This year's Climate Law and Governance Day will be held during the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

This full-day global symposium will feature distinguished plenaries, celebratory launching events, and more than 8 world-class specialist panels and workshops.

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will join a panel session hosted by the International Bar Association in collaboration with other bar associations and law societies on “Climate competent lawyering: how can lawyers and law associations advance climate ambition?”.

Online registration is available here.

CLGD 2024 aims to inspire and optimise legal and institutional reform for achieving current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, responding to 2024 Global Stocktake outcomes and increasing the ambition of the next round of NDCs.

The objectives of the symposium include identifying and sharing innovative international, national, and local law and governance challenges, mechanisms and good practices relating to global efforts to address climate change. By convening esteemed legal and public policy experts, judges, negotiators, professors and practitioners from around the world that are committed to implementing the Paris Agreement, CLGD 2024 seeks to catalyse knowledge exchange and co-generate new climate law and governance scholarship, insights and approaches, facilitating new dialogue and partnerships. The symposium further aims to strengthen capacity and collaboration among the climate law and governance community of practice to implement the Doha Amendment, Paris Agreement and COP outcomes, supporting achievement of the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC, Chair of the International Bar Association’s Bar Regulation Committee, has been invited to speak on the topic of the ethical use of artificial intelligence, both by lawyers and those who regulate them as part of the International Conference of Legal Regulators and Conference of Regulatory Officers in Melbourne on 16 October 2024.

https://iclrcoro2024.com

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will be guest lecturing in the University of Sydney LLM Course Compliance: Theory & Practice in the Financial Services Industry on Saturday 7 September 2024 on Specialist Compliance Issues in Superannuation.

Reading List (2024)

Slide Deck

Dominique will join the Hon. Ron Sackville at the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of New South Wales in an online seminar to be held on 22 August 2024 at 5.30pm.

The event will be co-hosted by the Australian Institute of Administrative Law (NSW Branch).

Trustee Tactics: In conversation with Dominique Hogan-Doran SC: Key regulatory and enforcement issues for super trustees

Dominique will speak with Piper Alderman’s Superannuation team in a lunchtime webinar on 7 August 2024 to discuss topics of interest for retail and industry superannuation fund trustees.

As the new financial year commences, superannuation trustees are facing an unprecedented legal and regulatory environment.

Greenwashing continues to be a key focus of ASIC, with a number of civil penalties and enforcement outcomes being finalised. The Financial Accountability Regime and the new APRA Prudential Standard CPS 230 on operational resilience will soon come into force, as ASIC and APRA signal a new level of regulatory and enforcement activity. In addition, successor fund transfers along with other types of trustee challenges continue to arise, leading to trustees needing to decide whether or not to obtain judicial advice.

Time: ACT/NSW/VIC/TAS/QLD: 12.00pm start - NT/SA: 11.30pm start - WA: 10.00am start

Cost: Complimentary

Duration: Up to 60 minutes

CPD: 1 Substantive Law Point 

The workshop is open to all organisations, excluding other legal service providers.

For registration details contact events@piperalderman.com.au.

Dominique will speak at the Australian Institute of Administrative Law 2024 National Administrative Law Conference to be held in Canberra at the Realm Hotel on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 July, 2024.

Dominique will speak at the closing plenary session at 2.45 pm to 4.00 pm on Friday 19 July, 2024. 

The theme for the session is 'The future' and will look at issues which are likely to be of particular significance in the future of administrative law in Australia.  

Dominique will focus on 'Implementing royal commission recommendations'.   

Dominique will be joined by Professor Lisa Burton Crawford from UNSW on automated information and Jake Blight the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor on national security issues. 

For details see: https://aial.org.au

Download programme

Dominique will speak at Ashurst’s Quarterly Super Review on the evening of Thursday, 6 June 2024.

The Quarterly Super Review is designed to be a workshop, as to encourage openness of discussion.

With the superannuation industry currently experiencing heightened media coverage and regulatory supervision and investigation, this Quarterly Super Review will focus on regulators and regulatory investigations. The workshop will explore how superannuation funds can embrace a new mindset when dealing with the contemporary regulator.

Enquiries to Ashurst partners Nick Mavrakis and Scott Charaneka.

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC has been invited to deliver a keynote address on Reputation Risk and Governance at the 2024 Governance Symposium of the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales on Monday 18 April 2024 at the International Convention & Exhibition Centre in Sydney.

Attendance at the Symposium provides board members with six hours of NESA Accredited Governance Professional Learning.

https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/featured-events/governance-symposium

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will present the David McLean Plenary Session at the 2023 Law Council of Australia Superannuation Law Conference on 15 March 2024 in Adelaide.

Presentation slides now available. Written paper to follow for conference attendees.

In the spotlight: the challenges for Counsel Assisting Royal Commissions involving high stakes policy and political issues.

Royal Commissions are a unique feature of Australian public life. In that context, the role of Counsel Assisting a Commission can be one of singular responsibility, pressure, and opportunity.

When politically charged or policy focussed, the work of assisting a Royal Commission or public inquiry requires a range of interdisciplinary skills and insights, beyond those within a traditional legal arsenal.

At this seminar, Dominique will reflect on her experiences and insights as counsel in various Royal Commissions, including the recent Royal Commissions into the Robodebt Scheme (2022-2023), National Natural Disaster Arrangements (2020), Aged Care Quality and Safety (2018-2020), and Misconduct in the Banking, Financial Services and Superannuation Industry (2018-2019).

About the speaker

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC is a Senior Counsel of the Australian Bar. She was Senior Counsel Assisting the Commonwealth in the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme (2022-2023), Senior Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements (2020) and Counsel Assisting the Special Commission of Inquiry into the James Hardie Group (2004). She has appeared as Counsel in a diverse range of public inquiries including into corruption, disability, aged care services, financial services misconduct, charitable fundraising, water regulation, greyhound racing, and the collapse of HIH Insurance Ltd.

Tuesday 13 February 2024 12.30-1.30pm (via Zoom)
School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet)
Australian National University

Register here: https://regnet.anu.edu.au/event/spotlight-assisting-royal-commissions-reflections-counsel

See Presentation Slides

The Robodebt Royal Commission reported in July 2023.

This seminar is the second in a number of seminars which the AIAL will hold to consider the Report.

The Report raises a plethora of issues for Government lawyers, including:

·       Is advice “just advice” or can the provision of advice constrain Government action?

·       When, if ever, should advice be given by reference to legal risk?

·       Is it appropriate to circulate draft advice and, if so, when?

·       Are there lessons to be learned about the structure of government legal services and the oversight role of the Attorney-General?

Panel:
Justice David Mossop, is a judge of the Supreme Court of the ACT and has recently written about the propriety of a risk-based approach to the provision of legal advice to government.

Professor Gabrielle Appleby, is one of Australia’s leading public law academics and has written widely about the role of government lawyers.

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC, appeared as counsel for the Commonwealth before the Robodebt Royal Commission and is Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Bar Regulation Committee.

Chair: Mike Wait SC, is the Solicitor-General for South Australia and has served as a Government lawyer for 20 years in a number of capacities including solicitor, Crown Counsel and Crown Solicitor.

Date:               Thursday, 7 December 2023

Time:               5.30pm (AEDT) (Qld 4:30 pm; SA 5:00 pm; WA 2:30pm)

Format:           In person and on-line

In November, leaders will gather at COP28 for the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement. The process for preparing the next cycle of Nationally Determined Contributions will also be launched. 

This event is hosted by the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) at Sydney Law School.

Link to Dominique Hogan-Doran’s slides pack

This all day event on 31 October 2023 will bring together leading researchers and professionals ahead of the COP to provide insights on how to conceptualise, develop and implement legal and governance tools to accelerate deep decarbonisation, adaptation and address loss and damage, on a whole of economy basis. Against the backdrop of the UN’s 2023 Acceleration Agenda, experts will discuss the various dimensions of legal acceleration to ensure a more equitable transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient global economy.

The 2023 ACCEL Distinguished Address will be delivered by Dr Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. Dr Fry will discuss important human rights and justice dimensions of the UN’s Acceleration Agenda, including the need to integrate human rights standards and principles into accelerated climate action. 

The Distinguished Address will be supported by a series of panels in which leading experts will discuss the role and potential of legal accelerants in the context of climate finance, climate litigation, law and nature and the law of the sea.

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will join David Barnden (Equity Generation Lawyers) and Zoe Bush (Environmental Defenders Office) to discuss legal accelerators and the role of climate litigation.

Registration details: https://law-events.sydney.edu.au/events/acceldistinguishedspeaker

New Law Building Annex (F10A), Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney (Camperdown Campus)

IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023

The issue of climate change is affecting all parts of Society and the delivery of legal services within this ever-changing world is a huge regulatory and ethical issue.
 
The panel will discuss 3 distinct areas in relation to the lawyer competence, lawyer discipline and ethical rules surrounding the delivery of legal services against a backdrop of “greenwashing”. The conflict between the client’s interest and a lawyer’s ethical obligations will be discussed.

Access Dominique’s Slide Deck “Going Green: Lawyer Regulation and Climate Change“ (PDF)

Speakers:

Brian Archer President, Law Society of Northern Ireland
Letícia Campos Mello Conselho Federal da OAB
Nick Emmerson President, The Law Society of England and Wales
Dominique Hogan-Doran SC Australian Bar, Australia; Vice Chair, Bar Issues Commission Regulation Committee
Ellyn Rosen American Bar Association Center for Professional Responsibility, USA; Member, BIC Regulation Committee

https://www.ibanet.org/session-details/se_137076

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will be guest lecturing in the University of Sydney LLM Course Compliance: Theory & Practice in the Financial Services Industry on Saturday 2 September 2023 on Specialist Compliance Issues in Superannuation.

For details, see: https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/units-of-study/2022/laws/laws6264.html

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will join an expert panel with King & Wood Mallesons and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as part of a roundtable discussion for Australia’s Superannuation Industry sector on the challenges of ESG for superfunds.

Melbourne: August 31 2023

Sydney: September 7 2023

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will be guest lecturing in the University of Sydney LLM Course Compliance: Theory & Practice in the Financial Services Industry on Saturday 5 August 2023 on Core Compliance Issues - Link to PowerPoint Presentation

For details, see: https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/units-of-study/2022/laws/laws6264.html

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will be guest lecturing in the Master of Laws course Superannuation Law and Regulation at the University of Melbourne on 27 July 2023.

Dominique will speak on recent cases in which she has been involved:

Financial resilience

• Re QSuper Board [2021] QSC 276 (appeared for QSuper Board, trustee of Queensland public sector superannuation scheme, instructed by King & Wood Mallesons)

• Re SCS Super [2022] NSWSC 686 (appeared for SCS Super, trustee of Catholic Superuannuation scheme, instructed by Minter Ellison)

• Application by NGS Super [2021] NSWSC 1694 (appeared for NGS Super, trustee of Non-Government Schools superannuation scheme, instructed by Minter Ellison)

• Re Care Super (No 1) [2021] VSC 805 and (No 2) [2021] VSC 854 (appeared for Care Super trustee, instructed by Mills Oakley)

Regulatory enforcement

• Re Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme [2022] NSWSC 1202 (appeared for EISS trustee, instructed by Dentons); investigations by Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority into trustee of Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme re numerous matters (2021-2023) (acted for the trustee under investigation, instructed by Dentons)

• Australian Securities & Investments Commission v Westpac Banking Corporation (Omnibus) [2022] FCA 515 (appeared for ASIC)

• Australian Securities & Investments Commission v RM Capital & SMSF Club (Federal Court NSD906/2019, reserved) (for SMSF Club, instructed by Hall & Wilcox)

Industry consolidation

• Merger between QSuper and Sunsuper to become Australian Retirement Trust (instructed by King & Wood Mallesons)

• Mercy Super Pty Ltd atf Mercy Super v Attorney-General for State of Queensland and Attorney-General for State of Victoria [2022] QSC 221 (appeared for Mercy Super trustee, instructed by Ashurst)

• Application by Diversa Trustees Ltd as trustee for Future Super Fund [2023] VSC 279 (acted for Future Super Investments Ltd and Future Superannuation Group, instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills)

Australian Financial Complaints Authority

• Sweeney v Australian Financial Complaints Authority & NULIS Nominees (Australia) Ltd [2022] FCA 1525 (appeared for NULIS, trustee of the MLC Super Fund, instructed by Minter Ellison)

Governance

• CFMEU v Master Builders Qld; In the matter of Building Unions Superannuation Scheme (Qld) Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 283 (acted for BUSSQ trustee, instructed by Thomson Geer)

Hot topics

• APRA investigation re trustee payments to trade union

• Material outsourced service provider contracts: expert determination of dispute between licensed superannuation trustee and its administrator

• Greenwashing and proxy-voting issues

• Investment governance and ESG

For course details see: https://handbook.unimelb.edu.au/2022/subjects/laws90239.

The 2023 Lessons Management Forum will explore the challenges faced by lessons practitioners and the wider emergency management community in implementing identified lessons to ensure they are learned.

In a keynote, closing session, Prof. Stephen Dovers, Australian National University and Dominique Hogan-Doran SC, Natural Hazards Research Australia, Board Member will discuss whether and if so why we are much better at operational lessons management than policy learning, and why that matters.

https://www.aidr.org.au/events/33726?locationId=33728

Updated:

Link to PowerPoint slide presentation ‘Post-Disaster Public Inquiries and Policy Learning’

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC and  Jodi Steele SC will present a CPD on 5 June 2023 on the topic of the Pathway to taking silk.  This seminar is open to anyone at any level who is interested, and should be of particular interest to people who think they may apply for silk in 2-3 years’ time.  

Dominique and Jodi will share their thoughts on how to shape your practice in the years leading up to a silk application and will be available to answer questions.

CPD Points 1.5 Date & Times Monday, June 5, 2023 at 5:15pm - 6:45pm

CPD Strand Practice Management and Business Skills

Location NSWBA Common Room, Selborne Chambers , B/174 Phillip St, Sydney

A multi-stakeholder dialogue focussing on three thematic blocs:

(1) ESG metrics and deep data

(2) Asset allocation & risk including private markets

(3) Governance

Location:
Westminster City Council
64 Victoria Street
City of Westminster, London

https://worldpensions.org

This free seminar, focusing on ESG, features panel discussions on the director’s duties and ESG-washing, governance and risk, due diligence and risk assessment, and ample opportunities for conversations around leading ESG trends and topics affecting Australian business today. 

Presenters:

Matthew Baird, Director, Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law: Introduction to Environmental, Social and Governance Law and Practice

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC: Director’s Duties and ESG-washing

Claire Smith, Partner, Clayton Utz: ESG: the emerging Australian landscape

Dominic Tayco, Director, Thaddeus Martin: Governance and Risk in ESG 

For more information about the seminar please contact James Jung at jjung@collaw.edu.au.

“Leaves, trees, roots and branches: Update on PJC – Q&A session” 

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will join CEO John Winter and former Productivity Commissioner Warren Mundy in a discussion of the Parliamentary Joint Committee Inquiry into the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws as part of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association NSW Conference on 16 March 2022.

BECOMING A BOARD MEMBER – HOW YOU CAN, AND WHY YOU SHOULD, CONSIDER TAKING ON A GOVERNANCE ROLE

Join the Women Barristers Forum for an online CPD on becoming a board member – including how you can, and why you should, consider taking on a governance role.

Jennifer Robertson (CEO, Board Matters) and Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will present, with Naomi Sharp SC as facilitator.

The session will interest both barristers who have sat on boards already and those with no governance experience. Attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance. Questions can be submitted at the time of registration or via email to cpd@nswbar.asn.au.

To register, please click here.

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will present at the Natural Hazards Research Forum in Brisbane on 12 October 2022, presented by Natural Hazards Research Australia.

Dominique will canvass How does research best inform and guide official inquiries; how can we do better?

https://www.naturalhazards.com.au/nhrf22

Dominique Hogan-Doran SC will be guest lecturing in the upcoming University of Sydney LLM Course Compliance: Theory & Practice in the Financial Services Industry on the following dates:

Class 1 - Saturday 20 August 2022 - Core Compliance Issues

Class 3 - Saturday 17 September 2022 - Specialist Compliance Issues - Superannuation

For details, see: https://www.sydney.edu.au/courses/units-of-study/2022/laws/laws6264.html