Lara Bishkov is a Legal Practitioner, Nationally Accredited Mediator and University Teaching Fellow.

Legal Practitioner:

Lara was admitted as a legal practitioner in 1994 after graduating from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Economics. Lara has practised as a lawyer since then, primarily as a Senior Associate with Sparke Helmore Lawyers in Sydney until 2007.

As a lawyer, Lara was responsible for a busy common law, industrial accident and personal injury litigation practice, advising a range of Commonwealth authorities on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and the Seafarers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992. 

Lara represented national clients, including Australia Post, Comcare, Telstra, Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Commonwealth Government agencies, in addition to  BHP Billiton and the State Rail Authority. Lara provided legal and claims management advice to clients, and devised strategies with clients to achieve commercial and timely settlements.

Nationally Accredited Mediator:

In 2012 Lara trained as a Mediator with the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre (now known as Australian Disputes Centre) and became accredited under the National Mediator Accreditation System through the Law Society of New South Wales. 

As a mediator, Lara's extensive knowledge of the legal system, combined with her ability to understand parties' needs, and her strong communication, negotiation and listening skills provide a foundation for successful mediation outcomes.

Lara has mediated disputes in a variety of areas, including:

• Workplace conflict
• General commercial disputes
• Superannuation entitlements 
• Financial services disputes
• Employment and incapacity issues
• Community and interpersonal conflicts

Lara’s mediation clients include Coca-Cola Amatil, Commonwealth Bank Officers’ Superannuation Corporation Limited, GrainCorp Limited, residential colleges and other private entities.

Lara is professionally associated with:

• A Nationally Accredited Mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System (NMAS)
• A member of the Australian Mediation Association
• A member of Resolution Institute (combining LEADR and IAMA)
• Admitted to the High Court of Australia
• Admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales
• A member of the Law Society of New South Wales

Lara is a member of the following mediation panels:

• Law Society of NSW Mediators Panel (2012 -  )
• District Court of NSW Mediators Panel (2012 -  )
• Australian Disputes Centre ADR Resource Group (2012 -  )
• Consultant Mediator with SHAW Mediation (2016 - )
• Member of the Law Society Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee (2018)

University, Teaching and Training:

• Lara is a Teaching Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law, lecturing in “Resolving Civil Disputes”, a fourth year core subject (2013 - ) 
• Guest lecturer at the UNSW Australian School of Business (2014) 
• Judge in the Allens’ & UNSW Law Society Advanced Negotiations Competition (2014) 
• Judge in the Clayton Utz & UNSW Law Society Advanced Negotiations Competition (2018)
• Lara regularly presents training workshops on negotiation skills and ADR to industry groups.

Volunteer Work:

• Facilitator of the Greater Sydney Family Law Pathways Network planning day (2015)
• Adjudicator of the NSW Law Society Mock Mediation Competition (2016 - )
• Committee Secretary of Gallery Lane Cove and Creative Studios (2017 - )
• Mentor in the UNSW Law Society & Herbert Smith Freehills’ Women’s Mentoring Program (2018)

Social Media:

• www.larabishkovmediator.com.au
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lara-bishkov-7629a84a
• Twitter: @LaraBishkov