June 2014

Tasmania

by Brian Aherne

AILA Tasmania has held two meetings this year.

In April, 22 attendees enjoyed an interactive discussion on interesting insurance court cases from 2013.

Presenters were Luke Taylor, from Page Seager, and Raymond Benson, from M&K Dobson Mitchell Allport.

On June 4, AILA members gathered at the Law Society offices to hear South Australian Supreme Court Justice Kevin Nicholson deliver the Geoff Masel lecture on proportionate liability.

Western Australia

by Susan Courthope

There have been busy times in WA’s legal insurance industry in the build up to the June 30 renewal season.

Barrister Jason Raftos presented in April on amendments to the privacy legislation. It was a timely reminder to attendees to revisit their privacy policies to ensure compliance has not slipped.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Tony Mander presented at a May breakfast seminar on changes to the landscape one year since DSM 5 was introduced. It is always a balancing act to get the subjective science of psychiatry to work with the absolute of the law.

AILA WA was delighted that barrister Bettina Mangan, who presented two very thought-provoking papers on ethics before and after settlement, has been invited by AILA South Australia to present her papers there. South Australia, you will enjoy.

New South Wales

by Penny Paterson

AILA NSW has had two seminars this year.

The first examined the privacy laws that came into effect on March 12, 2014, and the second was about social media in the court room.

Both were well attended. Thanks to HWL Ebsworth and Hunt & Hunt for hosting the seminars and the committee members who arranged them.

Topics for this year’s Twilight Seminar Series are:

June 18 - Things you may not know about the Civil Liability Act 2002

July 2 - What have you missed in 2014?

July 16 - Insurance brokers E&O: War stories and tips from the top

July 30 - Fault lines in Australian corporate law: Issues for directors’ and officers’ liability and policy coverage.

Why not take advantage of AILA NSW’s bring-a-client offer and bring a client at a reduced price? It is a great marketing opportunity. 

Young Professionals (YPs) representing all facets of the insurance industry attended the first round of the 2014 Ron Shorter Memorial Award on May 6 at CBP Lawyers' offices. AILA NSW sub-committee members who attended were amazed at the talent of this year's contestants.

During the first round, participants received public speaking training and then applied that training to deliver two-minute presentations on insurance topics of their choice. Three finalists were selected.

They are: Bradley Meyerowitz, from Wotton & Kearney; Benjamin Breiscoe, from Alllianz; and Nivedha Thiru, from DLA Piper.

Each now receives additional coaching to prepare them for the finals where they will present their topic for 15 minutes in front of peers and industry luminaries.

The competition reflects Ron Shorter's vision of empowering YPs by giving them confidence to present publicly. Past participants have excelled in their professional lives from the training provided by Jennifer Beard and the Polaris team.

The final will be at CBP Lawyers' offices on June 17 from 4.30pm to 6pm. There will be a panel of judges comprising a senior industry personality, a media representative and a Supreme Court judge.

The winner will receive flights, accommodation and free registration at the AILA National Conference on Hamilton Island.

YPs should diarise the 2015 competition that starts in March next year.

This year’s Geoff Masel lecture was on June 4. The speaker was South Australian Supreme Court Justice Kevin Nicholson. The topic: Reflections on the practical operation of the (not very) uniform proportionate liability regimes in Australia.

The inaugural AILA NSW YPs networking group event is a networking workshop run by Nikki Heald of Corptraining. YPs will be coached in various networking techniques to maximise their personal brands. They then have the opportunity to put those skills to the test in a relaxed, casual environment at Curwoods Lawyers.

The first 2014 YP event, Autumn, was on May 15. It was a great success, with more than 500 attendees. Thanks to the committee members for their hard work organising the event.

Victoria

by Richard Adamczyk

Victoria’s AGM was hosted at the Regent Theatre on February 26 with record participation.

Guest speaker Jeremy Ruskin QC introduced as a “doyen of the bar” and a “rock star”, entertained with amusing anecdotes that were wonderfully received.  

During the AGM, presidency of the Victorian chapter moved from Cameron Roberts, of Thomson Geer, to Richard Adamczyk, of AIG. New committee members are Michael Moutsias, of Moutsias Management Services; Lauren Ritchie, of Norton Rose; Kate Devenish, of CBP Lawyers; and Jim Douglas, from Cerno. Cameron Roberts remains on the committee, although Mark Attard, of CBP Lawyers, and Peter Chapman, of Willis, both ended long periods as committee members.

The 2014 committee otherwise remains the same. The committee thanks Cameron Roberts for his hard work during his two years as president and Mark Attard and Peter Chapman who between them dedicated more than 25 years of service to AILA Victoria’s committee.

Seminars in March and April were well attended with Michael Thompson SC chairing Insurance contracts reform - 10 years in the making, presented by John Tesarch of the Victorian Bar and David Guthrie, partner of HWL Ebsworth.

Richard Adamczyk chaired Finding a home for the multifaceted peg: The ever-changing world of cyber risks. Presenters were Lander & Rogers partner Patrick McGrath and AIG senior underwriter Joe Carone.

ANZIIF and AILA presented a joint seminar on general insurance law reform. Speakers included DLA Piper consultant Peter Rashleigh, barrister Robert Heath, and Colin Biggers & Paisley partner Mark Attard.

May played host to the Sir Ninian Stephen Insurance Law Masterclass with a diverse range of domestic and international presenters, including:
• Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Emilios Kyrou
• Ian Enright, senior VP and international counsel at Reinsurance Group of America
• Dr Ozlem Gurses, University of Southampton
• Fred Hawke, partner, Clayton Utz
• Professor Rob Merkin, University of Exeter
• Professor Brenda McGivern, University of Western Australia
• Greg Pynt, University of Western Australia
• Mikaela Reynoldson, Holman Fenick Willan
• Cameron Roberts, partner, Thomson Geer
• Michael Thompson QC, Victorian Bar
• Charles Thornley, partner, Lander & Rogers
• Neil Campbell QC, NZ Bar
• Peter Harmer, CEO at CGU
• Andrew Dunn, partner, Holman Fenwick Willan
• Helen Koustas, vice president, Chubb Insurance Asia Pacific
• Gary Gribbin, director, Insurance House Group, IBNA Ltd and AIMS
• Philip Ayres, Sir Ninian Stephen’s biographer

It was an amazing effort to have so many well-respected speakers brought together for such an event and the committee thanks Mikaela Reynoldson for co-ordinating the conference.

June, July, August and September will see a seminar on fines, penalties and insurance; an AILA/NPLA joint seminar on Pitfalls of product liability occurrences: What is the insured event?; and an update on the Civil Procedure Act 2010.

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