During the weekend of 16, 17 and 18 February 2018 the lawyers at Kelly Kelly Legal travelled to Robe for the Country Lawyers Conference. The program included interesting topics, brilliant speakers and entertaining social events all designed to enhance our understanding of topical legal issues.
The drive from Jamestown to Robe was long, but the first night was well worth the wait. A networking event at the bowling club allowed us to socialise with other lawyers from country practices. There were a lot of young lawyers with similar experiences and more experienced solicitors who loved to talk about the “glory days” and interesting past cases. Along with good food and wine, the evening made for an enjoyable and easy start to the weekend.
On Saturday the conference began with Magistrate Maria Panagiotidis talking about advocacy in the Magistrates Court, which was interesting for young lawyers and very informative as to proper legal practices. This was followed by Julie Redman who explained the recent Relationship Register Act and its legal implications. The final session of the first day included Chief Justice Chris Kourakis’ take on testamentary capacity in the 21st century which was both interesting and well presented.
On Saturday night we arrived at the Robe Golf Club for dinner. The night consisted of beautiful food and speeches about Pink Floyd and Barnaby Joyce (very entertaining).
The final day at the conference continued with an insolvent trading seminar presented by Barrister Enzo Belperio, who talked about preferential payments. The final presentation was made by Justice David Berman and involved explaining recent family law cases and recent judgments which are now precedent for future family law matters.
The conference was a lot of fun and we were able to meet other solicitors from country South Australia. We gained new knowledge on a number of different topics and even managed to slip down to the beach for a few hours.
This article was written by Nicholas Rowe
