Registrations for ABA Crossroads Conference now open

16/04/2025

Registrations for CROSSROADS 2025, the ABA Annual Conference, are now open.

As a member of an Australian state or territory bar association, you have priority access to register for this marquee event.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. CROSSROADS 2025 will be held on 29 August 2025 at the new W Sydney hotel on Darling Harbour. As with all ABA conferences, there will be an informative and engaging program of panel discussions and addresses, as well as a gala dinner.

CROSSROADS: Litigating matters of public interest is the theme for this year’s conference and will bring together leaders from the judiciary, the Bar and the legal profession. With the assistance of the Bar, courts have always had to determine disputes that arise in contentious public matters; where law, politics and the public interest intersect. In the modern era, such matters are often subject to live-time scrutiny, ubiquitous media coverage and social media outrage. Unfortunately, in some streams of public discourse, the very concept of ‘truth’ has become contentious.

Barristers appearing in such matters act independently, and in support of the administration of justice. Nonetheless, these types of cases can give rise to particular challenges for advocates and the courts. What are the ramifications for the law which must regulate our relationships and power structures? How do courts and practitioners successfully navigate such cases? How do barristers protect the legal process in its quest for the truth, while maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice and the independence of the courts?

CROSSROADS 2025 will explore these issues and more.

For more information and registration, please click here.