For centuries, the legal profession has prided itself on structure, process and tradition.
But as the world around us changes – families, workplaces, communities, even the concept of justice itself; the question is no longer whether the law will evolve. It’s whether we will.
In March 2026, the legal and interdisciplinary professions across Australia and NZ will converge at ICC Sydney for Disrupting Tradition: Innovative Strategies in Family & Estates Law, hosted by the Family Law Education Network (FLEN) and co-hosted by JustFund.
It’s more than a conference — it’s a movement. A gathering of the country’s greatest legal minds, innovators, and visionaries to ask: What does it mean to practise law in service of people, not process?
The Age of Connection
The modern lawyer can no longer act in isolation.
The families, clients, and communities we serve exist within complex systems, financial, emotional, cultural, and digital. To truly assist them, we must understand that law is not separate from society. It’s part of it.
Family and estates practitioners, in particular, operate at the intersection of human experience and legal structure. The issues we manage like relationship breakdowns, loss, wealth transfer, family violence, and generational transition, are deeply human stories. To navigate them effectively, we must acknowledge the wider context, working alongside psychologists, counsellors, mediators, financial advisers, and social workers to achieve truly holistic outcomes.
It is my belief that every legal issue is part of a wider social story and the future of law depends on our ability to connect disciplines, to look beyond our own lens, and to remember that what we do impacts people – not just process.
This is the essence of Disrupting Traditions, a movement that reimagines personal-services law not as a transactional profession, but as a transformational one.
Changing the Narrative
For too long, law has been reactive. We enter the picture when things break down, marriages, estates, relationships, systems.
But what if we could shift that narrative from conflict to prevention, from adversarial to collaborative? from burnout to balance?
Disrupting Tradition calls upon lawyers to see themselves as agents of positive change – custodians of stability, clarity, and compassion.
Across its four integrated streams, Family Law, Wills & Estates, Collaborative & Kindness in Law, and Business & Personal Development — the conference explores how we can rebuild our practices and systems to be more connected, collaborative, and client-centred.
“True disruption isn’t about tearing things down; it’s about re-imagining them. We’re challenging the systems that no longer serve us, and replacing them with ones that make the profession — and society — healthier, smarter and more sustainable.”
“Law doesn’t exist in isolation — it lives within the stories, systems, and communities we serve.”
A Gathering Like No Other
There has never been a conference like this. For the first time in Australian history, we have gathered Australia’s leading thought-makers across family law, estates, collaboration, and kindness in practice -under one roof, supported by the nation’s peak professional bodies including AACP, CPSNW, CPQ and STEP Australia.
Delegates will be moved by the personal, touching, and deeply inspiring storytellers Brintyn Smith and Colin Jowell, whose words will make you pause and ponder your own humanity and purpose. You’ll hear the interwoven stories of lawyers who have chosen values-driven career paths, rejecting the old metrics of billables and prestige for purpose and meaning in the first of its kind interactive performance.
Be challenged and invigorated by leading innovators and disruptors including Tara Lucke, Clarissa Rayward, James D’Apice, Zinta Harris and Perpetua Kish. The professionals who are redefining what leadership looks like in modern practice.
Connect with Dave Kramer from Small Steps 4 Hannah, the conference’s official charity partner, and reflect on how compassion, advocacy, and action must continue to inform the work we do every day.
Engage in meaningful debates, panels and discussions including leading minds across all areas of law.
Then, deepen your technical skills and strategic insight, through the practical sessions led by our industry thought leaders including their honours Deputy Chief Justice McClelland, Justice Altobelli, Justice Benjamin, Justice Needham, Justice Hallen, and Justice Kunc, and business and thought leaders.
Together, these voices create a tapestry of insight and inspiration that challenges every lawyer to look inward and forward.
“These speakers aren’t just talking about change. They’re living it. They’re proof that when we collaborate across disciplines, the impact radiates beyond our firms – into families, communities, and even policy.”
A Profession in Evolution
The shift toward a connected model of practice is already underway. Across Australia, lawyers are working with allied professionals to design holistic client journeys — integrating mental-health support, financial planning, and post-separation counselling into traditional legal pathways.
The rise of collaborative practice and interdisciplinary dispute resolution is not a threat to the legal profession; it’s its next evolution.
In the Business & Personal Development stream, industry leaders will explore how law firms can thrive in this new landscape — building cultures of ethical profitability, embracing technology responsibly, and redefining success around wellbeing as well as revenue.
As one speaker succinctly puts it:
Disrupting for Good
Disruption often conjures images of chaos, of systems breaking. But at its best, disruption is an act of care – a courageous step towards something better.
Disrupting Tradition is not about abandoning the past; it’s about honouring it by evolving it. It is about equipping practitioners with the insight, courage and community needed to practice differently, for themselves, for their clients, and for the next generation of lawyers.
It is my thoughts that if the law is to serve people, it must first understand them. And if lawyers are to lead change, they must first be willing to change themselves. That’s what this conference and this movement is all about.
Because when lawyers disrupt with purpose, society benefits. Families heal faster. Estates are planned with foresight, not fear. Justice becomes more accessible. And the profession, once seen as rigid, becomes a catalyst for renewal.
Community as a Catalyst
At the heart of Disrupting Tradition lies a simple but radical idea: community is the most powerful driver of professional transformation.
FLEN’s mission has always been to create spaces where learning and leadership meet humanity. Whether through its 3,500-strong membership base, its FamMastery mentorship program, or its industry-leading precedent platform FamDraft, FLEN continues to prove that connection breeds quality — in practice, performance and purpose.
With the support our our major Partners and cohost Justfund our dream is becoming a reality.
The conference itself reflects this ethos in every detail. From the Paths Less Taken session a TED-style exploration of personal stories from lawyers who have redefined their paths — to practical workshops on case strategy, mediation, and leadership, the event blends inspiration with implementation.
It’s a reminder that we are more than practitioners of law. We are participants in progress.
