Camilla Andersen

Professor of Law, University of Western Australia

Senior Project Leader at Comic Book Contracting Project

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Camilla Andersen is an experienced law professor with successes in teaching, research and funded industry engagement. Her innovation and contribution to the law comes in the field of visual law, specifically the unique area of comic contracts. She has pioneered this work over the last 5 years.

 

For lawyers, her work is a revelation. 

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Join me as we delve into the fascinating story of how comic contracts came to be, and how they are revolutionising the world of legal contracting.

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Bio

Show notes

Links

 

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Bio:

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Camilla Andersen is a Professor of Law at University of Western Australia.  Prior to UWA, she held posts at Queen Mary, University of London, the University of Leicester and visiting posts on three continents. She has published extensively on comparative commercial law, international sales and commercial arbitration. She is a member of the ProActive Think Tank.

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Camilla's passion is in visual law. She leads the Comic Contract project at UWA and has been pioneering this work over the last 5 years.  She worked with the engineering advisory firm Aurecon to draw up its employment contracts in comic-style, an Australian-first. Her recent successful project with BankWest to design its consumer terms and conditions have taken the world of contracts by storm.  

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Show notes:

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• [4:01]: Camilla discusses the factors that led her to the world of comic contracts, from her work with the pro-active law movement, to being a mother to two highly-intelligent savant children with ASD thus learning different ways of communicating, 

• [6:38] Camilla reveals the amazing true story of how comic contracts came to be!​

• [10:14] Camilla harks back to the early days of comic contracts, beginning with non-disclosure agreements signed by university students.

• [12:22] A slot on ABC Radio's Law Report turned into a sponsorship opportunity of a lifetime via great innovative thinking at Aurecon led by their then Chief Innovation Officer John McGuire.

• [13:41] We discuss the Aurecon employment contracts in depth, selecting some of the most multitextured parts of the contracts and how they enriched the employer-employee relationship. 

• [19:05] Camilla relates how images can also end up getting lost in translation when they symbolise different things to different cultures!

• [21:03] From Aurecon, Camilla moves on to her biggest project so far - Bankwest's customer terms and conditions in comic form, approved by Australia's securities regulator, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).

• [24:02] Camilla tells us how endorsement for the enforceability of comic contracts came from one of the highest judicial authorities in Australia, a former Chief Justice of the High Court.

• [26:44] Camilla shows us an example contract from her husband's Alternative Consulting business, a one-page handyman services contract.

• [30:49] Customers universally love the comic contracts, it seems. There is also an alternative for the visual impaired that stays true to the comic contract form.   

• [32:42} We talk about how to negotiate comic contracts - lawyers should sharpen their pencils!

• [37:08] Camilla explains how to approach her or her husband's business to develop a comic contract, whether for large sponsors or smaller organisations, and tells us a little of what goes into the whole process. 

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Links:

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Camilla's profile page from the University of Western Australia law school.  

Comic Book Contracts: www.comicbookcontracts.com. 

Alternative Contracting business, founded by Peter Corner, Camilla's husband: www. alternativecontracting.biz

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Creative contracts, founded by Robert de Rooy, another pioneer of visual contracts based in South Africa.

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ProActive Think Tank (at the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management) which focusses on applying the concepts of proactive/preventive law to business and academic areas.​

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Pixton comic maker, with which the earliest comic book contracts were drawn.

The ABC Law Report interview from October 2016 that started it all.

Aurecon announces the first visual employment contracts in Australia in 2018. 

Press reports on Bankwest's launch of visual terms & conditions for its 'everyday transaction' accounts, in 2021.

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Aurecon Global Chief Design Officer John McGuire and Camilla discuss Aurecon's comic contracts on an Aurecon podcast from 2019.

Loui Silvestro, one of Camilla's early illustrators, who works in the Alternative Contracting business.

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Former High Court of Australia Chief Justice Robert French's closing address at the 2017 Comic Book Contracts Conference, where he endorses the enforceability of comic contracts in the same way as any other contract. 

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Stuart Medley and Bruce Mutard's wonderful visual depiction of Robert French's closing address at the Comic Book Contracts Conference.