Commercial Disputes: Strategies for Success – a recorded half-day online conference

Duration: Approximately 2.5 Hours

Hear from the experts at this online conference. You can watch it on your computer or on your portable electronic device from anywhere.

The conference will be based on our highly successful video webinar technology: there'll be a chairperson and presentations.

One registration can be shared by colleagues within the same firm utilising the same login.

THE PROGRAM

Session 1: The Oppression Remedy – Getting Application and Strategy Right

Use of the oppression remedy under s232 Corporations Act is increasing. This session looks at recent developments in case law and highlights practical and procedural traps to watch out for. It includes:

• The Oppression remedy under s232 Corporations Act – an overview
• Who may seek this remedy?
• What amounts to oppression? – a review of recent case law developments
• Understanding the common law tests for oppression
• How important is it for the applicant to have ‘clean hands’?
• Under what circumstances will a court make an order under 233?
• Does this remedy apply to trading trusts?
• Oppression claims from minority shareholders
• Distinguishing use of oppression remedy from other shareholder remedies

Session 2: Developments in Proprietary and Promissory Estoppel

Estoppel can be a powerful tool in a commercial lawyer’s armoury. This session looks at recent developments in use of estoppel both as a ‘sword and a shield, including:

• Understanding the nature of proprietary versus promissory estoppel
• Key evidentiary requirements
• When to use estoppel as a sword and a shield
• Use of promissory estoppel as a source of rights – is this possible?
• Lessons from recent case law developments

Session 3: The Art of Negotiation in Commercial Law Disputes

Negotiation is an accepted alternative dispute resolution method. Just what that means in a commercial dispute context and how it should be used is the subject of this session. It includes:

• When to use negotiation – an overview
• Understanding procedural issues in establishing a negotiation between parties
• Giving effect to dispute resolution clauses that require negotiation between the parties
• Negotiation strategies – tackling the issues separately from personalities
• Establishing rules and open dialogue
• Addressing values in the negotiation process
• Dealing with differences during the negotiation process
• Case study – Dealing with an unreasonable refusal to negotiate