Skills/
Managing the complexities of self-represented litigants.

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Friday 9th June 2023

Full Day EVENT | 9:00 AM-4:30 PM

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Self-represented litigants are a diverse group. Some are adept at court procedures. Others are highly disorganised and display problematic behaviours.

In some instances, your interactions with self-represented litigants can be complicated by their impaired legal capacity, mental health issues or a range of communication difficulties.  

In this full-day session, you will explore how to navigate these challenges – ensuring that access to justice is achieved. 

You will cover: 

  • the different typologies of self-represented litigants 
  • the relationship between stress, emotion and courtroom behaviour 
  • skills and strategies to respond to unexpected challenges 
  • how to ensure procedural fairness.

Speakers.

Swinburne University of Technology
Professor James Ogloff AM
Professor James Ogloff is trained as a lawyer and psychologist. He is the University Distinguished Professor of Forensic Behavioural Science and Dean, School of Health Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology and a Special Advisor at Forensicare. Until 2022, he held the role of Executive Director of Psychological Services and Research at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health (Forensicare). Professor Ogloff was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 for significant service to education and to the law as a forensic psychologist, as an academic, researcher and practitioner. Professor Ogloff has specific expertise in forensic psychology, correctional and forensic mental health, mental health law, and the assessment and management of offenders. In his clinical work, he assesses and assists with the management of some of the most difficult offenders in Australia and abroad. He served as British Columbia’s first Director of Mental Health Services for Corrections. He is the Past-President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law and a former Chair of the College of Forensic Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society. He is the recipient of the distinguished contributions awards in law and psychology/forensic psychology from the Australian Psychological Society, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the American Psychology-Law Society. Professor Ogloff has published 18 books and more than 350 scholarly articles and book chapters.
Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist
Dr Jane Lonie
Dr Jane Lonie completed an undergraduate psychology honours degree and a Clinical Neuropsychology Master’s degree at Macquarie University in 1999. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, shortly after, where she worked as a Clinical Neuropsychologist for over 10 years, initially within the Lothian Memory Treatment Clinic and latterly at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Within this capacity Dr Lonie provided specialist early and differential diagnostic assessment services to adult and older adult patients with cognitive impairment and lecture input to a number of under- and post-graduate Psychology and Psychiatry courses affiliated with the University of Edinburgh. In 2010 She completed a PhD with the University of Edinburgh’s Department of Psychiatry, investigating neurocognitive markers of early and pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to working in a private consulting capacity, Dr Lonie is a co-founding member of the Capability and Capacity clinic at MQ Health, a multidisciplinary clinic offering co-seated legal and medical advice in capacity matters. Dr Lonie is author of a numerous peer reviewed journal articles and abstracts(recently within the Australian Bar Review 2017; Law Society Journal 2022; Journal of Law and Psychiatry and Elder Law Review) and retains a keen and active interest in neuropsychological assessment and dementia research. During her career, Dr Lonie has provided specialist Neuropsychological assessments and reports for in excess of 3,500 patients. She is a regular provider of medical evidence in matters of legal capacity to The Supreme Court of NSW and NCAT.

Event resources.

  • Document
    SKILLS

    Quick reference guide: Case law authorities on self-represented litigants at June 2023.

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