About

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:

1974-1976  Supreme Court Family Law Division, Clerk Court of Appeal, Clerk

1977 Solicitors Admission Board, Clerk

1978 Supreme Court, Probate Division/List, Clerk

1979-1982 Admitted to the Bar as a Non Practising Barrister

1981 Deputy Registrar, Supreme Court of NSW

1982-2000 Accredited as a Mediator by the Australia Commercial Dispute Centre

1999  Senior Deputy Registrar, Supreme Court of NSW

2000-2015  Mediator, Supreme Court of NSW

2000-2015

MEDIATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

At the Supreme Court of New South Wales, I have practised almost exclusively in the Probate area since my appointment as Deputy Registrar in 1982. In the past 15 years, I have specialised in the more complex areas related to Wills and Succession Law, such as:

Informal Wills
Intestacy
Foreign Wills, and
Rectification of Wills

Commencing in 2000, I assisted the Registrar in Probate in conducting the Registrar’s directions list on a Monday, and since 2010 I have conducted that list exclusively. The purpose of the directions list is to prepare contested probate matters for hearing and the nature of the matters in the list requires considerable insight into the issues before the cases are ready to be heard.

As part of the probate directions list, it is my practice to encourage mediation of disputes. In fact, most contested probate proceedings settle before any hearing.

In 2000, I was appointed a mediator of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Since that time I have conducted over 1,000 mediations, mainly involving applications for provision out of deceased estates (family provision proceedings) and contested probate suits.

Since 2005 I have conducted many seminars for the College of Law, Law Society and Bar Association on aspects of probate matters and mediations of court proceedings.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS:

Co Author of Geddes, Rowland and Studdert

"Wills, Probate and Administration Law in New South Wales"

LBC Information Services 1996