Speakers

Paul Taylor

A former British Royal Navy Aircrew Officer and former Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco, Paul is a Neuroscientist, Exercise Physiologist and Nutritionist who is currently completing a PhD in Applied Psychology, where he is developing and testing resilience strategies with the Australian Defence Science Technology Group & The University of Newcastle.

He is the Director of Paul Taylor Consulting, where he delivers stress fitness (resilience 2.0), leadership and performance workshops to companies such as Oracle, SAP, PWC, NAB, CBA, BUPA & the Australian Military.

In 2010 Paul created and co-hosted the TV series Body and Brain Overhaul and he appeared regularly on The Biggest Loser TV series as a subject matter expert. He was voted Australian Fitness Industry presenter of the year twice and in 2022, he published the book Death By Comfort.

Paul is the host of The Paul Taylor Podcast, and his latest venture is The Mental Fitness Project, an online program and App that is currently used by a number of Corporations and has proven benefits for resilience, mental wellbeing and levels of burnout of participants.

Paul has a proven track record in Leadership and dealing in high-pressure situations, through his former roles as an Airborne Anti-submarine Warfare Officer and a Helicopter Search-And-Rescue Crew Member with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm.

He has undergone rigorous Military Combat Survival and Resistance-to-Interrogation Training and in 2012, he became a professional boxer. In 2019, he took up Karate to create memories with his kids and in 2021, both Paul and his 10-year-old Oscar became Australian Karate Kumite (combat) Champions.

Dr Sarah Angel

Dr Sarah Angel is a registered Clinical Psychologist who has owned and operated a private practice at Petrie Terrace, Brisbane for over 24 years. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and a Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology. Dr Angel treats clients with a range of psychological presentations including Substance Abuse Disorders and Personality Disorders. Dr Angel’s clinical specialty and expertise is child and family matters, following parental separation. Within the field of family law, Dr Angel regularly prepares family reports, acts as a child consultant for Child Informed Mediations (CIMs), provides family therapy, engages with families requiring reunification therapy and provides individual therapy for children and parents. Dr Angel provides treatment and family reports with embedded psychological assessments and personality profiling to provide a detailed analysis of risk factors associated with parent’s presentations. Dr Angel has also developed a unique and effective program for assisting rejected parents and children through reunification therapy based on empirical research and clinical practice. Dr Angel is a founding member and Vice President of the Association of Therapeutic Family Law Professionals (TFLP) and an official Board Member for the Child Protection Practitioners Association of Queensland (CPPAQ).

Justice Stewart Austin

1983: Graduate of UNSW with degrees in law and jurisprudence

1984: Admitted as a solicitor

1994: Awarded accredited specialisation in criminal law

1996: Awarded accredited specialisation in advocacy

1997: Called to the NSW bar

2009: Appointed as Justice of the Family Court of Australia (chair of national case management of the Trial Division 2014-2018)

2018: Assigned to the Appeal Division of the Family Court of Australia

2021: Appointed as the administrative head of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1)

Heath Berghofer

Heath graduated from QUT with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Business with a major in Marketing in 2012.

Heath was a solicitor practising on the Gold Coast and Kingscliff in a general practice law firms and his past experience includes commercial litigation, body corporate and family law.

Heath became a barrister in 2019 and has continued to practice in commercial litigation, body corporate and family law since coming to the bar.

Senior Judicial Registrar Best

Kara Best is a Senior Judicial Registrar within the Brisbane Registry of the FCFCOA. Prior to her appointment in October 2021, Kara was a founding partner of Best Wilson Buckley Family Law, and its Managing Director for twelve years. Kara was awarded accredited specialisation in family law in 2007, and is a trained ICL, mediator, arbitrator, collaborative practitioner and parenting coordinator.

Dan Bottrell

Dan is a director of Northern Gold Coast law firm, BGM Family Lawyers, a firm he started with 2 colleagues in 2017, and which now employs 10 family lawyers. Dan completed articles on the Gold Coast, and has practised as a family lawyer for the 22 years since then. Dan’s niche is to help businesspeople, entrepreneurs and professionals, through separation and divorce. The aspect of his job that he finds fascinating is the amazing achievements and creations of clients – their inventions, their ideas, their businesses. Dan’s practice mainly involves out-of-court solutions, and he has achieved settlements in some of Queensland’s largest financial cases. Dan is a QLS Accredited Specialist in family law, and recognised as a leading regional lawyer in high value and complex financial cases. He is a past President of the Family Law Practitioners’ Association of Queensland (FLPA), and member of the QLS Specialist Accreditation Advisory Board. He is a regular presenter at family law conferences, a blogger on current family law issues, occasional guest lecturer in family law at Bond University, and a Notary Public. In 2022 and 2023, Dan was a nominee for a QLS Excellence in Law Award as Solicitor of the Year (Small Firm).

Joseph Box

Joseph is a Chartered Accountant and a Partner in Forensic Consulting Division of Grant Thornton, Chartered Accountants, Brisbane, where he has spent the last 23 years providing expert accounting evidence for disputes. He specialises in the provision of Expert reports for valuation disputes, damages claims, class action disputes, insurance claims and expert determinations.

Joseph has prepared Reports and given evidence in the Federal Court of Australia, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, Supreme Court of Queensland, Supreme Court of New South Wales, District Court of Queensland and Magistrates Court of Queensland. Joseph has also acted as Referee, Court Appointed Expert and Single Expert, where he has given an extensive amount of evidence including numerous times on a concurrent basis.

The Honourable Justice Catherine Carew

The Honourable Justice Catherine Carew was first admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1981 in Queensland and as a solicitor and barrister in Victoria in 1983. Her Honour was called to the Queensland Bar in 1992 where Her Honour practised in all jurisdictions. In later years Her Honour specialised in family law appearing in both the trial and appellate divisions. In 2013 Her Honour was appointed Queen’s Counsel. Prior to her appointment to the Family Court of Australia in March 2016 Her Honour was also an accreditor mediator and arbitrator.

Helen Davison

Helen is a barrister specialising in all areas of family law. Helen’s experience in financial cases includes all aspects of complex property proceedings and disputes involving trusts and equitable remedies at first instance and on appeal. Prior to being called to the bar, Helen worked as a family lawyer in a top-tier family law section from 2010 to 2021, where she was mentored by some of Australia’s leading family lawyers. Prior to studying law, Helen completed a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Finance, and worked with the UN in Europe. Helen also practises in the medical negligence jurisdiction and has an interest in the interaction between law and medicine. Helen is passionate about pro bono work and was a national finalist as Pro Bono Lawyer in 2021. Outside of the law, you will find Helen and her husband, Daniel, either watching their school-aged children play sports, volunteering or discovering Brisbane’s best dining spots.

Genevieve Dee

Accredited Family Law Specialist Genevieve Dee is a partner at Lander and Rogers and has worked exclusively in family law for nineteen years. Genevieve specialises in all aspects of family law, including parenting and property matters, financial agreements, spousal maintenance and child support issues. Doyle’s Guide 2022 has recognised Genevieve as a Pre-eminent Family & Divorce Lawyer, Leading Parenting & Children’s Matters Lawyer and Leading Complex and High-Value Property Matters Lawyer in Brisbane. In addition, Genevieve has been named as recommended Family & Divorce Lawyer in the Doyle’s Guide 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 national listings.

Genevieve is the current Deputy President of the Queensland Law Society and Chair of the Board of Women's Legal Service Queensland.

Judge Anne Demack

Judge Anne Demack was appointed as a Federal Magistrate at Brisbane in 2008. The Court became the Federal Circuit Court in 2013 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in September 2021.

Judge was formerly a barrister in private practice in Rockhampton. She holds degrees in law and in social work and had earlier worked as a social worker.

At the time of her appointment she was a member of the Children Services Tribunal, which was then the Queensland tribunal with responsibility for reviewing decisions made by the statutory child protection department, and had been a member of the Central Queensland parole board.

Judge has a particular interest in parenting matters, child protection issues and parents being assisted with the resolution of their disputes.

Sheridan Emerson

Sheridan Emerson is consistently recognised as one of the leading family lawyers Australia-wide.

Sheridan has once again been recognised in Doyle’s 2024 Guide to the Australian Legal Market as one of only five pre-eminent family lawyers in Sydney and one of only five pre-eminent family lawyers for high-value & complex property matters in New South Wales.

Sheridan is a family law specialist accredited by the Law Society of New South Wales and a partner of the firm. Sheridan graduated with Honours from the University of Queensland in 2001 and was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia in May 2003.

In addition to her work in private practice, Sheridan is Chair of the board of Women’s Legal Services NSW, a large community legal centre operating throughout NSW.

Tony Graham

Tony has 40+ years’ experience in drug and alcohol testing and services, including legislation and policy development, establishment and operation of drug testing regimes in Corrections and the Australian Defence Force. Tony has extensive court experience in ensuring the legal defensibility of alcohol and drug-testing protocols and providing expert evidence. These days he oversees the operation of testing in some 40 clinics nationally. He holds membership in The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT), the Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association (FACTA), the Society of Hair Testing (SoHT) and Family Law Practitioners Association (FLPA).

The Honourable Justice Michael Jarrett

Justice Jarrett was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 8 April, 1989 after completing five years Articles of Clerkship first with Clayton, Murrell & Woolmer and then Hopgood and Ganim (as it then was).

Between his admission and April, 1991 he was employed as a solicitor with the firm of Hopgood and Ganim in the firm's commercial litigation section.

On 8 April, 1991 Justice Jarrett was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. He practiced as a barrister from chambers in Brisbane in a wide range of civil litigation including vendor and purchaser actions, landlord and tenant actions, employment related litigation, insolvency litigation, product liability claims, and actions under the Trade Practices Act. Justice Jarrett also practiced, although not exclusively, in matrimonial litigation, including disputes relating to children, maintenance and property.

Justice Jarrett was appointed to the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (as it was then known) on 2 February, 2004. He became a Judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia on 12 April, 2013. He presided over cases across all areas of the Court’s jurisdiction including the administrative law, bankruptcy, consumer law, intellectual property, child support, human rights and equal opportunity, migration, industrial and (occasionally) admiralty jurisdictions exercised by the Court.

On 15 October, 2021 Justice Jarrett took up his appointment to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) (formerly known as the Family Court of Australia).

Dr Ben Jones

Ben Jones is a registered psychologist with doctoral training in forensic behavioural science. He worked in criminal law for almost a decade before coming to specialise in Family Law in 2009. He is particularly renowned for his work in cases where there is a substantial risk footprint – family violence, sexual abuse, and personality disturbance. He provides single-expert advice to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, though is concurrently a prolific public speaker, as well as seminar convener. Dr Jones is recognised around Australia as one of the few AFCC Endorsed Report Writers, and has been invited to present on Family Law topics in many countries around the world.

Stephen Keim

Stephen was called to the Bar in 1985. He took silk in 2004.
Stephen has practised in a diverse range of law areas including criminal and civil work and a number of appearances in the High Court.
Stephen highly values the collegiate nature of our profession and, in his role of Head of Chambers at Higgins Chambers, and, more generally in his practice at the Bar, has considered and discussed many aspects of the ethical challenges that are apt to confront us as lawyers.
Ethics reflects practice as a whole in that the problems as they occur do not fall neatly into the categories envisaged by the rules we seek to apply and our development of understanding is incremental and comes, mainly, through experience.

Michael Kent KC

Michael was admitted as a solicitor in 1983, was called to the Bar in 1991 and took silk in 2007. At the Bar Michael developed an extensive practice primarily in common law, insurance, professional negligence, estate litigation, company law and family law. He also developed a substantial appellate practice. A significant component of his practice was as a mediator in all areas of civil disputes.

From 2007 until 2011 Michael was the Queensland Bar representative on the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. He also served as the Chair of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators. Prior to his appointment as a Judge, Michael served as a member of the Law Council of Australia Expert Standing Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution.

In 2011 Michael was appointed as a Judge of the Family Court of Australia. In 2015 Michael was assigned to the Appeal Division of the Court. He served on the Appeal Division until resigning his judicial commissions in 2021. Michael returned to the Bar in 2021 to resume practice in Alternative Dispute Resolution, and has chambers in Brisbane and Sydney.

Remy Kurz

Rémy Kurz is a barrister who specialises in domestic violence proceedings. After spending 12 years as a solicitor in both private and government practice, Rémy understands the myriad challenges confronting solicitors in preparing for, and advising on, both sides of domestic violence applications.

Rémy has presented workshops to Top Tier firms to raise domestic violence awareness in the workplace and regularly presents to high school students about the law. Outside of his job, he is the father of two daughters, a sports tragic, and certified movie geek.

The Honourable Deputy Chief Justice Robert McClelland AO

The Honourable Deputy Chief Justice Robert McClelland AO was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a solicitor in 1982, was elected to Federal Parliament in 1996 as the Member for Barton and served as Commonwealth Attorney-General between 2007 and 2011.

His Honour was appointed as a judge of the Family Court of Australia in June 2015 and as Deputy Chief Justice in December 2018.

His Honour was appointed as Chair of the Family Law Council in December 2021 and as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours for “distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Australia, to the law, social justice and law reform”.

Senior Judicial Registrar Ann-Maree McDiarmid

Prior to her appointment as a Senior Judicial Registrar, Ann-Maree was a highly experienced Barrister and nationally accredited mediator who specialized in family law. She is also a qualified arbitrator. She acted in a wide range of complex family law disputes, including appellate work.

Ann-Maree is an experienced decision maker, having held appointments as a member of various tribunals. She enjoys academic writing and is a frequent presenter at legal conferences.

In the early years, Ann-Maree conducted a general practice and prior to admission to the Bar she worked as Associate to a Supreme Court Judge.

Dr Anne Purcell

Dr Anne Purcell is an international dispute resolution specialist focusing on the psychology of communication and conflict, especially with high-conflict or difficult personalities. She writes, trains and speaks internationally on alternatives to traditional dispute management and litigation processes.

Dr Purcell holds a PhD in Developmental Psycholinguistics and a Masters of Education, Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and The University of Queensland. She has been Mediator of the Year 3 times in the Australasian Law Awards and is regularly named as a preeminent mediator on Doyle’s List.

Anne runs a busy international DR practice specialising in mediation, parenting coordination and collaborative law matters. She co-founded Parenting Coordination Australia (PCA) and has been instrumental in the emergence and implementation of a new form of dispute resolution within the Australian family law space and international practice.

Senior Judicial Registrar Rice

Anne-Marie Rice is a Senior Judicial Registrar at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and is also the Executive Director – National Registrar Operations and Practice. She joined the Courts in July 2020 and, as a senior member of the Courts’ leadership team, is responsible for the expansion of the Court’s dispute resolution programs and Registrar work practices nationally.

She began her career as a Legal Associate in the (then) Family Court in 1998 and has been a past executive member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, FLPA (Qld) vice-president, and a member of various Queensland Law Society Committees including the Specialist Accreditation Committee.

Kate Roff

Kate Roff is a convenor in taxation law at the ANU College of Law (sessional) and a Fellow of the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU. She is admitted to practice in Tasmania as a barrister and solicitor.

Kate will be submitting her PhD thesis in Law next month. It is the culmination of a four-year research project into the treatment of discretionary trusts in property settlement proceedings under the Family Law Act. Formerly, Kate worked as an Assistant Commissioner of Taxation at the ATO and as a Principal Advisor in Law Design at the Commonwealth Treasury. She oversaw significant litigation in the AAT, Federal Court and High Court; designed and implemented new taxation measures; and advised on various taxation laws. Areas of focus included trust taxation and the income tax general anti-avoidance rule.

Mark Sayers

BA Hons I, MA, LL.B, Ph.D 

Barrister at Law 

Mark has been a barrister in private practice since 1999, practising mostly in all areas of family law including for parents as well as ICLs & third party entities (such as trustees). A law graduate of UQ with postgraduate qualifications in jurisprudence and human rights, Mark is due to complete in August 2024 a postgraduate qualification at the University of Oxford in international human rights law. Mark is also an accredited arbitrator and mediator with the BAQ.

Magistrate Colin Strofield

Magistrate Colin Strofield was appointed as a Magistrate in March 2008. He was the Magistrate at Charleville for two years during 2009 and 2010. He was then transferred to the Holland Park Court until September 2015 when he was seconded to Southport, and in partnership with the many stakeholders, established the Southport Specialist Domestic Violence Court. This specialist court has since been rolled out around Queensland. Since 2017 Magistrate Strofield has sat in the Domestic Violence Court List in Brisbane.

Judge Leanne Turner

Leanne joined the court as a deputy registrar in 2005 after many years in private practice as a solicitor having been appointed as an independent children’s lawyer and receiving her accreditation as a family law practitioner. Leanne became Coordinating Registrar and was extensively involved in the Magellan List, appeals and costs. In 2010 Leanne was appointed as a Federal Magistrate in Darwin and sat in numerous locations as a visiting judge. Leanne returned to Brisbane in 2013 and since that date has sat in Brisbane and Lismore. In addition to hearing parenting and property matters Leanne is an Evatt judge and also conducts child support appeals. Leanne lives with her pugs in retirement Reggie and Penny and her new addition Lolly the moodle.

The Honourable Garry Watts AM

Garry has nearly 50 years experience in family law. He commenced his firm in the year the Family Court commenced operation. Between 1976 and 2005 he worked as senior partner in his firm which had grown to be the largest private family law practice in the country. Then for the next 17 years, he worked as a Justice of the Family Court of Australia, both as a trial judge, and in the later years as a member of its Appellate division. Garry has chaired the peak body of family lawyers in Australia, sat on the Council advising the Commonwealth Attorney General on family law reform and helped introduce a system of specialist accreditation for family lawyers in NSW and then Australia wide.