Laina Chan

Laina is the 2021 Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Barrister of the Year.  She is the distinctive authority on the interplay between construction and insurance law. She is a widely published author on construction, property and insurance law. Her works are on the reading lists of many Universities, including the University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, the University of Queensland and many others. Her book with JW Carter on “Contract and the Australian Consumer Law”, Federation Press, 2019, is a seminal work and examines how the Australian Consumer Law has modified the law of contract. In addition to regularly publishing in peer reviewed journals including the Insurance Law Journal, she is a regular contributor to the LexisNexis Insurance Law Bulletin and joined the editorial panel of the ILB in 2022.

Awards & Recognition

• 2021, Winner of Lawyers’ Weekly Women in Law Awards ‘Barrister of the Year’
• 2019-22, Finalist of Australian Law Awards ‘Barrister of the Year’
• Chair of the Society of Construction Law Australia
• Director of the Australian Construction Industry Forum
• Judge at moots for the University of Sydney and the University of Deakin

Speaking Engagements

• Laina speaks regularly at Local, National and International conferences. For example, in 2021-2022, she has spoken virtually at conferences organised in Malaysia, India, New Zealand, Turkey to combined audiences in excess of 5000 people.  She also presented at the 2022 Society of Construction Law Australia conference in Hobart on the allocation of risk in construction projects.
• Laina is a guest lecturer at the University of Melbourne, Masters of Construction Law program.

Memberships

• Society of Construction Law Australia since 2020
• Australian Construction Industry Forum since 2020
• International Committee of the Australian Bar Association since 2019
• AILA, CLA (VIC and NSW)