Hear from legal experts in this live online course as they discuss some of the current issues faced by government legal practitioners, while earning four CPD units. Topics include:

Who is your client? – Jenny Stathis, Principal Lawyer, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Competition and Consumer Law Unit 
As a government lawyer in your daily legal practice, you may be faced with the issue of determining who is the client. This session will offer guidance with making this determination.

Procuring, delivering and maintaining public infrastructure and services in NSW: Key legal principles and cases – Christine Lithgow, Principal, Christine Lithgow & Associates
This session will provide an overview of the principles for managing the full procurement life cycle, including ensuring sustainability. Case law will inform the discussion.

Confidentiality of government information in legal proceedings: Legal professional privilege and public interest immunity – Michael Rennie, Barrister, Level 6 St James Hall
Perhaps the two primary mechanisms for maintaining the confidentiality of government information in litigation are claims for public interest immunity and claims of client legal privilege (or legal professional privilege). As such, knowledge of these procedures is an essential part of a government lawyer’s skillset.

Both are substantive subjects worth their own in-depth examination. This paper will provide a brief refresher course on both topics, the mechanisms of asserting either form of privilege claim, and the extent to which LPP and PII can sometimes overlap.

Ethics for government lawyers – Paul Monaghan, Senior Ethics Solicitor, Law Society of NSW
This session will examine ethical aspects of duties to the Court, the client and the profession, with specific application to government lawyers.

Practitioners should inform themselves of Rule 6.1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Coninuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 which sets out the requirements for the four (4) mandatory CPD areas for NSW legal practitioners – (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law. It is the responsibility of each legal practitioner to self-assess as to whether a particular educational activity extends their knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to their practice needs or professional development. If so, then the practitioner may claim one (1) "unit” for each hour of attendance, refreshment breaks not included. 

If you self-assess that this particular educational activity extends your knowledge and skills, this program may allow you to claim four (4) of the mandatory areas: (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law.

Jenny Stathis, Principal Lawyer, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Competition and Consumer Law Unit
Christine Lithgow, Principal, Christine Lithgow & Associates
Michael Rennie, Barrister, 6 St James Hall Chambers
Paul Monaghan, Senior Ethics Solicitor, Law Society of NSW