The FCFCOA Practice Direction is here. Understanding AI, its risks and your professional responsibilities is no longer optional.
Let us take the guesswork out of it with practical guidance from legal practitioners, technology specialists and industry leaders.
Artificial intelligence is already changing legal practice - whether you are actively using it, considering it or encountering it through technology your firm already relies on.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia’s Practice Direction recognises that AI is increasingly embedded in everyday software, including drafting tools, search functions, transcription services and document management systems.
FLENA has developed this program to give family law professionals a clear foundation from which to make informed decisions - for themselves, their teams and their firms.
Read the Practice DirectionLawyers who choose to use AI remain responsible for how it is used and for the work that follows.
Three practical one-hour sessions designed to move you from uncertainty to informed, responsible action.
Build the foundations and understand what the Practice Direction means in practice.
Move from individual awareness to firm-wide policy, supervision and accountability.
Ask better questions and assess tools and technology providers with confidence.
What is AI, where is it already appearing in legal practice, and what does the Practice Direction mean for you?
Who can use AI in your firm, for what purpose, and under whose supervision?
How can you evaluate AI tools without needing to become a technology specialist?
Choose the sessions that are most relevant to you, or register for the complete three-part learning journey.
Learn more and register for the sessionsLegal practitioners, technology specialists and industry leaders examining AI through the lenses of professional responsibility, firm governance, client protection and practical implementation.
Melanie Becktel runs a discrimination, employment, consumer and technology legal practice out of her Sydney offices, and conducts mediations online Australia-wide. Melanie is the founder of DisputeWise, an AI powered end-to-end dispute resolution platform that connects disputing parties to real, human dispute resolvers.
Helen is a fractional General Counsel and Consigliere in the global tech sector, helping build best-in-class legal functions through strategic legal advice and legaltech solutions. She is currently Consigliere at VXT, and was previously a founding member of Uber's ANZ legal team and worked with companies including Yahoo and LawVu.
Ben Deverson is the Founder and Managing Director of Lawganised, bringing more than 30 years of executive experience across professional services and legal practice. An expert in law firm operations, he works across strategy, people and culture, performance metrics and risk management. Ben helps law firm Principals build stronger teams, high-trust cultures and more sustainable practices. His leadership experience spans the Australian Army, global accounting firms and major infrastructure projects, and he serves as a non-executive Director of several community organisations.
Malcolm Heath is Lawcover’s Practice Risk Manager, conducting risk reviews with law firm principals, solicitors and senior support staff. He presents risk management strategies through Lawcover’s education program, practice management courses and legal industry events. Before joining Lawcover in 2012, Malcolm spent 20 years providing consulting services to the insurance industry and legal profession. Drawing on his business experience and degree in Psychology, he focuses on effective law firm management and profitability as important safeguards against professional negligence risk.
James Chan is Verlata Consulting’s Innovation Team Leader, leading the firm’s thinking on where legal AI is heading and helping firms cut through the noise to build lasting AI capability. His view: too many firms are performing AI theatre, adopting point solutions without defined outcomes, when the real advantage lies in the systems already underneath - document management, connectors and institutional knowledge. James helps clients get those foundations right, so the AI layer understands their matters, clients and positions instead of starting from zero every day.
Jason Mills is Chief Executive Officer of Verlata Consulting, a legal technology consultancy operating across APAC and EMEA. With over 25 years working with law firms and legal technology, Jason sets Verlata's strategic direction and oversees project delivery across all regions. He speaks regularly on practical AI adoption in legal practice — arguing that a firm's AI strategy is only as strong as the system of record underpinning it, along with the concept of workforce planning for hybrid AI agent + Lawyer teams and how that impacts pricing.
William Burry is Head of Revenue at VXT. As one of VXT's earliest team members, William has been instrumental in the company's expansion across the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. In that time, he's helped more than 2000 law firms start recording their phone calls and meetings with VXT, saving them time, mitigating risk, and growing their revenue.
It is particularly valuable for practitioners who are not currently using AI, but need to understand where it may already be present and what responsible use requires.
Register once and select the sessions you would like to attend. Join us for one session or follow the complete three-part learning journey.
No. The series begins with the fundamentals and assumes no prior technical knowledge or experience using AI.
No. The program is free and open to FLENA members and non-members.
You can register for individual sessions. However, the program has been designed as a connected learning journey and we recommend attending all three where possible.
Yes. AI may already be incorporated into tools used by your firm, colleagues, external providers or clients. The series will help you recognise where it may be present and understand the associated professional responsibilities.
The sessions will be delivered online through VXT’s webinar platform. Registered attendees will receive access instructions and reminders by email.
FLENA develops accessible, practitioner-led education and resources for family law professionals across Australia. This program is grounded in the professional responsibilities, supervisory challenges and everyday realities of family law practice.
VXT builds communications technology for legal professionals and supports the webinar delivery of this series. Its technology perspective helps connect professional responsibility with the practical questions firms should ask when assessing and adopting new tools.
