Paul has been in continuous practice at the Victorian Bar since 1981, after completing his Articles at Galbally and O'Bryan. He was articled to Frank Galbally.
Over his many years at the Bar Paul has gained extensive experience in a wide range of areas, including prosecuting for the Children's Protection Society, junior counsel in 2 murder trials ( R v Stewart) and in the successful Supreme Court Appeal of Spurritt v DPP [2021] VSCA 7 resulting in the acquittal of all historic sexual offences charges, Family Law, Employment Law, Building Disputes, LandLord and Tenant Disputes, Neighbour Disputes, VCAT, Federal AAT work for the AGS, general Criminal Law, County Court appeals, and Supreme Court Reviews of Magistrate Court decisions, notably C L Seward & Co. Pty Ltd v Thompson. (1992) 17 MVR 70.
His expertise extends to Motor Vehicle Collisions and Motor Traffic Prosecutions, Criminal Law, Stalking and Crimes Family Violence.
He was also the Senior Prosecutor for the Melbourne Market Authority between 2003 and 2015. He settled and finalised the 2012 By Laws of the Authority.
He is on the key insurers panel of counsel, and previously for Yarra Trams.
Finally he sits on the Australian Boxing Tribunal as required, and has mentored for the Monash Alumni Program.
Paul speaks and writes Greek fluently, having worked in Greece as a Legal Consultant in 1980.
Paul practises in common law for both plaintiffs and defendants / insurers.
Paul has particular experience in medical negligence and also appears in public liability, product liability, class actions, professional disciplinary matters for medical practitioners and appeals. He frequently appears unled or leading.
He is recommended by Doyle’s Guide in Insurance and Personal Injury Law and has been since 2019.
Before coming to the bar, Paul was a senior associate at DLA Piper. He read with Judge Patricia Riddell and his senior mentor was Ross Gillies KC.
From 27 Oct 2016, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Joanne's expertise and interest is in environmental and planning law. She appears regularly before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Planning Panels Victoria and the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Joanne has accepted briefs to represent and provide advice to the Minister for Planning, State Government departments, statutory authorities, developers & proponents, responsible & planning authorities and third party objectors. Joanne’s approach benefits from the extensive and broad experience she gained working as Legal Counsel in Local Government and as a Senior Associate specialising in commercial litigation in private practice.
In addition to her expertise in town planning, Joanne specialises in matters relating to contaminated land, wind farms, landfills, water (including review of decisions for groundwater licences and prosecutions under the Water Act), climate change, quarries, hazardous waste and noise & odour emissions
.
Joanne is the legal editor of Victorian Planning Reports and a co-author of VCAT Decisions in Planning News.
She is a member of the Victorian Bar’s Climate Change and Environmental Law Panel, the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association and the Law Institute of Victoria’s Planning and Local Government Committee.
From 12th Feb 2009, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Before commencing his career in the law, Simon spent 5 years working in Tokyo for the Australian North West Shelf Project (NWSP) Oil and Gas Division at Mitsubishi Corporation where he was engaged in economic analysis of the depletion of the NWSP oil and gas fields.
In 1993 he moved to North East England where he read Law at the University of Durham (1993-1996) and in 1997 completed his Legal Practice Certificate at the College of Law in York.
He worked for a Japanese bank in London before working in various law firms in Perth, WA. He then commenced work as an Australian Regular Army Legal Officer at the 1st Brigade in Darwin then worked as a prosecutor before he moved to William Forster Chambers in July 2005.
Simon is now a Reserve Navy Legal Officer. He is fluent in both French and Japanese. He was the Secretary/Treasurer of the NT Bar Association for several years, a member of the Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT (CLANT) Committee, member of NT Red Cross Division advisory board, chair of the International Humanitarian Law committee, a LEADR qualified Mediator and a Registered Adjudicator, Construction Contracts (Security of Payments) Act (NT). Simon completed his Master of Laws (University of Melbourne) in 2011. Simon was the honorary consul for the Kingdom of Belgium in the NT and also a visiting lecturer (military law) at Charles Darwin University.
From his extensive experience in criminal trials and appeals, Simon has developed expertise in all areas of the criminal law.
From 01 Jul 2016, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
John has a broad commercial practice with a particular interest in professional negligence matters. John also acts in matters involving contract law, property law (including leasing), insolvency and bankruptcy, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and incorporated associations.
John also acts in wills, probate and family provision matters.
John is a Nationally Accredited Mediator and accepts briefs to mediate commercial disputes, wills and probate and family provision matters and disputes involving incorporated associations.
John also has experience in sports law having been a tribunal member for the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) since 2018. John is also the chair of the Independent Integrity Division at the VAFA and has undertaken racial discrimination conciliations on behalf of the VAFA.
John is an author for the Victorian Courts civil procedure commentary published by Thomson Reuters. John graduated from the University of Melbourne with bachelors degrees in Laws (Hons) and Arts.
Cases can be found here.
From 01 May 2014, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Justin has a broad commercial practice, incorporating general corporate and commercial law, insurance, building and construction, insolvency, and class actions.
Current and recent matters include:
Commercial Matters
Insurance
Building and Construction
Practice and Procedure
Before coming to the bar, Justin was a Senior Lawyer at Clayton Utz. During his time at Clayton Utz, Justin represented clients in a variety of commercial disputes, including large product liability class actions.
Earlier, Justin was Associate to Justice Hammerschlag, head of the Commercial List of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, with first class honours, from Monash University.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
From 25 October 2019, Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Greg joined the Victorian Bar in 1991 and has a broad commercial practice which is involved in appearing in the following jurisdictions:
Sashi has a broad national practice with primary focus on Federal and State government work. She regularly appears as lead counsel in appellate and judicial review work in the Federal Court, State Supreme Courts and the High Court.
Her broad areas of practice span public law, commercial, common law and also include: law enforcement and regulatory law, administrative law, migration, taxation, corporate and personal insolvency, corporations law, constitutional law, consumer protection and trade practices, superannuation, and veterans’ law.
Sashi has held a national retainer as senior counsel since 2007 for significant law enforcement litigation and advising work on behalf of the Commonwealth. As junior counsel she was retained to conduct immigration cases for the Commonwealth in the Federal Court. She has conducted in excess of 200 migration matters including Full Court appeals involving test points in the Federal Court on behalf of the Commonwealth. Sashi has been recognised in Doyles “Best Barristers” guide. She holds a top-secret security clearance from the Commonwealth.
She is currently acting as lead counsel for the Commissioner of Police (Vic) in various Gobbo related and significant litigation pending in the Victorian Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.
She has appeared as lead counsel in (a) well in excess of 100 Full Court of the Federal Court appeals and judicial reviews (b) several State Supreme Court appeals and judicial reviews and (c) well in excess of 300 first instance matters in the Federal Court involving significant test points and statutory construction issues involving federal law matters. She has also appeared as junior to the Solicitor General of the Commonwealth in several significant High Court matters for the Commonwealth.
Some of the more notable appearances are as follows:
Full Court of the Federal Court
Lead counsel in the following significant appeals involving federal laws:
Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police v Oke (Legality of AFP search warrants tested) JJ v Board of the Australian Crime Commission; C Incorporated v Australian Crime Commission; S v Australian Crime Commission; CC Pty Ltd v Australian Crime Commission; P* v Board of the Australian Crime Commission; GG v Australian Crime Commission; and CXXXVIII v The Commonwealth (Administrative Law – statutory construction – test cases on legality of executive acts of the Commonwealth)
Significant Supreme Court matters including Intermediate Appellate Courts
Acted as lead counsel in the following significant cases:
High Court matters
Appeared with the Solicitor General of the Commonwealth in the following significant matters involving federal laws:
Acted as lead counsel in other Federal Court significant cases in which she has acted as lead counsel
Prior to joining the Bar, Sashi was an Associate to the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir Guy Green and then Senior Executive Officer and General Counsel with the Australian Government Solicitor. As General Counsel for the AGS she appeared as lead counsel in a wide range of federal law appellate and trial proceedings including public and administrative law, tax, veterans matters, migration, corporate and personal insolvency, trade practices and constitutional law matters.
Sashi’s resume including details of significant court appearance is annexed here
MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
Vice Chairperson of the Essoign Club (Victorian Bar)
Women Barristers' Association
Member of the Australian Constitutional Law Association
Asian Australian Lawyers Association
Sashi has formerly served as a member of the South Australian Bar Council and Chairperson of the SA women at the Bar Committee of the SA Bar, the Deputy Chairperson of the SA Disciplinary Appeals Tribunal and the Vic Bar Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She has been a mentor of Indigenous law students.
Katie practices predominantly in common law with a particular focus on personal injury, medical negligence and insurance law.
She appears regularly in the Magistrates', County and Supreme Courts of Victoria for both Plaintiffs and Defendants. <
Before coming to the Bar, Katie worked as a solicitor with a busy litigation practice where she advised clients in matters including workplace insurance, compensation, applications, and common law damages jury trials.
Prior to that she was Associate to His Honor Judge Saccardo of the County Court of Victoria.
Katie read with Mr David Purcell and her senior mentor is Mr James Mighell QC.
From 27 Oct 2016, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Simon came to the Bar in 1986.
Areas of Practice
He has an extensive practice in commercial litigation including litigation involving major infrastructure projects. His most prominent work areas are in contract and corporations law, major torts, equity and insolvency. He has appeared in many major cases, including in competition law (including infrastructure access cases) and commercial law, as well as in 3 Royal Commissions and in other public Inquiries.
Court Work
He appears in all State and Federal Courts.
Advice
He has a large commercial advice practice in major commercial disputes including for significant public companies and for government.
Mediation
He regularly mediates disputes in commercial matters.
Committees
He served on the Victorian Bar Council for 4 years from 2017 to 2020, including 3 years as Vice President of the Bar. He has also served as Chairman of the Readers’ Course Committee and of the Bar’s Education & Professional Development Executive. He also served on the Counsel Committee.
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David enjoys a busy mediation practice after 30 years appearing for plaintiffs and defendants in common law trials as well as other jurisdictions including racing tribunals.
His areas of expertise includes TAC claims, Medical Negligence, Insurance, Personal Injuries, Professional Negligence, Sports Law, WorkCover/ComCare and Torts.
Mediations are able to be held in his own Mediation Centre located on Level 10, 488 Bourke St Melbourne.
He is currently the Secretary of the Common Law Bar Assocation Committee and the List Secretary of Dever's List.
Simon completed his articles at DLA Phillips Fox in 2006 following which he practised in Insurance Litigation. In that time, he worked on a variety of matters predominantly acting for health professionals.
Simon also has experience in commercial litigation and has acted for a number of government departments and large insurers.
Before coming to the Bar, Simon was a solicitor with Guild Lawyers where he instructed in a broad portfolio of matters including medical defence, product liability, occupier's liability, Accident Compensation Act recovery proceedings, coronial inquests and professional disciplinary proceedings.
From 01/07/2010, Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Rachel practices in common law, family law and general commercial law.
Rachel has experience acting in a broad range of common law matters for both plaintiffs and defendants. She has a particular interest in personal injury and professional negligence claims.
She appears in the Supreme, County and Magistrates’ Courts of Victoria in damages trials, statutory recovery proceedings, serious injury applications, interlocutory applications and Workcover/TAC statutory benefits applications. She appears led and unled.
Rachel is also briefed to prepare advices, statements of claim, serious injury applications, Medical Panel referrals and interrogatories/answers to interrogatories.
Rachel has a general commercial practice, including contract claims and property disputes.
Rachel is also experienced in representing clients in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Divisions 1 and 2) in all aspects of family law litigation. She is regularly briefed to advise and appear (led and unled) in complex property and parenting matters. She is also regularly briefed for third parties in property proceedings.
Before coming to the Bar, Rachel was the senior associate to the Honourable Justice Incerti at the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Prior to working as an associate, Rachel worked as a solicitor in the family law and commercial litigation and insolvency teams at a national firm.
Rachel read with Dugald McWilliams and her senior mentor is Ross Gillies QC.
From 27 October 2017, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation
Tim is an experienced commercial barrister and appears in a wide range of commercial disputes and professional disciplinary matters. He has extensive experience
in working on cases as part of a team made up of solicitors and other counsel. He is an experienced trial advocate.
In recent years, Tim has obtained significant experience in different areas including corporations, professional disciplinary and professional negligence matters. For example, he has:
Tim has appeared in a wide variety of jurisdictions, including the State Court of Appeal and Supreme Court Trial division, in relation to insurance disputes, equity proceedings, contempt proceedings and insolvency matters.
Tim's CV, including a selection of cases in which he has been involved, may be viewed via the CV link above.
From 1 July 2008 liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Jeremy acts in commercial disputes, mainly for clients involved with the construction industry.
He is also a nationally accredited mediator and accepts mediator engagements in all areas of commercial disputes.
Commercial disputes
Jeremy's commercial disputes experience encompasses contracts, insurance (Including coverage disputes), professional indemnity/negligence, property and equity.
He is regularly briefed on behalf of insurers, especially to defend claims against insured professionals (such as architects, engineers, building surveyors, fire engineers, project managers and superintendents), or to prosecute subrogated recovery actions.
Construction disputes
Jeremy's construction experience includes disputes arising during project delivery (including bank guarantee injunctions, security of payment, protection works), and end-of-project litigation or arbitration (including claims for money and time). Recent project settings have spanned LNG pipelines, a power station, freeways, solar and wind farms, specialised pavements (ports, distribution centre, racing car track), and commercial and residential developments (including flammable cladding cases).
Jeremy has been ranked in Doyles Guide (peer reviewed) as a Leading Construction & Infrastructure Barrister (Australia) in 2017 - 2018 and 2020 - 2025 and in the Victorian market in 2015 - 2025.
From 01 Jul 2008, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Ben was admitted to practice in 2011 and called to the Bar in 2019. Prior to being called to the Bar, he practised as a solicitor in the Insurance and Corporate Risk Group at MinterEllison.
Ben has extensive experience in common law, administrative law, inquests, disciplinary and professional negligence proceedings. He has acted for state government entities, private companies, hospitals, doctors, manufacturers, as well as individuals.
Ben read with Robert Harper. His senior mentor was Jack Rush QC.
Matters in which Ben has been briefed include (non-exhaustively):
Ben is a member of the Common Law Bar Association.
From 25 October 2019, Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Senior Associate at Phillips Fox (Commercial Litigation). Associate to Chief Justice Mason, High Court of Australia.
From 10th April 2014, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
The Hon G (Tony) Pagone AM KC has extensive expertise across a range of legal disciplines, including commercial, taxation, administrative, constitutional, public and human rights law, as well as equity, wills, and estates law. His commercial practice encompassed high-value and complex disputes in revenue, banking and finance, insolvency, corporations law, and regulatory matters.
Tony is also an experienced mediator and arbitrator, with extensive involvement in the resolution of commercial and taxation disputes, both in Australia and internationally. His judicial background, combined with his specialist expertise in complex commercial and taxation matters, allows him to bring exceptional insight and authority to alternative dispute resolution. He is a member of Lincoln’s Inn in London and a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.
Admitted to legal practice in Victoria in 1980, Tony signed the Roll of Counsel in 1985 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel for Victoria in 1996. He served as a trial judge on the Supreme Court of Victoria from 2006, where he also became the judge in charge of the Commercial Court. In 2013, Tony was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia, where he was the judge in charge of the taxation national practice area. His published decisions span a wide array of legal fields, including finance, commerce, deceased estates, and migration, along with arbitral decisions and practice.
Tony retired from the Federal Court of Australia in 2018 and has since returned to private practice. He continues to be frequently briefed on significant legal issues and disputes for leading corporations and government bodies. Between 2002 and 2004, he served as Special Counsel to the Australian Taxation Office. He was also the chair of the Royal Commission into Aged Care (2019–2021) and conducted a review for Melbourne Water into a major flood event on the Maribyrnong River.
Tony holds a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University (1979), a Master of Laws from Cambridge University (1983), and a Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the University of Melbourne (2014), awarded for his research and published work on anti-tax-avoidance provisions.
He maintains strong international professional and academic connections. Tony is a Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School, where he lectures in postgraduate programs. He was also President of the International Association of Judges, a former board member of the International Association of Tax Judges, and Chair of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.
Raph practises in torts, professional liability, class actions, judicial review, insurance and coronial law. He has significant experience in matters involving complex claims against legal practitioners, health practitioners, hospitals, product manufacturers and statutory authorities. He is regularly briefed in coronial inquests and in matters involving challenges to determinations by coroners under the Coroners Act 2008. He has experience in matters involving the Sheriff of Victoria. He has appeared in litigation involving the parens patriae jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He has significant experience appearing in court both led and unled.
Recent matters in which he has been briefed include the following:
Various tort claims including false imprisonment, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and nuisance.
From 24 Oct 2013, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Hayley has a broad insurance, administrative and injuries practice, appearing in all Victorian and Tasmanian Courts. She acts across the common law landscape, with a core practice in medical and tort law. She regularly provides advice in indemnity and coverage disputes, as well as policy interpretation. Hayley is frequently briefed to advise on procedural issues and appear in interlocutory applications.
In addition to her background in insurance litigation, Hayley has a particular interest in appellate matters, judicial review of Medical Panel determinations, sports law and bioethics.
Hayley holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from Monash University.
Hayley read with Ben Jellis SC and her Senior Mentor is Dr Michael Rush KC.
In 2025, Hayley was named in Doyle’s Guide as in the Leading category for Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel.
Her recent cases include:
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