Karen Standal (formerly Goodwin)

B.A. LL.B. – Executive Counsel

Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, and a Bachelor of Laws degree, from Monash University.  She joined Marshalls & Dent in 2002 after working with Bryce Menzies in Roth Warren Solicitors’ intellectual property, media and entertainment law division.

Karen advises on project deal structures and all areas of law relating to the film, television, performing arts and multimedia industries.  She works closely with clients at every stage of a project, from development through to financing, production/staging, distribution, exhibition/touring and exploitation of merchandising and ancillary rights.

Karen represents a wide variety of clients such as:

• theatre producers, presenters and promoters (including the Spiegeltent International group of companies www.spiegeltent.net and Strange Fruit www.strangefruit.net.au);

• numerous film and television producers working in the genres of feature film, drama, documentary and factual programming, children’s television, short-and-long-form animation;

• arts festivals (including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival www.comedyfestival.com.au);

• new media developers, producers and publishers;

• arts/events management consultants; artists and distributors.

Karen has previously held the position of Legal & Business Affairs Officer at Film Victoria www.filmvictoria.com.au, Film Victoria’s screen culture government funding entity dedicated to developing the Victorian film, television and digital media industries.

Board Memberships

Since June 2008 Karen has been a Board member of Strange Fruit www.strangefruit.net.au, a performing arts company that produces and performs a remarkable style of work that fuses theatre, dance and circus, using the unique elevated medium of 4m high flexible sway poles.  With a world-renowned repertoire that celebrates a wide variety of themes and stories, the company has achieved near-cult status in almost every continent across the globe and performs regularly around Australia and internationally at festivals, special events and private functions.

Since January 2006 Karen has been a Board member of Chamber Made Opera www.chambermade.org.au, Australia’s leading contemporary music-theatre production company which commission and presents world premiere works by living, predominantly Australian, artists as well as maintaining an extensive national and international touring program.  Chamber Made Opera has won numerous awards including the Myer Group Award, Australia’s most prestigious performing arts accolade.  All of Chamber Made Opera’s works are recorded by ABC Radio and are regularly broadcast throughout Australia.

From February 2003 to February 2008, Karen was a Board member of the Australian International Documentary Conference www.aidc.com.au, an annual event which comprises a marketplace for Australian documentaries for national and international buyers; and a conference which creates a forum to discuss content, craft, technology and future directions for the documentary and factual programming genres.

Karen has previously been a Board member of the National Screenwriters’ Conference, an association which staged regular conferences, symposiums and events supporting, developing and promoting writers and the craft of screenwriting.  Karen has also previously been a Board member of Open Channel www.openchannel.org.au, Victoria’s screen resources organization which provides training, production support, professional development, equipment and facilities to film, television and digital media practitioners.

Contact Details
Phone:                 +61 3 9670 5000
Fax:                      +61 3 9642 0409
Email:                   kstandal@mdlaw.com.au