Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Dispute Resolution: The Bar - Australia
What the Team is Known For
List A Barristers is a leading Melbourne list, run from offices in Owen Dixon Chambers, and is highlighted for taking on hardcore, high-level commercial litigation, being regularly reported by interviewees to be one of the most prestigious lists in Victoria. This judgement is supported by the list's standout position in these rankings. Its more than 150 members, who advise and advocate on issues arising in Australian and many foreign jurisdictions, include one star of the Victorian Bar and many other highly regarded advocates offering cutting-edge expertise in, among others, the competition, construction, employment, insolvency, intellectual property and tax arenas. One source noted that they are the "preeminent list of Victorian Barristers". Deputy clerk Caroline Kaskani is a key contact.
Notable practitioners
Allan Myers KC continues to be identified as one of the most respected practitioners at the Victorian Bar in general and as one of Australia's pre-eminent appellate silks in particular, with sources emphasising his commercial astuteness and the weight his submissions carry with the Bench. In addition to his appearances on high-profile, high-stakes domestic litigation mandates, he has impressive knowledge of the international arbitration scene.
Neil Young is an outstanding competition counsel.
I find her to be absolutely excellent, commercial and friendly.
Andrew Barraclough is a talented barrister who has been highlighted for his skills in the area of competition law, for which he is highly regarded.
Andrew is a very prominent senior junior in competition law. He is a careful and strategic thinker.
He is an excellent competition lawyer and has substantial litigation experience in the competition space.
The undisputed leading construction silk in Australia is Jeffery Gleeson KC.
John de Wijn KC maintains a highly specialised, revenue-focused practice, covering both Federal and State taxes, stamp duty and superannuation, and conducted on behalf of both the ATO and prominent private sector clients.
Wendy Harris KC is particularly well-known for her handling of matters in the banking and finance and insurance spheres, her prominence in the securities class action space, and her very busy appellate practice.
Jennifer Batrouney KC has practised at the Bar for some 30 years, accumulating in that time experience across the full spectrum of tax work and focusing particularly strongly on income tax, GST and superannuation issues. She is active on behalf of both corporate and public sector bodies - the latter at both State and Commonwealth levels - and she also specialises in advising charitable bodies on their own taxation concerns.
Marc Felman KC maintains a specialisation in employment, industrial relations and discrimination law which he developed during his days as a solicitor, and applies his expertise on behalf of employers, employees and a variety of State and Commonwealth government bodies. He offers particularly extensive experience in the handling of employment or industrial relations issues arising in the construction sphere.
Matthew Collins provides a masterclass in advocacy. He understands the judges so well and is really good with witnesses.
Matt Collins is really excellent silk and is leading in the defamation space.
Nicholas Hopkins KC maintains a broad commercial practice within which construction matters feature with significant frequency for sources to identify him as one of the leading practitioners in that space at the Victorian Bar. He offers extensive State and Commonwealth Superior Court experience and is also a noted arbitration counsel and arbitrator.
Raini Zambelli is well-regarded in the insolvency sphere. Her domestic caseload is informed by extensive experience of insolvency-related litigation in numerous foreign jurisdictions and by time spent as an in-house counsel in the financial services sector.