their interests in inquiries and investigations.
His recent experience ranges from massive corporate collapses to telco network joint venture disputes, and large-scale litigation between government and global pharma.
Andrew also helps importers, exporters and industry bodies to navigate trade investigations, and disputes arising from them, in Australia and internationally.
Mark Wilks, partner, Corrs
A leading litigator who is involved in some of the most valuable litigation in Australia involving assets worth billions of dollars, Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in ‘bet the company’ disputes, and is recognised as a market leader in this area.
His practice primarily focuses on financial services and resources, while his experience also spans a range of other areas including class actions and media. He has also been involved in some of Australia’s largest insolvencies, advising banks, investors, creditors, trustee companies, directors and insolvency professionals.
Mark regularly appears on his clients’ behalf before superior and appeal courts, including the High Court of Australia, and in confidential commercial arbitrations. He has consistently been listed as a leading lawyer by legal directories and publications including Chambers and Partners, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and Best Lawyers.
Mark is a member of the Insolvency and Restructuring Subcommittee at the Law Council of Australia.
Tim Case, partner, McCullough Robertson
Tim is a partner in McCullough Robertson’s litigation and dispute resolution group, where he practices commercial litigation across a range of industries. Tim has a particular interest in the investigation and prosecution of fraud related matters. He also has extensive experience in conducting the defence of regulatory proceedings, as well as the independent investigation of Crime & Corruption Commission complaints.
In association with...
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Corrs Chambers Westgarth is Australia’s leading independent law firm. We provide exceptional legal services across the full spectrum of matters, including major transactions, projects and significant disputes. Our commercial litigation group is involved in many of the largest bet-the-company disputes in Australia. We act for multinational and leading Australian corporates as well as Australian government entities across a broad spectrum of industry sectors throughout Australia. The team is recognised as one of the strongest in the country.
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