Areas of Interest:

Disability and Mental Impairment
Child Protection and Children's law
Adoption
Equal Opportunity
Guardianship and Administration
Inquests
Licencing and Disciplinary Tribunals

Mediation Areas:

Administrative Law (Judicial Review)
Administrative Law (Merits Review)
Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation
Children's Court
Civil Liberties
Commercial Law
Criminal Law/Intervention/Compensation
Defamation, Media & Entertainment
Discrimination
Equal Opportunity
Freedom of information
Guardianship and Administration
Human Rights
Inquests
Intellectual Property
Licencing and Disciplinary tribunals
Mental Health
Professional Negligence
Sports Law
Torts

Trade Practices

The principal focus of Judy's practice has been administrative law, especially those matters concerning the spheres of activity of The Department of Human Services, namely: child protection; children's services; coronial inquests; mental impairment; intellectual disability; community and housing services; adoption (local and overseas); review of decisions at VCAT and appeals to the County and Supreme Courts.

Current areas of practice

Children's Court child protection and juvenile crime; VCAT review of decisions; Conciliations and mediations; County Court crimes mental impairment and adoption; Intellectual Disability Review Panel; Significant practice at the former Legal profession Tribunal, (now the Legal practice List of VCAT); Discrimination and Equal Opportunity at VCAT; Currently chairman, TeachersDisciplinary Appeals Board.


Profile

Since 2001, Judy has been teaching the Civil Litigation and Advocacy subjects as part of the Practical Training Course at Leo Cussen Institute. She also contributes to teaching a variety of other subjects including Tribunal Practice and Procedure, Tribunal Advocacy, Federal Court practice, Administrative Law and professional Ethics.


Trade Practices and Commercial law

In 1998, 1999 and 2000 Judy taught the subject 'Restrictive Trade Practices' in the Advanced Diploma in Business course at RMIT University, which concentrated exclusively on Part IV and IVA of the Trade Practices Act. From 2001to 2007 Judy taught the subject 'Law for Practising Managers' in the graduate Master of Business Administration degree for the University of New South Wales program. This course had a heavy emphasis on trade practices including Part IV and IVA, as well as tort, contract, intellectual property components and corporations law.

Since coming to the Bar Judy has advised a client on its prospects for success in a trade practices matter and the client achieved a settlement near the maximum jurisdictional limit of the Court in which proceedings were issued.
Since early 2005 Judy has held a junior brief to Julian Burnside QC acting for a defendant in the Supreme Courts Major Torts List in the proceedings Gunns v Marr & Ors.

Sport Law

In 1995 and 1996 Judy was selected to represent Victoria in the State Croquet Team which competed in the Interstate Cup Championships in Perth and Brisbane. Subsequently at the Bar she was briefed to draft and settle comprehensive player, coach and team manager agreements for the State Croquet Association, and a comprehensive player agreement for the national Australian Croquet Association. She currently acts as Chairman of the ACAS Appeals Panel.

Intellectual Property

Judy's 20 years in book publishing between 1976 and 1995 involved her in, inter alia:
. a nation-wide discovery of documents exercise among publishers, educational institutions, libraries and audio-tape creators to gather information on permissions fees and charges;
. instructing solicitors and counsel in the Copyright Tribunal case, which in the mid 1980s set the first per page rate for photocopying for copyright owners and users;
. drafting publisher and author contracts for translation and reproduction rights for overseas book fairs and book rights sales; and
. involvement in proceedings for defamation on behalf of authors and publishers.

At the Bar Judy has:

. advised a publisher and author on potential defamation liability in an unpublished manuscript;
. advised a network of computer users on the liability arising from the terms of a licence agreement;
. advised an author as to the consequences of a publishing contract had how the terms could be negotiated to his advantage; and
. advised the Professional Standards Education Commottee on the publication of the "Good Conduct guide

Victorian Bar Committee Memberships

Secretary - Human Rights Committee
Professional standards Education Committee
Editor - Victorian Bar News