Neville Carter

CEO, The College of Law

I entered law with the bright optimism of my generation, believing in its potential to be the biggest contributor to a successful society. After studying at Sydney University I became a solicitor, then partner. My intended career path to the Bar took what I thought would be a brief sojourn as I accepted a short-term instructor role at The College of Law in 1984. Unexpectedly, my real career then began. Being with the College has been a wonderful journey, and happily one that still has a positive impact, as we expand connections and associations across our region and the world.

To date, 100,000+ students have expanded their practical legal knowledge and skills through our campuses and workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Adelaide and Auckland, NZ. We also provide training in London, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and the South East Asian region. I take personal pride in the dedication of the College’s 300+ teaching and support staff and their commitment to the development of the profession.

In addition to our large scale pre-admission Graduate Diploma offerings, we offer Master of Laws (Applied Law) programs with majors/ subjects in Commercial Litigation, Commercial Transactions, Family Law, In-house Practice, Property Law, Wills & Estates. The postgraduate programs focus on the practice of law. We also provide a large suite of Practitioner Education (CPD/MCLE) courses, both face-to-face and online, with programs ranging from quick one-hour updates to full day conferences.

On a personal level, I read widely and I am interested in all sports and current affairs. I was Editor of the Journal of Professional Legal Education (JPLE) for nine years and have written a large number of papers, including for and presented at multiple conferences (Clinical Law Teachers USA, LawAsia, Continuing Legal Education Administrators Assoc. and The Executive Connection). I sit on a number of boards and contribute to these boards in various capacities.

Genevieve Collins

Chief Executive Partner, Lander & Rogers

Genevieve has been Chief Executive Partner of national law firm, Lander & Rogers since 1 July 2019, having been Practice Group leader of the firm’s Compensation Law team for over 13 years.

As Chief Executive Partner, Genevieve has been the driver of the firm’s innovation & digital transformation agenda. She is responsible for establishing the firm’s Client Innovation Hub, as well as the Lander & Rogers’ LawTech Hubs at YBF Ventures in Melbourne and Sydney. The LawTech Hub is the first of its kind in Australia, and recently won the 2019 ALPMA/LexisNexis Thought Leadership Award.

Genevieve is also driving a firm culture which prioritises people, and Lander & Rogers is consistently recognised for its work in Pro Bono, Wellness & Diversity.

Sam Flynn

Co-Founder and COO, Josef

Sam is Co-Founder and COO of Josef, a 'next generation' automation platform used by the best and most innovative teams around the world, from global firms like Clifford Chance, to leading NewLaw firms like Hive Legal.

Before Josef, Sam worked in advertising, as a lawyer at Arnold Bloch Leibler and as an associate at the Supreme Court of Victoria. He also built and launched myki fines in 2016, one of the first examples of truly successful B2C legal tech, with over 60,000 users in the first month.

Hilary Goodier

Partner and Co-Division Head, Ashurst Advance

Hilary is a Partner and Co-Head of Ashurst’s awarding winning global NewLaw division, Ashurst Advance.

With deep experience spanning law, technology and operations, Hilary specialises in delivering innovative and technology enabled legal solutions for clients and is key driver of Ashurst’s NewLaw transformation.

As Co-Head of the division, Hilary leads a global team delivering the full suite of NewLaw products and services including advanced delivery, legal managed services, flexible resourcing, legal operations and digital.

As a former GC and General Manager, Hilary brings a unique perspective and strong sense of commerciality to her work. She is strongly execution focussed and is trusted by clients to lead and deliver complex change programs.

Hilary was the 2019 recipient of the highly coveted Chief Executive Women’s Harvard Business School Disruptive Innovation Scholarship and was named “Innovator of the Year” at the Lawyer’s Weekly Partner of the Year Awards.

Katrina Gowans

National Legal Transformation Lead, Origin Energy

Since July 2018, Katrina has been the National Legal Transformation Lead for Origin Energy, a role she describes as helping the Origin Legal team manage change. One of her highlights was to successfully lead the Origin Legal team in implementing a fully integrated matter management and document management system, underpinned by a transformation program to change the way the team worked.

Prior to stepping into this role, Katrina was a lawyer at Origin for 5 years advising the Retail business on all things customer. Before joining Origin, Katrina was a lawyer at King & Wood Mallesons for over a decade where she specialised in competition and consumer law.

Renee Knake

Professor of Law and Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics, University of Houston Law Center

Renee earned her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. After practicing law for several years, she began her academic career at Michigan State University where she co-founded and secured substantial funding for the law school's inaugural program on technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation in legal services, recently recognized as a top program in the United States. In 2015, she was a scholar-in-residence at Stanford Law School's Center on the Legal Profession and a visiting scholar at the American Bar Foundation. From January–July 2019, she held the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Her current administrative leadership at the University of Houston includes an appointment as the director of Outcomes and Assessments. In this role, Professor Knake is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Law Center's compliance with the American Bar Association (ABA) standards on learning outcomes and assessment of student learning.

Professor Knake is an internationally recognized expert on professional responsibility and legal ethics. She has been invited to speak throughout the United States and in countries such as Australia, Canada, England, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates. She is regularly contacted to assist in legal matters involving lawyer discipline and judicial ethics, and has twice testified successfully before the Texas Supreme Court Special Court of Review to support reversal of discipline charges against judges. She is an author of three casebooks—Professional Responsibility: A Contemporary Approach (West Publishing, 3rd Edition 2017); Legal Ethics for the Real World: Building Skills Through Case Study (Foundation Press 2018); Gender, Power, Leadership and Law (West Publishing 2019)—along with more than 20 scholarly articles including publications in the Fordham Law Review, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Illinois Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, Washington & Lee Law Review, and the Washington Law Review. Professor Knake's fourth book, Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, debuts in May 2020. Her work has been cited in briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, prestigious law reviews such as the Yale Law Journal, and a range of media including the ABA Journal, American Lawyer, Associated Press, Bloomberg Law, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, CNN, National Public Radio, National Law Review, New York Times, Slate, and Wall Street Journal.

She has been selected for a range of leadership roles nationally and internationally. Knake was elected to the American Law Institute in 2017, and was named a fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2016. She currently serves as Chair for the Association of American Law School Section on Professional Responsibility. She was appointed as the Reporter for the American Bar Association Presidential Commission on the Future of Legal Services from 2014-16. She served as a delegate to the World Economic Form Global Agenda Councils on Justice (2014-16) and Rule of Law (2013-14). She has received numerous awards for her work on entrepreneurship and innovation in legal services, including a significant grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation from 2012-14. In 2013, she was named an American Bar Association Journal "Legal Rebel," an "annual honors program for the change leaders of the legal profession" and a member of the Fastcase 50, an annual award that "recognizes 50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law." That same year she accepted the Innovation Award from the College of Law Practice Management, honoring "lawyers, law firms, and other deliverers of legal services who are currently engaged in some extraordinary innovative efforts."

Alison Laird, Director

Laird Innovations; and Geeky Guru (Innovation), CLI Legalpreneurs Lab

Alison has spent the last decade working with BigLaw questioning the status quo and getting lawyers to think outside of the legal box to deliver ‘different’. Using a clever combination of people, process and technology, she collaborates with lawyers and clients to develop bespoke solutions.

With more than 15 years working internationally, Alison is now based in Australia bringing her unique perspective to the legal profession. Her previous roles include International Director of Implementation for DLA Piper in London and Head of Innovation and Project Delivery Asia Pacific for Pinsent Masons. She has lived and worked in Beirut, Dubai, London, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne and holds an MBA from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Melissa Lyon

Executive Director and Experience Designer, Hive Legal; CLI Distinguished Fellow 2019/20 and Geeky Guru (Legal Design Thinking), CLI Legalpreneurs Lab

Melissa Lyon is a Business Development and Innovation specialist committed to assisting professionals develop client focused and human centred approaches to the delivery of legal services.

To do this she draws on many years of experience in legal practice, including as a partner of a law firm. She has also held senior business development roles, managed BD teams and led numerous projects and programs at a top tier legal firm. Melissa now works with Hive Legal, an innovative NewLaw firm which has disrupted the legal profession by introducing value pricing, truly flexible work practices, design thinking frameworks and technology based solutions for its clients.

Working in this innovative environment has inspired Melissa to develop a very different approach to innovation programs based on a design thinking framework and the power of purpose (HiveThinkP). She is a skilled facilitator and assists clients to develop human centred projects through interactive workshops and design sprints.

Melissa is committed to sharing her experiences and insights with the profession especially those who are new to it. She is also a strong advocate for those with skills other than legal and the vital roles that they play in the delivery of legal services.

Melissa is a Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Legal Innovation 2019/20 (her fellowship focused on the practical uses of design thinking in the legal profession). She was also named Business Development Professional of the Year In the Australian Law Awards 2017.

Marcus McCarthy

Founder and Principal – Nexus Law Group

Marcus is a highly experienced corporate lawyer and litigator with over 25 years in legal practice and law firm management. He is a former General Counsel of a large mining company and recognised expert and published author in construction law & Security of Payments legislation.

With significant business and experience outside law, Marcus recognises the importance of general commercial acumen as informing legal practice and a practical, outcome-driven approach to legal service delivery.

After years as business leader, lawyer and legal technologist, Marcus became interested in law reform and the future of legal services and, on the belief there was a better structure for the practice of modern law, founded Nexus Law Group in 2011. Nexus is one of the most innovative businesses in the industry today. With a core focus on technology, it built an entirely new and scalable management platform, OpenLogic™, to run its unique business model and an online smart contracting and management platform, OpenLaw™, for its clients.

Nexus prides itself on delivering top-tier solutions delivered practically, ethically and credibly, powered by technology. Nexus itself is a multidisciplinary, collaborative business ecosystem, aiming to build a better practice environment for senior lawyers and to remove unnecessary overlay in the practice of modern law and legal service delivery.

These days Marcus mostly uses his experience to mentor other lawyers while managing the business of Nexus, doing corporate advisory work and building out the OpenLaw technology platform. He also engaged on number of private Advisory Board positions including the Newcastle University Law School.

Warrick McLean

Chief Executive Officer, Coleman Greig Lawyers; Co-Chair CLI Advisory Board

In his role as CEO, Warrick works closely with the Principals and staff of Coleman Greig to identify, facilitate and implement the firm’s strategic direction. Coleman Greig is the Greater Sydney’s law firm of choice and the largest commercial law firm servicing clients in Greater Western Sydney with offices in Parramatta, Norwest, Penrith, Sydney CBD and Campbelltown-Macarthur.

With over 20 years’ experience of leading, transforming and growing professional service firms within the accounting, medical and legal sectors, his high-level interpersonal skills allow him to genuinely engage with stakeholders at all levels. A visionary leader, Warrick enjoys engaging in thought leadership and challenging the status quo. Warrick has demonstrated skills in exploring and implementing technology as an enabler, improving client experience and lifting the financial performance and ongoing sustainability of the firms he has led. Most recently, Warrick’s drive and focus assisted Coleman Greig in being recognised as 2019 “Outstanding Law Firm of the Year” at the Women Lawyers Association of NSW Awards.

Warrick is a regular MC at legal industry events in Australia and New Zealand and a Past President and Life Member of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA). Warrick is currently a Non-Executive Director, NSW Business Chamber; and appointed Community Representative, City of Parramatta Local Planning Panel. Warrick holds an MBA (WSU), Graduate Diploma in Financial Management and a Bachelor of Arts (UNE).

Terri Mottershead

Executive Director, Centre for Legal Innovation (Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific) (CLI); Founder, CLI Legalpreneurs Lab; Australian Representative, Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation & Technology Association (ALITA) Advisory Board; Assistant Director, Research & Scholarship, The College of Law; Chair, Innovation Committee, Queensland Law Society

As the Executive Director, CLI, Terri works internationally with leaders and managers of law firms, alternative legal service/product providers, legal associations, legal incubators and accelerators, legaltech/AI entrepreneurs, law schools, business schools, business professionals and lawyers, supporting their contribution to the transformation of legal practice. She has been a global thought leader in people centred legal practice innovation for more than 25 years, having lived/worked in Australia, Asia, UK and US.

Prior to joining the Centre, Terri was a practising lawyer and subsequently led the in-house talent management functions for firms and associations including Lex Mundi, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) and DLA Piper LLP (US). She has also led or taught on practical legal education initiatives in law schools in Asia, Australia and the US. In 2010, Terri founded Mottershead Consulting in the US, and later expanded it to Australasia, to focus on supporting lawyers, legal business specialists and law firms in identifying, developing and transforming their capabilities and practices to a new way of delivering legal services/products to the market.

Terri has served on/led more than 50 boards and committees for not-for profit, for profit, legal associations and organizations including, most recently, acting as Vice-Chair and one of the founding Trusted Advisors of the Professional Development Consortium (US); as a member of the Queensland Law Society Practice Management Course Committee; as President and Executive Committee member of the Continuing Legal Education Association of Australasia (CLEAA); as a General Committee Member of the Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) Queensland Branch; and as a member of the Queensland Law Society Innovation Committee.

Terri’s work in legal practice management globally was recognised with her appointment as a Fellow of the US College of Law Practice Management. Her work in legal innovation has likewise been recognised through invitations to judge legal industry awards including the Professional Development Consortium Innovation Award (US), The Legal Forecast/QUT Starters Queensland Disrupting Law Hackathon, and the ALPMA/LexisNexis Innovation Thought Leadership Award. Terri was recently appointed as the representative for Australia on the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation and Technology Association (ALITA) Advisory Board and profiled as a legal industry thought leader by McCulloch Robertson for its Year 101: Women in Law initiative.

Terri holds a LLB (Honours) and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, both from QIT; an LLM from the University of Queensland; and an MBA (Distinction) from the University of Wales. She is admitted to practice in Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, the High Court of Australia, England & Wales and Hong Kong.

Caryn Sandler

Partner and Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer, Gilbert + Tobin; Co-Chair CLI Advisory Board

Caryn 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 80 lawyers and business professionals working across Innovation and Legal Transformation, Legal Technology, Knowledge Management 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 2019. Caryn is a member of the Steering Group for the Chief Innovation Officers Forum, Australia and is a GROWL (Global Rise of Women in LegalTech) mentor. Caryn has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Laws from UNSW and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance (Finsia).

Rajesh Sreenivasan

Head, Technology Media and Telecoms Practice, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP; Founder and Director, Rajah & Tann Technologies

Rajesh heads the Technology, Media & Telecommunications Practice at Rajah & Tann, and also the founder & Director of Rajah & Tann Technologies.

He has been advising clients on matters relating to technology, cybersecurity, data protection, telecommunications, electronic commerce, distributed ledger technology implementations, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, digital forensics and social media for over twenty years.

Rajesh is unanimously named as a Leading Lawyer for TMT in publications such as Chambers Asia Pacific and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2008. According to Chambers Asia Pacific (2018), Rajesh is “highly prized by multinational technology companies for his expertise in data protection, telecoms regulation and cybersecurity.” He has been further recognised as a Market-leading lawyer for IT, Telco & Media by Asialaw Profiles (2019).

Gene Turner

Managing Director, LawHawk; Geeky Guru (document automation), CLI Legalpreneurs Lab

I’m a corporate and finance lawyer and legal template developer with over 20 years legal experience.

I was a partner at Buddle Findlay (BF) for six years, and was ranked by IFLR1000 as a leading lawyer in both corporate and finance work areas after leading some very successful transactions.

Big deals didn’t excite me, but great precedents, efficiency and helping other lawyers do great work does, so I retired from BF and established LawHawk to make document automation accessible to all lawyers as a fully managed online service.

Since 2016, we’ve been working with other lawyers in New Zealand and Australia to automate their workflows and help them and their own clients create customised legal documents - real smart contracts - in minutes, to higher standards of quality than before. There is no need to install, maintain or learn to build with your own software. We do all that for you, and you can just use it.

As well as my role on the Advisory Board for the CLI, I’m also a Geeky Guru for the CLI Legalpreneurs Lab on document automation and am happy to talk to you about any questions or ideas you have, and what might be possible.

Nick Watson

Managing Director, Ruby Datum and LawTech London

Nick is the managing director and lead architect of Ruby Datum, often regarded as the most intuitive and high performing virtual data room on the market. The company has seen continued success over the years, landing both large and small law firm clients.

Nick also helps law firms and LawTech start-ups develop and commercialise their own products, with user experience at the forefront.

Nick runs regular LawTech breakfasts with key industry thought leaders, and the LawTech London meetup group where they focus on real transformation.