MEDIATION TODAY

DANIELLE TOLD ME THIS ABOUT HERSELF...

"...I am the Principal of Little Estate Lawyers. My firm operates across Queensland and New South Wales focusing on estate administration, estate litigation and estate planning.

I have concentrated my expertise in Wills and estates since 2015. Prior to starting my own practice, I worked in a large multi-national law firm where I gained extensive experience in practice management and a range of complex estate litigation and administration matters.

I provide sensible straightforward advice and solutions to clients regarding their matters. I am passionate about providing exceptional client service. I have an interest in capacity matters and educating people outside of the successional law area on capacity issues.

I am also a nationally accredited Mediator and I have a mediation practice called Little Legal Mediation.  I have participated in many mediations over the years, not only in my estates practice but prior to this when I worked in personal injuries.

I started working in law around 20 years ago and as I progressed through my legal career, I decided to study law while working full time. While I completed my last couple of subjects in my Bachelor of Laws at QUT, I was also undertaking my PLT program at the College of Law.

I was admitted as a lawyer in Queensland in 2014. I opened Little Estate Lawyers in October 2018 while undertaking my masters. In September 2019, I completed a Masters of Applied Law specialising in Wills and Estates. Just to add an additional challenge, I undertook a mediation course and in December 2019 to become a nationally accredited Mediator.

In my spare time, I like catching up with family and friends. I enjoy keeping fit and I love a nice red wine..."

Dr David MOORE

David Moore is one of Australia’s leaders in the area of restorative justice. He has been involved with Australia’s restorative justice movement since the pilot program of group conferencing in NSW in the early 1990s. David has taught at several universities, worked in a Premier’s Department, trained facilitators and helped establish evaluated programs around Australia, North America, the UK and Scandinavia. In recent years, David has been a principal advisor to the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce and National Redress Scheme. He is the President of the Association for Restorative Justice, based in Victoria.

The Australian Association for Restorative Justice (AARJ) is a Professional Association of individuals and organisations working with restorative justice and restorative practices.

AARJ promotes effective decision-making, dispute resolution, and conflict management to restore right relations in justice systems and in educational, work, faith, and residential communities – indeed, wherever people are seeking fairer, safer ways to heal harm and to promote individual and community well-being. The Association works to:

Debra PARKER - PARKER COLES CURTIS, Canberra

Debra is a director of Family Law practice in her legal firm Parker Coles Curtis in Canberra. Debar is an award winning family lawyer in Canberra. She has been recognised as pre-eminent in family law in the ACT and a leading lawyer in mediation in the ACT by the Doyle’s national lawyers guide and is a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year in the categories of Family Law and Mediation for 2021. Good luck for the Finals, Debra!

Debra began practising in family law over thirty years ago and quickly became recognised as a leader in the field. Debra became the first female partner of a large Canberra firm at a very young age and gained an excellent professional reputation. This was recognised by her appointments to the ACT Law Society Family Law Committee and the professional Indemnity Insurance Committee. She is an Accredited Specialist in both Family Law and Dispute Resolution. Debra was a pioneer in commencing dialogue with Women’s Refuges in Canberra and she has worked closely with the Domestic Violence Crisis Service. Debra is the only family law accredited specialist in the ACT who is also accredited in dispute resolution from the Law Society of New South Wales and who is also accredited in collaboration.

Debra is currently the Chair of the Law Society of the ACT Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and serves on the International Family Lawyers Committee. She is also a member of the Resolution Institute and the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators. Debra is an accredited Collaborative Settlements lawyer and regularly helps clients achieve settlements out of Court.

Janis BULL is a nationally accredited Family Dispute Resolutions Practitioner (FDRP) working with Family Law matters. She is an advocate of Mediation as an alternative to litigation when resolving disputes within families.  In her own words, Janis works to facilitate a resolution that can be accepted by all participants.

Janis has been working in Private Practice as a Clinical Mental Health Social Worker and Counsellor and for over 10 years have been FDRP registered for over 3 years. She is also a Child Consultant and New Ways for Families Practitioner. As an FDRP, Janis is registered with, and supported by, the Attorney General’s Department of Australia.

As a Child Consultant, Janis offers Child Inclusive Mediation and Counselling. This is a therapeutic intervention for separated parents in dispute, designed to support and powerfully realign co-parenting, by focusing on the experiences of their children and bringing their voice into the mediation room.

Renee Toy is a nationally accredited mediator, conciliator, and family dispute resolution practitioner. Currently, she provides family dispute resolution and mediation services through her business, Listen Talk Resolve. Renee has a background in family law and in the parliamentary service, where she worked for the House of Representatives Committee Office. She’s worked as a family lawyer in Canberra, and convened conferences on family violence and personal protection matters with the ACT Magistrates Court. She has also worked as an Associate to a Judge in the now Federal Circuit Court, and at Legal Aid ACT.

Renee also worked as a Senior Conciliator at the ACT Human Rights Commission, where she conciliated matters relating to discrimination and health services complaints and now is about to take up a position as a Sessional Registrar at the Family Court, where she will convene online family dispute resolution and conciliation conferences in parenting and property matters.

Renee is a panel mediator with the Conflict Resolution Service in Canberra, and with Shaw Dispute Resolution (an organisation based in Adelaide).

Anca Costin holds a Bachelor of Laws (2003) from the Romanian – American University in Bucharest (Romania), a Diploma in Law from the Legal Practitioners Admission Board (University of Sydney) (2014) and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University (2014). Since 2018, Anca is also a committee member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee with the ACT Law Society.

Anca was called to the Bar in 2019. In December 2019 she was the recipient of the ACT Bar Association Women Scholarship.

Prior to being called to the Bar, Anca enjoyed a successful and diverse career as a solicitor. Anca’s practice comprises of a range of areas, including employment law, administrative law, personal injury and commercial matters. Anca has appeared in most courts and tribunals in the ACT, NSW and at federal level.

Anca is a dedicated mentor to law students in their final years at the Australian National University through Women in Law Organisation (WILO). She is passionate about passing forward her experience and knowledge and helping others to achieve their professional goals.

Dr Lola Akin Ojelabi, Associate Professor, La Trobe Law School, is an Australian Lawyer and a Nationally Accredited Mediator. 

She is a full-time, ongoing academic at La Trobe Law School and has a PhD in Law with a focus on conflict resolution. 

She has over 10 years’ experience as a practising lawyer before commencing a career in academia in 2005. She has taught dispute resolution, negotiation, cultural aspects of dispute resolution and international conflict resolution and Consumer Protection Law. Lola’s research focuses on ADR ethics, mediator responsibilities, teaching ADR in the law curriculum, cultural appropriateness, ADR and access to justice and ADR and social justice.

Welcome to Mediation Today. 

In today’s episode my guest is Dr Rosemary HOWELL. Dr Howell holds a title of a Doctor of Judicial Science from the University of Technology Sydney, she is an Accredited Administrator under the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator scheme, an NMAS Accredited Mediator and Chairman of her company Strategic Action since 1985, to mention only a few of her achievements and activities.

Dr Howell has over 30 years of experience as a lawyer, strategic planner, educator and CEO. She is admitted to practice as a solicitor in Victoria and NSW and has served a term as the Secretary-General of the Law Council of Australia. Rosemary's professional expertise in strategic planning, facilitation and tertiary education has focused on enhancing the quality of professional and legal services through leadership roles in the legal profession's governing bodies, professional engagement in alternative dispute resolution techniques and engagement in higher education.

In today’s episode I am talking with David PURNELL, a mediator and doyen in the area of alternative dispute resolution in Canberra and wider.

David has practised mediation for several decades and has been involved in a number of national and international organisations that took leadership in looking and finding peaceful solutions to World problems.

David is an experienced writer and researcher; member of community groups including UN Association, Quakers, University of the Third Age, Social Developers Network, Committee on Racial Equality. His notable capacity for ‘neutrality’ when mediating and good listening skills are some of the key skills he brings to his work as a mediation trainer, coach and assessor. David is strongly committed to supporting Canberra as a place of innovation and harmony.

David has been awarded the Medal of Order of Australia (1998) for peace activities.