Rate My Professor Karen Conte-Mills

Karen Conte-Mills is a Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of New England, where she combines her expertise in law and education. A practising barrister since 2007, she was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia in November 2006, and holds national accreditation as a mediator and arbitrator in Family Law through the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators. Her practice areas include Family Law, Crime, Care and Protection Law, and Defamation. Prior to her legal career, she worked as a primary school teacher and principal for twenty years. She participated in the Project Zero team at Harvard University in 1999, earning a Certificate in Education Studies. Her academic qualifications encompass a Bachelor of Laws (Macquarie University, 1995–2000), Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (College of Law, 2006), Master of Education (Administration) (University of Western Sydney, 1992–1993), Bachelor of Education (General Primary) (University of Western Sydney, 1989–1990), Diploma in Teaching (General Primary) (Nepean College of Advanced Education, 1986–1988), Certificate in Signed English (Penrith TAFE, 1989), and Graduate Diploma in Mediation and Arbitration (AIFLAM, 2018).

At UNE, Karen Conte-Mills coordinates and lectures in Introduction to Legal Studies (LSU100), Professional Conduct (LAW320), and Children’s Law (LAW395/LLM595), the latter unit she developed for the LLB and LLM programs. Her research interests center on children’s law—specifically, the paramount consideration of the best interests of the child and whether court orders achieve this—and online learning with student engagement. She has received the National Excellence in Teaching Award (1994) and a commendation for LSU100 for excellent student satisfaction in Trimester 1 2021. Professionally, she writes and presents the ‘Barristers in Schools’ program for the NSW Bar Association and NSW Talent Centre, including the ‘Trial by Jury’ course for gifted students, and delivers presentations on Family Law issues at conferences for practising lawyers. She is a member of the NSW Bar Association and the Australian Institute of Family Law Mediators and Arbitrators.