Graham Jobling

Executive Director
The College of Law South Australia

Graham has facilitated wellbeing programs for law graduates for several years and has undertaken mental health first aid training.

Graham started his career as a bank officer assisting small and large business owners with their financial needs. He then owned and operated a small business with several partners, which led him to a role with TAFE, training adults in business operations and accounting. Graham then went on to manager the professional development program with the then Institute of Chartered Accountants in Adelaide.

Graham then managed the PLT and professional development programs at the Law Society of South Australia for 15 years. Graham is now the Executive Director of The College of Law, South Australia. He has banking, accounting and adult training and education qualifications.

Nigel McBride

As Managing Partner and CEO of Minter Ellison Adelaide, Nigel brought substantial change management, new market share strategies and a client centric approach over his 12 year term. Using targeted lateral recruitment, and a winning internal culture, the firm developed market leading teams in key practice areas. He led Minters to become the largest commercial law firm in the state with sustained client and revenue growth.

This was recognised by the BRW-St Georges Client Choice Awards for Best Professional Services Firm in South Australia in 2005 (the inaugural award) and by winning the same award again in 2006, with subsequent awards and recognitions, including the CMS 2008 Innovation in Legal IT award.

Nigel introduced case management technology and a pricing strategy that delivered the firm a sole provider role in what became the most enduring and lucrative defendant legal services contract in SA. He launched the Darwin office of Minter Ellison, was a keynote speaker internationally on marketing and leveraging technology, and was part of the inaugural Leadership in Law Firms program at Harvard University alongside heads of global firms.

Nigel also facilitated strategy, risk and opportunity workshops with boards and senior management teams of key clients to successfully create a more holistic and partnering approach to those relationships.

Subsequently, as CEO of Business SA for 7 years, Nigel deepened his understanding of the key issues and challenges facing businesses and employers in a challenging market.

Bianca Hale

Principal Consultant
Cosano

Through her many years working in the legal software industry and liaising with hundreds of law firms and conveyancing teams, Bianca brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of managing technology in the legal sector.

She has supported firms through their process and system reviews, change management, implemented various software packages, and provided support on each.

After branching out to setup her own consulting business, Bianca now focuses on supporting lawyers directly. She helps firms get the most out of their systems, assists with process reviews, and identifies and implements measures to ensure lawyers are as effective and efficient as possible.

Bianca has a love for training and has facilitated training sessions, user groups, and presentations across a range of different platforms and group sizes. She used to run a popular interactive webinar series which had over 1,000 live attendees regularly.

Prior to her time working in the legal technology space, she worked in law firms throughout Adelaide primarily in Criminal and Family Law, and her favourite, Intellectual Property.

She is passionate about client service, technology, and helping others grow and achieve their goals

Megan Hender

Megan Hender Consulting

A lawyer by training, Megan has worked as a solicitor, a university lecturer, a practice manager, a General Manager and a Chief Executive Officer. Since 2002 she has run her own management consulting business, Megan Hender Consulting, working with a wide variety of organisations, in SA and interstate. This work has included helping law firms (and other organisations) of all shapes and sizes identify their risks; develop clear and easily understood risk management frameworks, plans and policies; and effectively put those frameworks, plans and policies in place.

Megan is also an experienced non-executive Director, serving on a number of boards and committees. She has sat on the audit and risk committees of some of South Australia’s most iconic institutions including the Adelaide Convention Centre, the Adelaide Central Market and the Adelaide Festival of Arts. In 2010 she was elected as a Councillor at the City of Adelaide, where she served two terms and sat on the City’s Risk and Audit Committee.

In addition Megan has, for over 20 years, presented risk management workshops for lawyers, doctors, company directors, not-for-profit boards and others focusing on identifying and managing both professional and enterprise risk.

Neil McInnes

Principal
Sovereign Bookkeeping Solutions SA

Neil has worked in the legal sector since 1984, his first role being that of a Legal Cashier at Chethams, a law firm in Baker Street in London. The client ledgers were maintained on a Kalamazoo carbon copy manual system which was the height of technology at the time with the client (trust) account regulated by the Law Society. In 1986 Neil moved the firm onto a computerised legal accounting system.

After cutting his teeth at Chethams and following a couple of mergers between law firms, Neil was invited to join Axxia Systems (formerly Mannesman Kienzle), a legal accounting system manufacturer as a Consultant/Trainer. It was while he was working there that an Australian Law firm, Minter Ellison, was in the UK looking for a replacement for their legacy system. One thing led to another and after travelling from the UK to Adelaide in 2003 to implement the system Neil was invited to join the Adelaide Office as their client account manager responsible for time, billing, and the trust account. After nine years with Minter Ellison, Neil took a different path and became a BAS Agent working with several different cloud accounting systems assisting SME’s and law firms in the Adelaide and Barossa regions.

Kelly Morgan

Principal
Kelly Kelly Legal

Kelly advocates complete legal solutions for her clients. She has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Master of Family Law and she is a Practitioner in the High Court of Australia. She is also an elected member of the Golden Key Society – a global invitation-only honor society that recognises academic performance of the world’s top 15% university students.

Kelly’s thorough and inclusive approach integrates her considerable knowledge with solid experience in providing commercial advice – wills and estates, family law, conveyancing (farming, business and residential), documentation for trusts, company documents, buy/sell agreements, workplace safety procedures and litigation – providing her clients with well-considered, integrated outcomes that reduce the need for clients to engage multiple legal advisors.

Kelly works with individuals, families and business owners and while she offers legal advice and expertise in all areas of law and across various jurisdictions, she has a specialised interest in farming businesses, particularly in the area of succession planning, commercial & corporate law and high net wealth family law property matters.

Practising in rural legal firms since 2005, Kelly founded Kelly Kelly Legal in 2014 with her focus squarely on delivering quality legal advice and representing her clients’ best interests.

Tim Sargent

Director
Moore Australia

With a passion for SME businesses that spans over twenty five years, Tim is the lead Director of food and legal services at Moore Australia (SA).

Tim has worked with the legal profession on an advisory level for many years ranging from sole practitioners to large legal practices. Over the years, has dealt with mergers, partnership dissolutions, partner exits, new partner admissions and restructures.

Tim’s mantra for the legal profession is the need for them to focus on productivity, profitability & cash flow issues inside the walls of running a legal practice. Understanding the financial implications is an important determinant to running a profitable legal practice.

With formal qualifications in accounting, marketing and human resources, Tim works closely with his clients in all facets of their business to ensure they stay on track and achieve their financial goals.

Actively participating in his clients’ management and board meetings, Tim plays a pivotal role in their ongoing strategy and future direction. As an independent and objective source of advice, his longstanding relationships with clients are developed solidly on an honest and candid approach.

Jo Cecere

Lecturer
The College of Law South Australia

Jo Cecere is a lecturer and teaches legal and ethical obligations under the LPA, LPR, ASCR and Uniform Civil Rules 2020 (SA) and conducts workshops in ethical decision making and negotiation and dispute resolution.

Over her 30 years of legal and management experience, both as an employed solicitor and principal, she has worked in top tier, national legal and professional services firms in Sydney and Melbourne and a smaller specialist practice in Adelaide. As a senior advisor to SMEs, Australian and multinational corporations and professionals across a wide range of industries and on large-scale projects, Jo has managed the challenges of client expectations, costs, conflicts and supervision. Areas of practice include Civil Litigation, Corporate and Commercial, Administrative Law, Employment and Corporate Migration.

Jo holds degrees in Law and Science (Psychology)(Hons) from UNSW and a Master of Teaching from UniSA. She was admitted as a lawyer in NSW in 1989 and in SA in 2005 and completed the Legal Practice Management Course in NSW in 1999