1.30pm: Login / Welcome

1.35pm: Ethics and professional responsibility: What kind of lawyer do you want to be?

Speaker: Dr Tahlia Gordon, Project Lead, College of Law

• Explore everyday situations that test ethical judgment
• Recognise common red flags in legal practice
• Reflect on professional obligations through guided hypotheticals

2.35pm: Stretch break

2.45pm: Professional skills: Improving negotiation skills for better outcomes

Speaker: Michael Mills, Principal, Solve Resolve

• Instinctive negotiation approaches or modes
• Negotiation barriers and biases
• Negotiation techniques
• Effective communication skills
• Five key tips for better outcomes

3.45pm: Stretch break

3.55.pm: Practice management and business skills: 80/20 Principle in the office (time/priorities)

Speaker: Cathryn Urquhart, Consultant and Facilitator, Legal Practice Management Course, The College of Law WA

• Understand the 80/20 principle and how it shapes productivity
• Identify high-impact tasks that drive the greatest outcomes
• Streamline workflows to reduce low-value activities
• Apply practical prioritisation frameworks to daily legal work

4.55.pm: Close and thanks  

Lawyers across all practice areas who need to complete their mandatory CPD points and want practical, immediately applicable skills. Ideal for practitioners seeking to sharpen their negotiation skills, improve time management, and strengthen their ethical and moral compass to be a better legal practitioner.

This webinar is produced in NSW and features experts from NSW and WA. It is available to all practitioners nationally.

All times listed for this course are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). Please take note of any time differences if you are registering from QLD, WA, SA, NT or from outside Australia.  

The course complies with the mandatory requirements of Ethics and professional responsibility (1 point), practice management and business skills (1 point), and professional skills (1 point).  

If you intend to claim CPD units for this educational activity, please note that CPD activities are not accredited by the Law Society of NSW or any other equivalent local authority, with the exception of Western Australia. If you hold a practising certificate in a state or territory other than Western Australia and this educational activity extends your knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your practice needs or professional development, then you should claim one (1) "unit” for each hour of attendance, refreshment breaks not included. The annual requirement is ten (10) CPD units each year from 1 April to 31 March. Some practitioners, such as accredited specialists are required to complete more than ten (10) units each CPD year.

Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are eligible to earn CPD points for this course. For instructions to earn CPD points, please click here.  

Dr Tahlia Gordon

Dr Tahlia Gordon is a prominent strategic advisor, legal academic, accomplished lecturer, consultant, writer and lawyer. A Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, Dr Gordon is widely recognised for her leadership in Artificial Intelligence Governance, policy, ethics and regulatory reform.

Tahlia has held numerous influential positions. From 2013 to 2023, Tahlia was the co-founder and co-director of Creative Consequences Pty Ltd, a boutique advisory and consultancy firm established to provide high-level regulatory and policy assistance and advice to public and private organisations, including educational institutions, regulators of professions and industry groups, religious orders, and firms.

Before establishing Creative Consequences, Tahlia held the roles of inaugural Research & Projects Manager at the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC) in Sydney, Australia; Executive Director of the Legal Profession Advisory Council in Sydney, Australia; and Policy Officer at the NSW Bar Association in Sydney, Australia. Tahlia has also worked at the Australian Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Michael Mills 
Principal, Solve Resolve
Director of Australian Geographic Pty Ltd, NSW Council member of Yalari

Michael Mills is recognised as one of Australia’s leading lawyers for complex commercial litigation and dispute resolution. As a top commercial litigator, he has been the lead defence lawyer for some of Australia’s largest and most complex disputes, representing both leading Australian and international companies, here and overseas. He is considered by industry as a “go-to” lawyer for strategically important commercial and “bet the company” disputes. This includes regulatory and mass torts/civil liability disputes, as well as front end insurance, risk advisory and dispute resolution work.

Michael has also been the lead lawyer in the recovery of over $2 billion for his clients in various commercial disputes and court actions. His creative tactical thinking in resolving disputes has seen his practice expand into providing strategic advice to clients in relation to directors and officers liability risks, corporate governance, front end insurance and risk management advice, as well as alternative means to resolve commercial problems and disputes.

Michael is also a nationally recognised and accredited mediator. He teaches courses in Australia and overseas on civil liability and dispute resolution. This includes teaching “Resolving Civil Disputes” at UNSW, being a guest lecturer at Stanford Law School on several occasions since 2011, author of Thomson Reuter’s text, Dispute Resolution (2018) and a past Chair of Resolution Institute (previously LEADR) and Advisory Board member of RAND Institute of Civil Justice.

Cathryn Urquhart
Search Inside Yourself Certified Teacher; Facilitator, Legal Practice Management Course, The College of Law, WA

Cathryn Urquhart studied Law at the University of Western Australia and was admitted in WA in 1988.

She has had a diverse career working for national law firms mainly in Insurance and Construction litigation, as well as time spent as a Claims Solicitor at Law Mutual, the professional indemnity insurance section of the Law Society of WA. She has lectured and tutored at universities in WA.

Currently, Cathryn is the Facilitator of the Legal Practice Management Course at the College of Law in WA. She also has her own business and works for a range of law firms and other businesses as a Professional Skills Trainer and Coach. Cathryn is also a Search Inside Yourself Certified Teacher.

“2-days is an investment of time in your Leadership Skills. And it all starts with calming the mind, developing self-awareness and skills for self-management. With this foundation, we can also examine the ability to be resilient, develop empathy and bring this into our leadership style in the workplace. All leading to better conversations, collaboration and teamwork.”

Please be aware that this course organised by the College of Law may be recorded for use on our websites, marketing materials and publications. By attending and participating in a College of Law Continuing Professional Development course, you consent to the College of Law photographing or recording and using your image and likeness and/or voice.