Emerging Lawyers Conference
Friday, 20 March 2026
Unlock momentum and own your future.
Kickstart your legal career with energy, insight, and community at WA’s premier event for lawyers in their first five years of practice. This dynamic and interactive new conference brings together emerging practitioners from across the profession for a day of inspiration, practical skills, candid conversations and genuinely useful networking. Hear from trailblazers who’ve navigated the early-career rollercoaster, dive into sessions designed to boost confidence and capability, and connect with peers facing the same challenges (and wins!) as you. Whether you’re looking for guidance, motivation or just a fresh spark, this is the place to find it. Fun, fast-paced, and built for the future of the profession.
Conference schedule
8:00am – 8:30am: Arrival, welcome coffee, and registration
8:30am – 8:45am: Opening remarks – The Hon Dr Tony Buti MLA, Attorney-General of Western Australia
8:45am – 9:30am: Keynote – The Hon Michael Buss
Rethinking truth
Former President of the Court of Appeal, The Hon Michael Buss, on truth, integrity, and the rule of law.
☑️ 0.5 CPD points, Substantive Law
9:30am – 10:30am: Interactive panel
Burnout, boundaries and being human
This session explores mental health in early practice: setting limits, spotting burnout, having difficult conversations, and surviving pressure. An interactive panel where you can ask questions and receive frank advice about protecting your wellbeing.
Speakers:
- Helen De Brito, Chief Executive Officer, Legal Aid WA
- Dr Marny Lishman, Author, Speaker, Doctor of Psychology, Mindset Coach and Media Commentator
- Shayla Strapps, Lawyer, Consultant and Speaker
☑️ 1.0 CPD point, Practice Management
10:30am – 11:00am: Morning tea
Grab a coffee, mingle, and stretch.
11:00 – 12:00pm: Workshop
The art of influence and negotiation
Success in law isn’t just about knowing the rules – it’s about persuading others to see things from your perspective. In this practical workshop, you will learn the essentials of influence and negotiation, from building rapport and reading the room to finding win–win solutions. Walk away with strategies you can apply in court, client meetings, the workplace and beyond.
Speaker: Rabia Siddique
☑️ 1 CPD point, Professional Skills
12.00pm – 1:00pm: Workshop
The ethics gym
Work through scenarios based on real life ethical conduct cases and emerging ethical issues. With the expert guidance of the Law Society’s Ethical Guidance Panel and Ethics Committee, this session will equip you with enhanced knowledge of key ethical obligations under the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015, and an improved ability to manage ethical issues arising in your own practice.
Speaker: Rachel Webber, Council Member of the Professional Standards Councils
Table facilitators:
- Adj Professor Dr Brett Davies, Legal Consolidated Barristers and Solicitors
- Paul D Evans, Partner, HFW Australia
- Dr Sue Kee, Legal Practitioner (Volunteer/ Pro Bono)
- Ashley Macknay, Litigation Counsel, Williams and Hughes Commercial and Litigation Lawyers
- Gad Coffie, Assistant Parliamentary Counsel, Parliamentary Counsel’s Office
- Pamela Hass, General Counsel to the Chief Advocate of Mental Health Advocacy Service WA
- James Healy, Barrister Francis Burt Chambers
- Carolyn Moss, Barrister Francis Burt Chambers
- Rob Lilley, Director and Principal Lawyer, Leading Edge Legal
☑️ 1.0 CPD point, Ethics
1:00pm – 2:00pm: Lunch
Joining us for our lunch break will be a very good boy or girl from the Guide Dogs WA facility dog program, which sends trained therapy dogs to work with those attending Perth Children’s Court.
Enjoy a delicious range of food and drinks, and stretch your legs along the banks of the Derbarl Yerrigan.
2:00pm – 2:45pm: Keynote – Kate Chaney MP
How to make your mark without losing who you are
Build your personal brand, learn to network authentically, identify your purpose, and build resilience to help you stay in the game for the long run.
☑️ 0.5 CPD points, Professional Skills
2:45pm – 3:45pm: Workshop
Converting relationships to instructions: Business development early on
What makes a good lawyer doesn’t always make a good salesperson. In this hands-on session, learn how to amplify your natural skillset to market yourself, and nurture business relationships to convert them into instructions (without any cringe).
Speakers:
- Tony Chong, Managing Partner (Perth), and Partner and Head of Corporate and Asia Desk (Australia), Squire Patton Boggs
- Kelly Brand, General Manager, Brand Barristers & Solicitors
- Catherine Cipro, National Business Manager, National Practice Management, RSM Australia
☑️ 1.0 CPD point, Practice Management
3:45pm – 4:45pm: Interactive panel
Straight from the bench
Step inside the courtroom from a different angle. This interactive session gives you the rare opportunity to put your questions directly to the bench. Our panel of judges will share candid insights on courtroom practice, professional etiquette, and what really makes an advocate stand out. Bring your questions – big or small – and gain perspectives you won’t find anywhere else.
Speakers:
- His Hon Michael Buss, former President of the Court of Appeal
- Her Hon Justice Amanda Forrester, Supreme Court of Western Australia
- Her Hon Judge Tania Jeyamohan, District Court of Western Australia
- Magistrate Trevor Darge, Magistrates Court of Western Australia
- Registrar Camille Goucke, National Judicial Registrar, Federal Court of Australia
- Thomas Coltrona, Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee (Facilitator)
☑️ 1.0 CPD point, Professional Skills
4:45pm – 4:50pm: Closing remarks
4:50pm – 6.50pm: Eat, drink, and be merry!
Unwind, make new connections, and chat to speakers and peers over drinks and nibbles at The Point Bar and Grill.
Venue details
Beaumonde on the Point
Nestled on the outskirts of Perth city, with expansive river vistas visible through floor-to-ceiling windows, the Grand Ballroom at Beaumonde On The Point offers a fresh space for our brand-new conference.
The Grand Ballroom is equipped with the latest technology to ensure a seamless conference experience and a spacious open-air balcony, providing ample space for mingling while soaking in the tranquility of the waterfront surroundings.
Getting to Beaumonde on the Point
306 Riverside Drive, East Perth
Parking: CPP parking is available onsite
Public Transport: Catch the number 24 bus from the city for free
Pricing and registration
Pricing:
$295 incl. GST (Law Society members) | $395 incl. GST (non-members)
*Please note that to create a booking you will be redirected to the MyPage portal
CPD Units
Practice Management: 2.0
Professional Skills: 2.5
Ethics & Responsibility: 1.0
Substantive Law: 0.5
Not a member? You can join now or renew your membership to access free CPD and preferential pricing on all Signature Learning.
Speakers
The Hon Michael Buss
Former President of the Court of Appeal of Western Australia
The Hon Michael Buss
The Honourable Justice Michael Buss graduated from the University of Western Australia with Honours degrees in Jurisprudence and Law, receiving the HCF Keall Prize for the best final-year student. Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993, he practised as a barrister before joining the Supreme Court of Western Australia as a Judge of Appeal in 2006 and serving as President of the Court of Appeal from 2016 to 2025. A Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law, Justice Buss has led major reforms in appellate procedure and judicial collaboration and is widely recognised for his contributions to legal education and practice.
Kelly Brand
Owner / General Manager,
Brand Barristers and Solicitors
Kelly Brand
Owner / General Manager
Brand Barristers and Solicitors – a leading personal injury law firm.
Kelly believes that the heart of every business is its people – staff, clients and stakeholders. She is passionate about creating a culture where individuals are supported, challenged and given the opportunity to thrive.
She spent the first half of her career in the world of the ‘Big 4’ accounting and management consulting firms, KPMG and Deloitte, which took her from Perth to London where she lived and worked for six years. It was in these big-firm corporate environments that she honed the skills for running a successful business, beyond the technical – EQ, empathy, managing people, building relationships, handling conflict and closing the deal.
During her time in the UK, she travelled the country with KPMG and later with the UK’s regulator of hospitals, working with executive teams in the health care sector to address the key risks and governance issues they faced, at what was a time marked by the Great Financial Crisis (the GFC). The opportunity to work abroad, allowed her to travel Europe on the weekends and spend summers in Greece.
On her return to Perth, Kelly worked as a Project Manager on the construction of Perth Children’s Hospital. Shortly thereafter, she and her husband Daniel founded Brand Barristers and Solicitors, with Daniel at the helm as Principal Lawyer, and as the practice grew, leveraging Kelly’s commercial and operational leadership. In 2026, the firm marks its tenth year in practice, having grown from a single-lawyer operation to a team of almost 40 across two offices.
Kelly is a certified chartered accountant, has a Bachelor of Commerce from UWA and Queens University, Canada and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Outside of work, you will find her bowling cricket balls to her boys, at a concert with her daughter, trail running or planning the next getaway.
Attorney General Dr Tony Buti MLC
Western Australia’s Attorney General; Minister for Commerce; International and Tertiary Education; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests
Attorney General Dr Tony Buti MLC
Attorney General; Minister for Commerce; International and Tertiary Education; Multicultural Interests
The Hon. Dr Tony Buti is Western Australia’s Attorney General; Minister for Commerce; International and Tertiary Education; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests.
Tony has been a Minister for the Cook Labor Government since March 2021, and has been the Member for Armadale in the Legislative Assembly since 2010.
He has worked as a high school teacher, lawyer, legal academic and legal officer in the Naval Reserve. On 2 October 2010, he was elected as the Member for Armadale in the Parliament of Western Australia.
Tony has published a number of books, including an award-winning biography on Sir Ronald Wilson.
Prior to becoming a Minister, Tony was Chairman of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee, and while in opposition, he was Deputy Chair of the Community Development & Justice Standing Committee.
Tony Chong
Perth and Sydney Managing Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Tony Chong
Tony Chong is the Perth and Sydney Managing Partner of global law firm Squire Patton Boggs and a corporate and tax specialist who has built his career on developing strong commercial relationships across Australia and Asia. He leads the firm’s Asia Desk and works closely with clients in China, Singapore, Malaysia and across ASEAN on cross-border investments, mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory matters.
Tony is known for his practical, relationship-driven approach to business development. Throughout his career, including time spent as Group Counsel of a diversified international conglomerate, he has played a key role in bringing people, opportunities and ideas together. He regularly mentors emerging and diverse leaders through the WA State Government’s Board Diversification program, serves as President of the WA Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and chairing various boards.
With extensive experience advising growing businesses and high-net-worth individuals, as well as leading teams and building networks domestically and internationally, Tony brings a uniquely commercial perspective on how early-career lawyers can turn connections into trusted, long-term client relationships.
Kate Chaney MP
Member for Curtin
Kate Chaney MP, Member for Curtin
Kate Chaney is the Independent Member for Curtin in the Australian House of Representatives. A former lawyer and social impact consultant, she has worked across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with a focus on governance, sustainability and community engagement. Kate is a strong advocate for integrity in politics, climate action, and evidence-based policy, and brings a collaborative, community-driven approach to federal decision-making.
Catherine Cipro
National Business Manager, RSM Australia
Catherine Cipro
Cath has spent her career exploring the intersection of law, people, and business. Starting out as an insolvency and commercial litigation lawyer with Minter Ellison and Ashurst, Cath moved into People & Culture and eventually becoming the first General Manager of Ashurst’s Perth office (back when it was Blake Dawson).
Along the way, Cath served as Vice-President and President of IWIRC (now called RINWA), an insolvency networking organisation, and supported the arts through her involvement with ABAF and sitting on the Board of Tura New Music. After a four-year adventure living in Japan, she headed to Sydney and took on senior leadership roles as Director of Legal Operations for TAFE NSW and Transport for NSW.
After 12 years away, Cath returned to Perth and joined accounting and consulting firm RSM in a newly created role as National Business Manager. Today, Cath focuses on growth strategy, business operations, executive coaching, and business development. She also created and facilitates RSM’s Business Fundamentals programme and loves helping professionals build confidence in business development and personal branding.
Outside of work, you’ll find Cath singing in a choir and a band with former lawyer colleagues as well as hiking, gardening, travelling, or enjoying the arts.
Thomas Coltrona
Senior Associate, Bennett
Chair, Young Lawyers Committee
Thomas Coltrona
Thomas is a Senior Associate at Bennett with broad experience in litigation across both Federal and Western Australian jurisdictions, including appearances and instructions in the Federal Court and the Supreme, District, and Magistrates Courts of Western Australia. He has also had experience with international commercial arbitration disputes subject to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre Rules, having previously worked on the $45 billion Ichthys Project litigation for JKC Australia.
Thomas has a keen interest in acting for both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of legal areas, including contractual disputes, employment disputes, negligence claims, and defamation actions. Additionally, he has experience in Administrative Law, Competition and Consumer Law, Debt Recovery, International Law, White Collar Crime, and Torts.
Beyond his commercial practice, he is committed to pro bono work, assisting not-for-profit organisations and individuals in need of assistance and is co-coordinator of Bennett’s Pro Bono Committee.
Thomas demonstrates a passion for giving back to the community through his work as Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee of the Law Society of Western Australia and serves as a Board Member of Thriive WA, a NFP that provides life-changing respite programs for ‘at risk’ and disadvantaged WA children. He regularly takes on a mentoring role for law students and young lawyers.
In recognition of his professional achievements, Thomas was named one of three finalists for ‘Emerging Lawyer of the Year’ by the Law Society of Western Australia in 2023. Additionally, he been one of ten national finalists in the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards for Dispute Resolution and Litigation from 2023-2025 and for Pro Bono practice in 2025.
Outside of law, Thomas is a basketball fanatic, tragic West Coast Eagles fan and lover of Italian food and drink.
Helen de Brito
Director of Legal Aid WA
Helen de Brito
Helen started her career at Legal Aid WA in 2005 and has practised predominantly in criminal law. In 2011 Helen was appointed Acting Solicitor in Charge of the Fremantle office, before going on to manage the Legal Practice Development Division and the Criminal Law Division. Helen was also responsible for establishing Legal Aid WA’s Virtual Office service in 2019. Helen is strongly committed to improving service delivery and delivering positive outcomes for Legal Aid WA’s clients. She is passionate about resilience and wellness in the legal profession, regional service delivery, and the development and mentoring of staff. Helen is a long standing member of Legal Aid WA’s Reconciliation Action Plan Committee, has managed the Graduate Program, and the Country Lawyers Program.
As the Director of the Criminal Law Division, Helen was instrumental in maintaining criminal law services during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including establishing duty lawyer hubs. In 2022, the Institute of Public Administration Australia awarded the duty lawyer hubs as Best Practice in Innovation.
Helen has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Murdoch University, achieving First Class Honours in Law.
The Hon Justice Amanda Forrester
Supreme Court of Western Australia
The Hon Justice Amanda Forrester
Justice Forrester was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia on 1 July 2022.
Her Honour graduated with a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Western Australia and was admitted to practice in 1996.
She was an articled clerk at Jackson McDonald before joining the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia in 1997.
Her Honour later practised as a Crown Prosecutor in Victoria for four years before she returned to Western Australia in 2011 to take up the role of Senior State Prosecutor and then Consultant State Prosecutor.
Justice Forrester was appointed Senior Counsel in 2016 and became the Director of Public Prosecutions in Western Australia in 2017.
The Honour Judge Tania Jeyamohan
The District Court of Western Australia
The Honour Judge Tania Jeyamohan
Her Honour Judge Tania Jeyamohan was appointed to the District Court of Western Australia in August 2025.
Her Honour graduated from Murdoch University with a Bachelor of Laws in 1998 and a Master of Laws in 2004. Prior to her appointment to the Court, she served as the Deputy State Solicitor for Public and General Litigation at the State Solicitor’s Office, where she provided legal counsel to the State Government on a broad range of complex and sensitive matters.
Her Honour brings to the Court more than 25 years of experience across both government and private practice, with particular expertise in public law, construction, contract, and commercial litigation.
In 2018, her Honour was appointed an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Murdoch University School of Law, where she lectured in civil procedure; alternative dispute resolution and construction law.
Her Honour is deeply committed to equality, diversity, and community inclusion, and continues to contribute through board service, leadership roles, and mentoring initiatives.
Dr Marny Lishman
Author, Speaker, Doctor of Psychology, Mindset Coach and Media Commentator
Dr Marny Lishman
Dr Marny Lishman is an Author, Speaker, Doctor of Psychology, Mindset Coach and Media Commentator. She has worked across a wide range of roles over the past two decades, including private practice, designing and implementing government health-prevention programs, and training professionals in cutting-edge, evidence-based wellbeing approaches across Australia.
A nurturer at heart, Marny draws on her deep understanding of the human condition to create powerful learning and development experiences. She weaves the philosophy and practical tools of positive psychology with her strong commitment to prevention, applying them across diverse settings including many law firms and industry events. Marny is also the author of four books I including “Burnout to Brilliant”, “Crisis to Contentment” and the soon to be released, “Only You” – and you might see her pop up on the telly now and again if you get the chance to knock off work early.
Rabia Siddique
Internationally recognised lawyer, advocate, author, and leadership consultantRabia Siddique
Rabia Siddique is an internationally recognised lawyer, advocate, author, and leadership consultant with more than 30 years’ experience operating at the intersection of law, influence, negotiation, and decision-making under pressure.
A former criminal prosecutor, international humanitarian lawyer, and decorated army officer, Rabia has worked across military, government, corporate, and international legal environments, including advising on complex human rights, conflict, and accountability matters. She is best known for her role in a hostage crisis while serving in Iraq in 2005 and successfully leading a landmark discrimination case against the British Armed Forces and UK Government in 2008. Rabia wrote about this in her best-selling biography “Equal Justice – My Journey as a Woman, a Soldier and a Muslim” published in 2013. Her legal career has been defined by courage, strategic thinking, and an ability to influence outcomes in highly charged and high-stakes settings.
Today, Rabia works with professionals, executives, boards, and organisations across Australia and internationally to strengthen their influence, judgment, and leadership capability. Her work focuses on persuasion, negotiation, ethical decision-making, and building trust in complex and volatile environments.
Rabia is a non-executive director, a respected media commentator, and a high-profile advocate for equity, inclusion and marginalized communities. She brings a rare combination of legal expertise, lived experience, and practical insight into how influence really works in courtrooms, negotiations, client relationships, and workplaces.
Her sessions are known for being raw, empowering, engaging, and deeply relevant, equipping people with tools they can immediately apply to advocate more effectively, negotiate with confidence, and lead with credibility throughout their careers.
Shayla Strapps
Consultant, Coach, Speaker, Podcast Host
Shayla Strapps
Shayla Strapps is an award winning lawyer, CEO and leader who now works as a consultant, coach and speaker helping lawyers and leaders build sustainable careers and teams.
During more than 20 years as a lawyer, Shayla worked everywhere from prisons and courts to boardrooms and national organisations. She has represented people experiencing family violence, refugees seeking safety, and those detained under mental health laws. Her leadership roles have included numerous roles as a CEO and in executive leadership, plus she has served on multiple boards focused on access to justice.
Shayla’s work has been recognised with numerous awards, including Lawyer of the Year (2011) and Woman Lawyer of the Year (2022).
After years at the frontline of law and leadership, Shayla experienced her own burnout – a turning point that reshaped how she defines success. Today, she helps professionals cut through complexity, lead with clarity, and design lives and work that are both high-impact and human.
Her coaching and consulting practice focuses on leadership development, sustainable performance, and cultural change within legal and professional organisations. She also co-hosts and produces The Outlaws Podcast, which explores what happens when professionals stop living by the rules of “should” and start leading with intention.
Shayla brings a rare mix of strategic insight and grounded honesty to her work, blending her experience as a lawyer and CEO with a human-centred approach that reminds people you don’t have to burn it all down, but you do have to stop burning yourself out.
Rachel Webber
Deputy Chair, Business Law Section, Law Council of Australia
Rachel Webber
Rachel is an experienced lawyer and legal educator, with over 30 years’ experience in the legal profession. Rachel’s primary areas of expertise include corporate and commercial law with an emphasis on financial services regulation (‘FSR’), managed investments, credit regulation, AML/CTF regulation, digital assets, fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and ASX and Corporations Act compliance. She has worked in law firms and in-house roles and also has extensive experience in legal education.
Rachel serves as a Council Member of the Professional Standards Councils in each of the Australian States and Territories. The Councils are independent statutory bodies with powers to assess applications from occupational associations for professional standards schemes under the Professional Standards legislation of each Australian State and Territory. Council Members are appointed by the Attorney General each Australian State and Territory on the basis of their expertise and experience in relation to professional standards.
Rachel is an Executive Member of the Business Law Section (BLS) of the Law Council of Australia, a peak industry body which advises governments, courts and federal agencies on the ways in which the law and the justice system can be improved for the benefit of the community. She has previously chaired the Commercial Law Committee of the Law Society of Western Australia.
Rachel serves as a member of the Law Society’s Ethical Guidance Panel, a panel of experienced practitioners who provide guidance to members of the profession on professional conduct and ethical issues.
Justice Facility Dog
A very good boy or girl from the Guide Dogs WA facility dog program
Justice Facility Dog
Joining us for our lunch break will be a very good boy or girl from the Guide Dogs WA facility dog program, which sends trained therapy dogs to work with those attending Perth Children’s Court.
More speakers coming soon.