Stephanie Carmela Batsakis Brenker has a broad civil practice, practising in commercial law, public law and tort.
Before coming to the Bar, Stephanie was an Associate to the Hon Justice M M Gordon AC at the High Court of Australia.
Stephanie also practised in London and Tokyo as a solicitor in commercial litigation and arbitration: first, as a graduate solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP and then as an associate in general commercial, and banking and finance, litigation at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, where she attended on an Allan Myers QC Scholarship. She also holds two first class honours degrees from the University of Melbourne: an undergraduate degree in Arts, which she attended as a Melbourne National Scholar, and a Juris Doctor degree in Law, where she was awarded the Joan Rosanove QC Memorial Prize.
Stephanie read with Meg O’Sullivan KC and her senior mentor was Rowena Orr KC.
Selected cases:
Class actions (commercial and common law)
Commercial (other)
Public law
Common law (other)
Awards:
Daniel Pollak Readers’ Award for first-year pro bono advocacy (2021).
From 8 May 2020, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation
Daniel is a commercial barrister with a practice focussing on insurance, corporations, equity and trusts, professional negligence, consumer protection, trade practices, and building and construction law. He is regularly briefed to appear in State and Federal jurisdictions, both unled and as a junior, and provides practical and considered advice to clients involved in complex disputes.
Daniel commenced his legal career at Arnold Bloch Leibler in Melbourne, gaining a strong foundation in commercial law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne.
Daniel's approach to practice is grounded in a clear understanding of the law and a commitment to delivering results through careful case preparation and thoughtful advocacy. Whether working independently or as part of a team, he is focused on providing clients with clear, strategic advice and effective representation.
Committee positions
Recent matters
Commercial and Corporations Law
Insurance
Building and Construction
Consumer Law
Trusts and Equity
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation. The information referred to above has been supplied by the barrister concerned. Neither Victorian Bar Inc nor the barrister's clerk have independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the information and neither accepts any responsibility in that regard.
Examples of recent matters:
Perry was Associate to the Hon. Justice Susan Crennan of the High Court of Australia in 2008-2009.
Before his Associateship, Perry was a lawyer in the litigation department at Allens Arthur Robinson. In addition to general commercial litigation, his work included construction and insurance litigation as well as insurance advice. While at Allens, Perry also spent time in mergers and acquisitions, where he worked on various takeover bids and schemes of arrangement.
Perry has a First Class Honours law degree and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne, and was awarded the Spero Wilson Memorial Scholarship for the student placed second on the Final Law Honours List. He is an author of the text Interpretation (3rd ed, 2024), which covers statutory interpretation, constitutional interpretation, the interpretation of private legal documents, interpretation of court orders and the rules of precedent. He has been published in national and international law journals, including in the areas of insurance, arbitration, private international law and constitutional law. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.
Perry is the editor of the New South Wales Law Reports.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Practises extensively in Intellectual Property, Commercial Law and Mediation (both as mediator and counsel).
Also practises in Property, Information Technology, Trade Practices, Communications Law and Entertainment areas as well as general commercial work including Contractual, Landlord and Tenant, Building, Property, Trusts, Securities, Probate, Corporations and also Immigration, Defamation and Industrial/Employment.
From 09 Oct 2014, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Available as a mediator.
Tony has a broad practice in commercial and public law. He has appeared in numerous complex trials, appeals and arbitrations.
Tony appears in Federal Courts and State Supreme Courts.
Professional Associations: International Council for Commercial Arbitration
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Jack has a broad practice, focussing on industrial and employment law (including discrimination) matters, administrative law matters, commercial law matters and common law matters.
Jack is an experienced trial and appellate advocate who appears in courts and tribunals in Victoria and nationally. He also appears as an advocate before military tribunals on behalf of members of the Australian Defence Force, and for parties in connection with Royal Commissions and inquiries.
Jack has particular expertise in all matters involving the interpretation and application of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and other industrial and anti-discrimination legislation; and applications for judicial review under the Fair Work Act. He has acted for private individuals and corporations (including ASX listed corporations), the Commonwealth and the State of Victoria, other States and their agencies, regulators and other government bodies.
Jack has appeared for clients across a broad range of industries including health and aged care, education, manufacturing, construction, transport and logistics, and banking and finance.
Before coming to the Bar in 2007, Jack served as an associate to Callaway JA of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He read with Stephen O’Meara (now O’Meara J). Jack has mentored four readers: Emma Harold, Patrick Tiernan, Niko Kordos and Ben Holding.
Jack is a former member of the Victorian Bar Council and has served on other Committees of the Bar. He is also a member of the Industrial, Commercial, Common Law and Military Bar Associations.
Examples of cases in which Jack has appeared can be found below.
For further information about his availability, fee rates and other information, please contact his clerk on 9225 7999 or by email to dever@vicbar.com.au.
Cases in which Jack has appeared
(Jack’s client is in bold text)
Ambulance Victoria v Richardson [2024] FWCFB 366 (appeal)
Application by Mining and Energy Union re Goonyella Riverside Mine [2025] FWCFB 134 (arbitration; appearing for the Commonwealth Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations)
Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union v Meat Inspectors Pty Ltd [2025] FedCFamC2G 1128 (trial)
Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union v Helloworld Travel Limited, Viva Holidays II Limited [2021] FWC 6535 (arbitration)
Australian Workers' Union v Chemring Australia Pty Ltd [2019] FCA 750 (interlocutory application)
Blue Rock Australia Pty Ltd v Kaushik [2025] FCA 176 (interlocutory application)
Buckeridge v Littlepay Pty Ltd [2023] FCA 1036 (trial)
Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Geocon Constructors (ACT) Pty Ltd [2020] FWCFB 5208 (appeal)
Ermel v DuluxGroup (Australia) Pty Ltd (No 2) [2015] FCA 17; (2015) 67 AILR 102-332 (trial)
Ezy Accounting 123 Pty Ltd v Fair Work Ombudsman [2018] FCAFC 134; (2018) 282 IR 86; (2018) 360 ALR 236 (with Jenny Firkin; appeal)
Gender-based undervaluation – priority awards review [2025] FWCFB 74 (arbitration)
Johnson v CUB Pty Ltd (2021) 287 FCR 520; (2021) 313 IR 44; [2021] FCAFC 219 (judicial review)
Lacson v Australian Postal Corporation (2019) 268 FCR 314; (2019) 284 IR 449; [2019] FCA 51 (trial)
Larobina v Melbourne Health trading as Royal Melbourne Hospital [2024] FCA 1393 (interlocutory application)
Laverton Cold Storage Pty Ltd v National Union of Workers [2018] VSC 503 (interlocutory application)
Maric v Ericsson Australia Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 452; (2020) 293 IR 442 (trial)
MCLT v Director-General of Security [2018] AATA 1359 (merits review)
Monash Health v Singh [2023] FCAFC 166; (2023) 327 IR 196 (appeal)
Nuttall v Hatch Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 339 (trial)
Perpetual v Epplett & Ors [2025] VSC 193 (interlocutory application)
Printing Industry Association of Australia v Jurkin [2018] FCA 1001 (appeal)
Qube Ports Pty Limited v Mr Rudy Burkhardt [2022] FWCFB 65 (appeal)
Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 28) [2022] FCA 115 (interlocutory application)
Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd & Ors (No 40) [2022] FCA 1614 (interlocutory application)
Roohizadegan v TechnologyOne Ltd (No 2) [2020] FCA 1407; (2020) 301 IR 1 (trial)
Serpanos v Commonwealth of Australia [2022] FCA 1226 (trial)
TechnologyOne v Roohizadegan (2021) 309 IR 262; [2021] FCAFC 137 (led by Bret Walker SC, with Rowan Minson; appeal)
TIOBE Pty Ltd T/A TIOBE v Chen [2018] FWCFB 5726; (2018) 282 IR 1 (appeal)
Transport Workers’ Union of Australia v Linfox Armaguard Pty Ltd T/A Armaguard [2023] FWC 204 (arbitration)
Von Schoeler v Allen Taylor and Company Ltd (t/as Boral Timber) (2020) 273 FCR 189; (2020) 376 ALR 110; [2020] FCAFC 13 (appeal)
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Robert practises in occupational health and safety, environmental and other regulatory prosecutions, personal injury, employment and industrial law, criminal law, professional disciplinary proceedings and coronial inquests in all courts and tribunals.
He was recognised in the 2025 Doyle's Guide rankings as the Market Leader in the field of workplace health and safety law. In recent years he has appeared in many of the most significant cases in the area at both trial and appellate level, including all of the first three workplace manslaughter prosecutions conducted in Victoria.
He specialises in areas involving the intersection of the criminal law with business: occupational health and safety, competition law, corporations law and environmental regulation offences. He appears in both prosecutions and civil penalty proceedings at trial and appellate level, at inquests and disciplinary proceedings, and in the Fair Work Commission and other employment law tribunals.
He also appears in state and federal courts in personal injury cases, industrial cases, employment contract cases, general protections disputes, sexual harassment and discrimination cases. He regularly appears for players at the AFL tribunal.
Experience
Occupational Health and Safety/Regulatory Offences
Robert acts for companies charged with offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and similar legislation, in contested cases and pleas. He has appeared with success in numerous jury trials. He has appeared in a number of the significant cases in the field in the Court of Appeal and the High Court.
He is available to advise on incident management, analysing briefs of evidence, and whether a case should be contested or pleas of guilty entered.
He has also acted in prosecutions brought under the Environment Protection Act, the Building Act, the Planning Act, and Food Act, and the Gambling Regulation Act and has been briefed by the Victorian Workcover Authority, the Victorian Commissioner for Gambling and Liquor Regulation and several municipal councils to prosecute offences.
Industrial and Employment
Robert has acted for companies such as John Holland, Schweppes, Nissan Australia, Esso, DP World and Baiada Poultry in major industrial cases in the Supreme Court, the federal courts and the Fair Work Commission. He has also appeared for both employers and employees in employment contract disputes in State courts, unfair dismissal cases in the Fair Work Commission and underpayment and general protections claims in the Federal Circuit Court. He has appeared in a number of significant matters at first instance and on appeal, including in the High Court, for the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner.
Personal Injury
Since taking silk Robert has developed a practice in personal injury trial work and accepts briefs to appear in jury trials, causes and appeals.
Inquests
Robert regularly appears in the Coroners Court and has represented the Chief Commissioner of Police, employers, and families of deceased persons in that jurisdiction.
Criminal Law
Robert is an experienced jury trial advocate with particular experience in Corporations Act prosecutions, fraud, and major drug prosecutions.. He is also experienced in conducting general criminal law cases.
He has also appeared in the Court of Appeal in serious criminal matters on conviction and sentence appeals.
He is the former author/editor of the online edition of Ross on Crime.
From 12 Feb 2009, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Angus has appeared in the High Court, Federal Court and state Supreme and County Courts. He regularly advises and appears in relation to complex commercial disputes. Angus is listed as one of Australia's leading class actions junior counsel in Doyles Guide.
Angus's published appearances include:
Angus previously served as Associate to the Hon Justice David J Ashley AM at the Victorian Court of Appeal. Angus also worked in commercial disputes at Allens Linklaters and in the USA at Kaggle Inc (a Google subsidiary) managing contracting, intellectual property, and business development. Angus holds honours and masters degrees in law from the University of Melbourne.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Judicial Background
The Hon Marilyn Warren AC QC is the former Chief Justice of Victoria (2003-2017).
At the time she stepped down she was the longest serving of the then state and
federal Chief Justices.
Earlier she was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria (1998-2003) including
sitting as the Judge in Charge of the Commercial List and the Corporations List (now
combined as the Commercial Court). She presided over hundreds of commercial
trials and appeals.
Arbitrations
The former Chief Justice presently sits as a domestic and international arbitrator.
She is a member of the Dawson Chambers Senior Arbitration Group.
She is co-author with Croft and Stamboulakis of the major arbitration text,
International and Australian Commercial Arbitration (LexisNexis 2021).
As a former elite athlete (Squash), and former sports appellate tribunal member, she
also sits on international and national sports arbitrations and mediations.
Academia
She is a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow of Monash University and a member
of the Monash University Global Leaders’ Summit.
As a Professor, she is involved in teaching advanced commercial law, international
arbitration and transnational dispute resolution in the Monash University Faculty of
Law postgraduate programs.
She was the Judge in Residence 2020-21 at the University of Melbourne Law
School.
Professional Life
The former Chief Justice has been a member of the Victorian Bar since 1985. She
was appointed a Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 1997. At the Bar she practised in
commercial and administrative law including environmental, town planning and local
government law.
Appointments
Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (2006-2017)
Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
Former Chair: Courts Council of Victoria; Judicial Commission of Victoria; Judicial
College of Victoria; Victoria Law Foundation; Council of Legal Education; and
Council of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine
Founding Member of the Board of Governors of the Asian Business Law Institute
Contact c/- Dever’s List, Sir Owen Dixon Chambers, 205 William St, Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia, 3000; telephone +61 3 92257999;
email jdever@vicbar.com.au or pdever@vicbar.com.au
Experience
The Hon. Susan Crennan AC is available to be appointed to as a Mediator.
Please contact one of her Barrister’s Clerks for any further information.
The Hon Ross Robson QC was admitted in 1972, signing the Victorian Bar Roll in 1973.
He had a very busy practice as a barrister and later as a silk, appearing in some of the important trials in and out of Victoria.
In addition to his practice Ross was chairman and director of Barristers Chambers Limited and Barfund Pty Ltd and a trustee of the Victorian Bar Superannuation Fund for over twenty years.
He was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2007, where he was the Head of Corporations List until 2016.
Ross returns to the Victorian Bar to provide strategic advice to clients and as a Mediator or Arbitrator.
Audrey practices in all areas of common law, with a particular focus on personal injury (including industrial accidents, transport accidents, institutional abuse, public liability, and medical negligence). She has special interests in health and medical law, professional indemnity, and intentional torts.
Audrey has experience acting in appeal and judicial review proceedings.
Before coming to the Bar, Audrey was a Senior Associate at Russell Kennedy where she acted on behalf of the Victorian WorkCover Authority and Transport Accident Commission in the defence of statutory benefits, serious injury, and common law damages claims.
As a solicitor, she developed a particular expertise in psychiatric injury claims, industrial deafness and occupational disease claims, and complex multi-defendant matters. She has also undertaken training in the interpretation and application of the American Medical Association Guides 4th Edition.
Audrey holds a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University. In February 2023, she was named a Rising Star by Australasian Lawyer.
Audrey read with Matthew Hooper SC and her senior mentor is Michelle Britbart KC.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Chris practises mainly in commercial law, equity and trusts law, and public law. He also has experience in anti-discrimination matters. Chris has advised and appeared on behalf of corporations, government bodies and individuals in a range of courts and tribunals, at both trial and appellate level.
Before coming to the Bar, Chris worked as a senior associate to the Honourable Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC and the Honourable Justice Melanie Sloss at the Supreme Court of Victoria, as a solicitor at Allens working on tax and intellectual property litigation, and as an associate to the Honourable Justice Susan Kenny AM at the Federal Court of Australia.
Chris completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours at the University of Melbourne, where he graduated second in his LLB cohort. He is proficient in French and spent an exchange semester at the Université Jean Moulin Lyon III during his studies. In 2017, Chris completed a Bachelor of Civil Law at Balliol College, Oxford.
Chris is deputy co-chair of the Victorian Bar's Pro Bono Committee and a reporter for the Victorian Reports. He read with Jonathan Kirkwood SC.
Matters in which Chris has been briefed include:
Commercial and corporations law
Equity and trusts law
Taxation law
Public law
Discrimination and employment/industrial law
Advice
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Raph has a broad civil practice, at both trial and appellate level. He practises primarily in torts, class actions, judicial review, insurance and coronial law. He has significant experience in a wide variety of common law matters, as well as experience in dealing with issues of choice of law and maritime law. He has significant experience appearing in court both led and unled.
Recent matters in which he has been briefed include the following:
From 24 Oct 2013, liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Fiona has a broad national practice as an advocate and adviser, in private and public law matters.
She practises principally in taxation law (federal and state), commercial law, regulatory law and administrative law, at trial and appellate level.
Fiona has previously been listed as a leading administrative and public law barrister in Victoria in Doyle's Guide.
Fiona is a former Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (2012-2017). She is a member of the International Association of Tax Judges.
Fiona is also a former Senior Fellow at Melbourne Law School (2002, 2004-2005).
Since 1987 I have practised in the Supreme and Federal Courts (at both trial and appellate level) and in arbitrations involving complex commercial disputes, banking/insolvency, corporations matters, Trade Practices Act/Australian Consumer Law matters, equity, partnership and property matters joint venture disputes, and various regulatory authority disputes.
Over the years, I have acted for many private litigants and public bodies, ASX listed entities, financial institutions, liquidators and regulators including ASIC, ACCC and APRA. I have appeared in various proceedings arising out of corporate collapses including the fraud perpetrated on the Bank of Melbourne; the collapse of the Bell Group Companies (and Bond Corporation Holdings Limited); Lehman Brothers, the Westpoint Group, the Pyramid Building Society Group, the Estate Mortgage Group, Ansett Airlines;
and the Harris Scarfe Group and others; the Waterfront Dispute between Patrick Stevedores Pty Ltd and the Maritime Union of Australia. I have regularly led teams of counsel and solicitors in complex litigation.
Doyle’s Guide 2016 – 2024
https://doylesguide.com/leading-insolvency-restructuring-senior-counsel-victoria-2024/
Legal 500
https://www.legal500.com/c/australia-bar/commercial-disputes/silks#2024%20Silks
Other Appointments/Interests
President Victorian Bar Council 2014- 2015
Past Chairman of Victorian Bar Audit & Finance Committee; Past Member Ethics
Committee of the Victorian Bar; Counsel Committee of the Victorian Bar.
Member of Practicing Past Chairman Committee Victorian Bar
Past Director of Victoria Law Foundation (2019 – 2014)
AOC Appeals Tribunal for the 2020 Australian Olympic Team; Rowing – Permanent
Chair, Rowing Australia Selection Appeals Board since 2017
Director Legal Super Pty Ltd (2021 - )
Chairman Legal Super Investment Committee (2024 - )
From 18/06/2009, Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Simon Molesworth delivered his final judgment in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales in May 2019. He was first commissioned to be a Judge of the LEC from January 2017. The Land and Environment Court of NSW was the first specialist environmental superior court in the world, when established in 1980. The judges of the Court have the same rank, title, status and precedence as the Judges of the Supreme Court of NSW. The Court’s jurisdiction includes merit review, judicial review, civil enforcement, criminal prosecution, criminal appeals and civil claims about planning, environmental, land, mining, water, heritage, valuation, compensation, Aboriginal land, tree disputes and related matters.
Molesworth, who in 2020 marks twenty-five years as a QC, had remained in active practice until his judicial appointment, regularly appearing before the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal and in the Supreme Court in Victoria in cases within his specialty. He is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in the fields of environmental law, heritage law, natural resources law and the law and policy relating to climate change. After initially practicing as a solicitor (from 1978) with Blake & Riggall (now Ashursts), Molesworth became a barrister in Victoria in 1984 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1995.
Molesworth, qualified and experienced as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, has led delegations to successive United Nations COP conferences. His advisory work increasingly focuses on climate change strategies, corporate governance, risk management and corporate social responsibility. Molesworth is uniquely positioned to advise corporate Australia and public sector entities on the development of strategies and policies, together with related risk and compliance issues, in a world required to adapt to and mitigate climate change. With experience chairing commissions of inquiry and a wealth of experience chairing and participating in consultative committees, Molesworth is well-skilled to be a mediator.
Amongst his previous legal appointments Molesworth, in the 1980s, was a Senior Legal Member of the Planning Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Victoria and a Senior Legal Member of the previous Victorian Planning Appeals Board. He was also in 1994 the Victorian State Mining Warden, a statutory appointment under the then Mineral Resources Development Act. He has chaired commissions of inquiry and advised successive governments and their authorities on legislative reform.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.
Gavan Griffith QC is counsel at the Australian and English (call at Lincoln’s Inn 1969) bars. He has over 30 years seniority holding 8 Commissions as Queen’s Counsel. He has had extensive practice as a commercial, constitutional and public international counsel, and since his return to private practice in 1998, has practiced principally from his London chambers, usually presiding as a member of international commercial and investment treaty dispute tribunals as Arbitrator.
After 20 years in private practice, he held office for 14 years from 1984 as the Solicitor-General of Australia. As Australia’s Second Law Officer, and pleaded some 250 constitutional and other cases before the entire bench of the High Court of Australia, as ex officio the leader of the Australian bars. He also has appeared in other superior appeal courts, including Malaysia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
He was Agent and Counsel of Australia at the International Court of Justice in the several cases of Nauru v Australia, Portugal v Australia and the Nuclear Test Cases and also in two references by the WHA as to the legality of Nuclear Weapons.
He also represented Australia at the General Assembly, including the 6th Committee, Australian delegate and sometime Vice-Chairman of UNCITRAL and to The Hague Conference 1984 to 1997 and recurrent terms as member and sometime Chairman of the ITELSAT Panel of Legal Experts, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and other international bodies.
In 1994 to 1995 he was seconded as Special Counsel to the United
Nations, New York, to write a report, since implemented, for the reform of the
legislative structure of the UN.