What you can expect when attending this session:

• Understand the business of law 
• Key principles of private practice
• Understand billing and performance expectations
• Understand client engagement and management
• Assistance with time management and billing
• Guidance on looking after yourself in this profession (mental health, wellbeing etc)
• Q&A opportunity

About the Presenters

Ms Amanda Thompson was born on the North-West coast of Tasmania and graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2011 with a Bachelor of Law/Arts with Honours, and was admitted to practice in 2012.  Amanda spent almost ten years in private practice before recently moving to the Police Association of Tasmania. She has practiced in a wide range of areas including personal injury, workers compensation, insurance litigation, employment law, criminal law and estate litigation. Amanda is honoured to be the first in-house counsel to serve as President of the Law Society of Tasmania and the fourth female President in the Society’s 60 year history. Amanda is the current President of the Law Society of Tasmania Council and is also a Director of the Centre for Legal Studies. Amanda was the joint recipient of the Tasmanian Young Lawyer of the Year Award in 2017. She is past Co-President of the Southern Young Lawyers Committee (2014-16)  (now the Southern Early Career Lawyer Committee) and former Tasmanian representative for the Australian Young Lawyers Committee (2014-16).

Ms Julia Higgins is a Partner at Bishops Solicitors in Launceston. Julia graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Commerce and Laws in 2001 and was admitted to practice in 2002. Julia practices in Family Law and Child Protection. Julia is regularly appointed by the Court as an Independent Children’s Lawyer in complex parenting cases. Julia is the current Treasurer of the Law Society of Tasmania Council. Julia is the current Chair of the Family Law Practitioners Association Tas Inc and is a former Commissioner for the Legal Aid Commission of Tasmania. Julia is a prior President of the Northern Young Lawyers Committee. Julia was recently appointed by Legal Aid Tasmania onto the Register of Legal Practitioners Tasmania – Family Violence ; Cross examination of Parties Scheme.

Ms Amelia Higgs is a Senior Associate at Dobson Mitchell Allport and practises in family law. As well as being a Council member, Amelia is currently the Chair of Employment, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Law Society of Tasmania, the Chair of the Family Law Pathways Network Steering Committee, and a board member of Women’s Legal Service Tasmania. She is also a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and the Family Law Practitioners Association of Tasmania. She was a joint recipient of the Law Society’s 2017 award for Young Lawyer of the Year.

Mr Will Justo was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 1995. He joined Wallace Wilkinson and Webster in 1997 and has been a Partner since 2002. Will practices in all aspects of commercial and contract law, residential and commercial conveyancing and property development, leasing, finance and wills and estates. His clients include many well-known Tasmanian businesses, associations, national financial institutions and individuals. Will is a past President of the Law Society of Tasmania and past Chair of the Law Foundation of Tasmania. He has also been the Vice President and Treasurer of the Law Society of Tasmania and the former Chair of the Law Society Property and Commercial Law Committee. He continues to be an active member of that Committee as well as still remaining an executive member of the Council of the Law Society of Tasmania. Will was one of the principal draftsman of the REIT/Law Society Standard Form of Contract for the sale of a property in Tasmania. 

Mr Luke Taylor is Crown Counsel at the Office of the Solicitor General (Litigation) at the Department of Justice. Luke was previously a partner in HWL Ebsworth’s Hobart office, having joined the firm in March 2018. He worked in the firm’s Insurance and Safety groups, and specialised in workers compensation, CTP, public liability and work health and safety matters.  Before that, Luke worked at two Tasmanian firms, as well as working in the then civil litigation section of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Luke currently serves as Chair of the Law Society’s Litigation Committee. He has also been a national board member of the Australian Insurance Law Association (AILA) and was the national lead of AILA’s Marketing & Promotion Portfolio in that time, and he remains a State Committee member for AILA. Earlier in his career, Luke was a member of the Southern Young Lawyers Committee (now the Southern Early Career Lawyers Committee) and was the Society’s nominee on the Australian Young Lawyers Committee.