Speakers

Andrew is Head of Slater and Gordon’s Industrial and Employment Law practice nationally. Andrew is based in Brisbane and his own practice extends across NSW and Queensland representing unions and employees in all employment related matters, in a range of blue and white collar industries. He prides himself on providing strategic and practical advice to his clients.
Andrew has worked for a large national law firm in Sydney, for a national trade union and has practiced as a barrister at both the NSW and Queensland bars, all the time practicing exclusively in industrial and employment law.

Cate is a civil and commercial trial and appellate silk. She was admitted in 1995, came to the private bar in 1998 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2014. She holds a Master of Laws with Honours in equity and insolvency.

Cate is the Vice President of the Bar Association of Queensland, and the Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee. She is a member of the Supreme Court Library Committee and the Bar Practice Course Management Committee, presenting bi-annually at the Bar Practice Course in Ethics and in Case Analysis.

Cate is a member of the Queensland Ballet Academy sub-committee and from time to time she participates in legal comedy debates to raise money for good causes

Christopher was admitted as a solicitor in 1983, and to the private Bar in 1994.

He has practiced in complex litigation in the Supreme and District Courts, Court of Appeal, Coroners Court, and the High Court. His expertise includes Professional (including Medical) negligence, Insurance, Trusts and Estates, Road accident cases, Police torts, Historic sex torts, Education and Corrective Services torts, and Wrongful death.

Christopher has worked as Counsel in the Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry, the Barrett Centre Inquiry, the Mackay Hospital and Health Service Gynaecology Services Investigation, the Disability Services Royal Commission, and the Churchie Mothers Veranda Collapse Inquest.

Christopher is a Mediator, a former President and Life member of the Medico-Legal Society of Queensland, and Chairman of Barristers Chambers Limited at the Inns of Court, North Quay.

Claire was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2003 and the High Court of Australia in 2006.

Before joining Avant in 2008, she worked in private law firms defending public and private hospitals in medical negligence claims and represented the Medical Board prosecuting practitioners.

As Manager of the Professional Conduct Team, Claire now leads a group of experienced solicitors who specialise in defending practitioners in a wide range of complex health law matters including; coronial investigations and inquests, commissions of inquiry, civil claims and complaints to regulators. She has represented practitioners in the Coroners Court of Queensland, the Human Rights Commission, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal as well as both the District and Supreme Courts. She also provides general advice as part of Avant’s Medico-legal Advisory service.

Claire is Deputy Chair of the Queensland Law Society’s Health and Disability Law Committee well as a member of the Occupational Discipline Law Committee. She is a volunteer Judicial Committee Member with community sporting organisations and a member of the Medico-Legal Society of Queensland.

Dr Jennifer Schafer is a General Practitioner, Medical Director Doctors' Health in Queensland, Chair Brisbane North Primary Health Network and Patron University of Qld Medical Society.

After a degree in law, and training in general medicine, Jeremy was looking for change. In 1992 he and his wife travelled to Mt Isa, lured by an image of Whitehaven beach on the back cover of the BMJ.

He spent 10 years as Director of Medical Services and general physician at the Base Hospital. In this hard-drinking mining community his interest in substance use problems developed. Since 2004 he has been Clinical Director of the Alcohol and Drug Service, Metro North Health. His interests include treatment of opioid use disorder and the interface between addictions and mental health.

Dr Karen Liddle, MBBS FRACP MPH, is a Senior Staff Specialist Paediatrician at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and PhD candidate with the University of Queensland (UQ) with the Integrating Genomics into Medicine Group. She is the medical lead for the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) clinic in partnership with UQ implementing the expansion of diagnostic services for the Department of Health Drug and Alcohol Program. She is a member of the UQ FASD research collaborative and is involved in the current review of the diagnostic guidelines for FASD.

Margaret McMurdo was President, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Queensland, from 1998 until 2017. She was the first woman to be appointed to such a position in Australia. In 2015, she was Acting Chief Justice of Queensland.
Margaret graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland in 1976 when she was also admitted as a barrister. She was an Assistant Public Defender from 1977 to 1989.
Margaret was a founding committee member of the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland and its president in 1980-81.
She practised at the Bar from 1989 until 1991 when she became the first woman and the youngest person to be appointed to the District Court of Queensland. In 1993, she additionally held a commission as a Children’s Court judge.
She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Griffith University in 2001 and the Centenary Medal in 2003.
In 2006, she received the Agnes McWhinney award from the Queensland Law Society for outstanding professional contribution by a woman lawyer.
She was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2007 for service to the law and judicial administration in Queensland, particularly in areas of legal education and women’s issues.
In 2009, she received an honorary degree from the Queensland University of Technology and in 2012 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Queensland.
She is a founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and a member of the American Law Institute.
From 2018 until 2020 Margaret conducted the Victorian Royal Commission into the Management of Police informants.
From March 2021 until July 2022, Margaret was chair of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.
Margaret is currently chair of the Legal Aid Queensland board and the board of governors of Queensland Community Foundation. She is also patron of Caxton Legal Service and LawRight’s Civil Justice Fund and chairs the University of Southern Cross’s law faculty advisory board.

Margo graduated from the Police Service Academy in 2000 after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Justice Administration from Griffith University whilst working at the Bennett Chambers at the Inns of court and then as a personal assistant at Clarke and Kann. Margo was placed in Brisbane from the Academy and worked at Dutton Park Police station in general duties. At this early stage of her career she completed the liquor compliance course, which ignited a passion for liquor related issues and compliance activities.
Margo made a career for herself in the Tactical Crime Squad of South Brisbane moving between Mt Gravatt, Capalaba and Inala where she moved through the ranks of Constable to Sergeant. Margo established the liquor accords in the South Brisbane District and established a full time role for liquor compliance within the District.
After a short relieving role as the State Liquor Coordinator at the Drug and Alcohol Coordination unit, Margo obtained a full time role at the Drug and Alcohol Coordination unit in the drug portfolio where she is driving change with demand and harm minimisation for alcohol and other drugs.

Dr Nigel Prior is a graduate of the University of Queensland a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and a Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction of Medicine of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FAChAM). He was trained both in the United Kingdom and in Australia and has had extensive experience in both clinical and forensic psychiatry. He is a member of the Forensic Faculty of the RANZCP, the Medicolegal Society of Queensland and the American Association of Psychiatry and the Law. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the University of Queensland. His special interests relate to General Psychiatry involving anxiety and depressive disorders, addiction medicine and civil medicolegal practice. He has previously been a member of General Council and a Chair of the Board of Practice Standards of the RANZCP.

Shahina Braganza is a senior emergency physician at Gold Coast Health and Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor at Bond University School of Health Science and Medicine. She is passionate about “non-technical” skills in the health profession – including professionalism, communication and leadership. Explore her commentary and contributions on shahinabraganza.com.

Dr Kingswell is a psychiatrist with a particular interest in the administration of health services, He retired from Queensland Health recently after 37 years of service, 20 of those in senior administrative positions in the Department of Health and the Health Services.