Consumer Rights Forum 2022

Justice Michael Lee was born in Perth but was raised in Sydney. After graduating in law from the University of Sydney, he commenced work as a solicitor in 1989 with a firm that later became one of Australia's largest national partnerships. He was made a senior associate of the firm in 1992 and was appointed its youngest partner, in 1995. He eventually became a senior litigation partner and national practice group leader before coming to the New South Wales Bar in 2002.

His Honour developed a nationwide and eclectic practice and acted in a very broad range of superior court matters at both first instance and on appeal. He took silk, after 9 years, in 2011. Both before and after taking silk he acted in both civil and criminal matters.

While at the Bar, Justice Lee was involved in a number of high profile cases ranging from building and construction disputes, insurance cases and employment law and workplace safety prosecutions; additionally, he was briefed as leading counsel in a number of the largest commercial actions in Australia. In this role, he was at the forefront of all of the developments with regard to Part IVA representative proceedings in recent years. His Honour has been a regular presenter at seminars involving issues relating to representative proceedings and litigation funding.

He was also actively involved in a number of legally aided matters, pro bono and public interest cases.

His Honour, while at the Bar, appeared primarily in Sydney and Melbourne but also conducted cases in every superior State and Territory Court throughout the Commonwealth.

His Honour was appointed to the Federal Court in 2017 and is also an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

His Honour is the section editor for the Australian Law Journal section on class actions and is a Fellow of the University of Melbourne. His Honour has also been long involved in the arts including as a director of the Bell Shakespeare Company.

Gina Cass-Gottlieb started her 5 year appointment as Chair of the ACCC on 21 March 2022.

Before she joined the ACCC Gina was a senior and founding partner of Gilbert and Tobin’s competition and regulation team. Gina has over 25 years’ experience advising on a large number of merger, competition and regulatory matters in Australia and New Zealand. She is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading competition and regulatory experts.

Gina was appointed by the Commonwealth Treasurer to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board in 2013 and re-appointed in 2018. The Payments System Board is the regulator of access to payment systems.  Gina was appointed to the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority in September 2021.

Gina has received numerous accolades from Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Lawyers Weekly Awards, Beaton Client Choice Awards and Best Lawyers Australia, for her competition and legal expertise.

Gina was a Fulbright Scholar at UC Berkeley from 1986 to 1987, majoring in US competition law, financial institutions regulation and securities regulation.

Gina is the first female Chair of the ACCC since it was established as an independent statutory authority in 1995.

Sarah Court commenced as an ASIC Deputy Chair on 1 June 2021.

Prior to joining ASIC, Sarah was a Commissioner at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for three terms from May 2008 to May 2021. She contributed to the strategic leadership and corporate governance of the ACCC and decision-making across range of complex economy-wide legal and economic issues.

Sarah has extensive experience in government legal work, including compliance, restrictive trade practices, mergers and acquisitions, consumer protection and law enforcement litigation.

She previously worked as a senior executive lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor, working with Australian Government agencies to provide advice on complex and sensitive legal matters.

Sarah has previously held advisory board positions with the Law School and Centre for Regulation and Market Analysis at the University of South Australia.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Christine Cupitt is Executive Director, Policy at the Australian Banking Association. Chris works with member banks, regulators and international agencies to understand and respond to disruption, rapid changes in technology, and the effects of climate change. Chris leads the industry’s policy strategy on major projects, including the transformation of the Australian Payments System and the Sustainable Finance portfolio.

Prior to the ABA, Chris held senior risk, compliance and governance roles in financial services and professional services. Chris holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Wollongong and is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow.

Gerard is CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, an independent, not-for-profit consumer organisation based in Melbourne. Consumer Action provides financial counselling, legal advice and representation to support vulnerable and disadvantaged Victorians, and draws on its direct knowledge of the consumer experience in modern markets to pursue consumer interest campaigns and policy reform at both state and national levels.

Gerard is also the Chair of Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the peak body for consumer organisations in Australia, representing a diverse range of consumer groups, including most national consumer organisations.