Dispute Resolution - Australia
What the team is known for
Johnson Winter Slattery operates an independent team, offering public and private sector clients nationwide coverage of contentious corporate matters and maintaining a close focus on competition, construction, energy and resources, insolvency and regulatory issues. It is prominent on large-scale class action mandates, particularly those involving third-party funders, acting for both applicants and defendants, and further noted for its handling of matters involving questions of directors' and officers' liability. The team is also valued for its ability to draw upon the resources of the wider firm and as an independent choice for inbound referrals. Noted clients include 3M, VicForests and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Strengths
"The team is very deep and will go above and beyond to understand my business subtleties."
"The team is smart, hard-working, diligent and strategic."
"They are always available and responsive."
Work highlights
Johnson Winter Slattery represented Google in a High Court claim concerning search engine results which linked to defamatory material.
Notable practitioners
Paul Reidy co-heads the Johnson Winter Slattery disputes team from the Sydney office, being himself particularly well known for his management of class action mandates and representation of individual executives facing regulatory investigation or prosecution. "His advice is just unbelievably good, and he just fights, fights and fights, unbelievably. I could not speak more highly of him."
Robert Johnston stands out for his substantial involvement in superior court litigation, much of which is prominent class action work conducted in the Federal Court and New South Wales Supreme Court, his experience in this latter sphere dating back to the very earliest days of the class action regime. "He has great ideas and is always across the details."
Frances Dreyer is based in Johnson Winter Slattery's Sydney office and is regularly mandated on litigation matters of considerable scale, with a particular strength in class action disputes across a range of industry sectors. "Frances Dreyer was fantastic. She is a relatively young partner who is highly intelligent, got across very complex evidence and had a fairly exhaustive understanding of the whole case."
