Barristers – Appellate

Mr Douglas Campbell KC was called to the Queensland Bar in 1982 and appointed Silk in November 2004.

Douglas has broad practice encompassing:

• Appellate
• Commercial Law
• Common law/Personal Injuries
• Equity
• Inquests and Inquiries
• Public Administration

Douglas has a particular interest and substantial experience in Class Actions and was recognised as a leading class action barrister – Australia in 2023.

Brett Charrington KC has been in private practice at the Queensland Bar since April 1996. After initially conducting a diverse practice that included commercial, family, tort and criminal law, he has specialized in common law/personal injury litigation since 2000.  His particular areas of specialty include dust disease litigation, institutional child abuse litigation and assault cases involving state employees such as prison officers, hospital workers and police officers.

Brett regularly conducts trials and contested applications in the Supreme and District Courts and appeals in the Court of Appeal. He has appeared in the High Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of Victoria and in two Commissions of Inquiry/Royal Commissions (Equine Influenza 2007/2008 and Aged Care 2019).

Dr Pip Coore practices predominately in the areas of equity, trusts and succession law.

Pip regularly advises on a range of estate matters, including:

• lost and informal will applications;
• the interpretation and administration of wills and trusts;
• applications by personal representatives and trustees for judicial advice and directions;
• the removal of personal representatives;
• solemn form probate proceedings; and
• family provision applications.

She also appears at mediations in succession law matters.

Pip has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Wills and Estates Litigation Junior Counsel in Queensland.

While Pip specialises in equity, trusts and estate law, she has also appeared in taxation appeals and administrative law matters.

Pip holds a DPhil in Law and a Master of Studies in Legal Research from the University of Oxford.  She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (Graduate Entry) (Hons) from Queensland University of Technology and a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Communication, majoring in Public Relations, from the University of Queensland.

Prior to being called to the Bar, Pip was the Senior Associate to the Honourable Justice Edelman of the High Court of Australia.

Pip is a member of the STEP Queensland Committee, the Fellowship Fund Inc. Committee and the Graduate Women Queensland Committee.

Simon was called to the Queensland Bar in 1983.  He was made King’s Counsel in 1993.

He is a member of North Quarter Lane Chambers, one of Queensland’s preeminent Commercial Barristers Chambers.  Simon also has chambers in Sydney.

Simon has a wide ranging commercial practice spanning diverse areas such as:

• Competition Law (and is regularly briefed by the ACCC)
• Contract Disputes
• Corporate Law
• Insurance and Professional Indemnity (including acting for lawyers, engineers, builders, surveyors and architects).

He appears regularly in complex commercial proceedings in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia and in the Federal Court of Australia.

Simon also has a substantial appellate practice, including in the High Court of Australia.

Simon is renowned for his cross-examination skills, earning him, most recently, recognition in the following Doyle’s Guide categories:

• Leading Professional Indemnity Senior Counsel QLD 2023
• Leading Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section Counsel QLD 2023
• Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Senior Counsel 2023

Geoffrey Diehm KC commenced practice as a barrister at the Brisbane bar in 1991. He took silk in 2008.

He holds an LLB and an LLM from the Queensland University of Technology.

He practices in health law, insurance and personal injuries law, public and administrative law, commercial law and succession law. He has regularly appeared in Federal and State superior courts as well as the Land Court, the Coroners Court and various tribunals.

He has extensive experience representing hospitals, medical practitioners and other health care providers in civil proceedings, administrative proceedings including disciplinary proceedings, and in inquests. He has appeared for a variety of clients in a number of Commissions of Inquiry. He regularly acts for and advises governments and agencies of government, corporations, insurers and individuals in a wide range of matters.

He is an experienced trial and appellate counsel and has been involved in very many mediations, as well as having acted as a mediator and an arbitrator.

Richard specialises in insurance, common law and statutory liability, commercial law, real property and confiscation of criminal profits. He is a nationally accredited mediator and has mediated over 700 disputes in all spheres of the law.

He has been in private practice as a barrister in Brisbane since 1982 and took silk in 1998.

He has appeared in many leading cases construing the pre-procedural and civil liability legislation of Queensland and was co-Senior Counsel assisting the Queensland Public Hospitals Commission of Inquiry conducted by the Honourable Geoffrey Davies AO.

Richard is Chair of the Bar Association of Queensland’s General Litigation Committee. From 2009 to 2011, he was President of the Bar Association of Queensland, a Director of the Law Council of Australia and Member of the Board of the Australian Bar Association. Prior appointments also include Chair of a stakeholder reference group appointed by the Queensland Attorney General, which reported to the Queensland Government as to options available to homogenise Queensland pre-proceeding personal injury process regimes.

Richard is a joint author of Annotated Civil Liability Legislation Queensland published by LexisNexis and a joint author of and principal contributor to Civil Liability Australia, a national loose-leaf and electronic LexisNexis service, each addressing the Ipp legislation in the states and territories. He is also a member of the editorial board and contributor to the Civil Liability newsletter, also published by LexisNexis.

In 2014, the Australian Insurance Law Association awarded Richard its annual Insurance Law Prize.

Adrian was admitted to the Bar in 1997, having before that practised for some 14 years as a solicitor, most of which time he was a partner in one of the prominent national firms. He took silk in 2015.

He is a member of Hemmant’s List and has chambers in Brisbane and Perth. He holds a Master of Laws from the University of Queensland.

His practice extends to a broad range of commercial litigation, arbitration and mediation, including Admiralty, maritime and aviation law, industrial and employment law, commercial and professional indemnity insurance, infrastructure and resources.

He has long experience in international and domestic arbitration, mostly as legal representative for parties, but including as arbitrator. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of ACICA, a panel member of AMTAC and of ICC Australia and a supporting member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association and has acted in a number of maritime arbitrations conducted in London by arbitrators appointed under LMAA Rules. He is also a member of ICCA and has acted in arbitrations conducted under a number of other regimes, including ICC Rules.

He has served on and chaired many professional committees and delivered a number of papers on a variety of areas of law. He is presently a member of the International Committee of the Australian Bar Association and of the International Law and Professional Conduct Committees of the Queensland Bar.

He is listed in Doyle’s Guide as one of the Leading Transport Barristers in Australia and as one of the Leading Employment & WHS Barristers in Queensland.

Ms Jessica Goldie was first called to the Bar in February 2012.

She practises primarily in criminal law, having appeared in over a hundred serious and complex criminal jury trials primarily in regional Queensland.

Jess’ extensive advocacy and legal experience saw her appointment to the Legal Aid Queensland Complex Criminal Case Panel in 2019.

Jess has also appeared in a range of hearings in both the Supreme and District Courts of Queensland, including sentence hearings, legal applications and bail applications. She also regularly appears in domestic violence matters.

Jess was previously employed with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions from 2009 to 2018 and was commissioned as a permanent Crown Prosecutor in 2011 (being, at the time, one of the youngest Barristers to hold such a commission in Australia).

In 2016, Jess was promoted to the position of Senior Crown Prosecutor and was head of the Toowoomba Chambers of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She was permanently appointed to the position in 2017, where she remained until her resignation in 2018 to commence her career at the private bar.

In addition to her established criminal law practice, Jess also practices in the areas of:

• Regulatory and Disciplinary matters
• Inquests and Commissions of Inquiry
• Abuse Law

Jess is actively involved in her local Toowoomba community and within the legal community. She previously served on the Board of the Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network and on the committee for the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland as the Southern Regional Representative.

Jess is also regularly involved with the University of Southern Queensland Mooting Competitions and is a member of Zonta Garden City.

Stephen has been practicing since 1990 and was called to the Bar in 2016.

Over more than three decades Stephen has practiced broadly, but his particular areas of interest are:

• Family Law (including Domestic Violence)
• Criminal Law & Professional Discipline
• Administrative & Public Law

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Laws and is also a qualified and experienced costs assessor having been appointed to the Supreme Courts panel in December 2008.

Other relevant affiliations and positions held by Stephen are:

• Member Bar Association of Queensland
• Member of LawRight

His present practice calls for him to appear regularly in the courts of Queensland, N.S.W. and Victoria in matters including:

• The conduct of appeals as sole Counsel (unled) before the Court of Appeal and the Full Court of the Family Court. (These appearances include the following reported cases: Yein & Zihao (2019) FLC ¶ 93-889; Allen v Ruddy Tomlins & Baxter(2019) 1 QR 225; Beckham & Quarrington (2019) FLC ¶93-913; Weng & Wah and Ors (2019) FLC ¶93-933; and McLaren v Wiltshire Lawyers Pty Ltd [2019] 3 QR 158.)
• Complex property and parenting trials in the Family Court and Federal Circuit Courts of Australia.
• Criminal trials (including matters involving allegations of historical sexual abuse and serious assault) in the District Court of Queensland.
• Investigations and reports (briefed by Church body) of allegations of physical and sexual abuse.
• Civil penalty hearings in the Federal Court of Australia.
• Civil trials in the District and Supreme Courts of Queensland.
• Applications for review under the Migration Act 1958(Cth) in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

Peter Hastie specialises in litigation, alternative dispute resolution (arbitration, mediation and expert determination) and advice work which has a commercial flavour  particularly in the areas of  administrative law, building and construction, competition and consumer law, constitutional law, contract, corporations law,  insolvency,  intellectual property law, mining law,  partnership, professional liability, insolvency, real property , restraints of trade, securities and torts.

Peter commenced practice as a barrister based in Brisbane in 1986 and took silk in 2013. Peter mainly practices in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia  and is admitted and has practiced in the Supreme Courts of New South Wales and South Australia.

Peter has a Bachelor of Arts (political science), Bachelor of Laws, and Master of Laws from the University of Queensland. He also has a Dispute Resolution Certificate from Bond University.

Reimen is a barrister and nationally accredited mediator. He has a broad generalist practice which includes commercial litigation, administrative law, family law, property law, and human rights. He predominantly focuses on commercial and international disputes.

Before being called to the Bar, Reimen worked as an associate at a leading international insurance law firm. He has also worked as a lawyer at a boutique Brisbane commercial litigation firm, as a registrar of the Supreme Court of Tonga, at a top-tier national firm, as a judge’s associate, and as a legal officer at a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Cambodia.

Reimen is a member of the Bar Association of Queensland’s human rights committee; he also a member of the Australian Lawyers for Human Right’s Queensland committee and Business & Human Rights subcommittee. He was awarded the Australian Young Lawyer of the Year in 2019 by the Law Council of Australia.

Reimen is also a member of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association.

Kevin has a practice which has a strong focus on insurance work and all allied areas including statutory and equitable issues. He has been in private practice as a barrister in Brisbane since 1991.

Areas of practice in which Kevin is briefed also include:

• APPELLATE
• AGRIBUSINESS
• MEDIATORS
• COMMERCIAL
• CORONIAL INQUESTS & COMMISSIONS OF INQUIRY
• PERSONAL INJURIES
• PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE
• REGULATORY TRIBUNALS
• INSURANCE
• WORKCOVER
• EMPLOYMENT & INDUSTRIAL
• SUPERANNUATION
• TOTAL PERMANENT DISABILITY CLAIMS
• CONTRACT
• MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
• SPORTS LAW
• OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
• PRODUCT LIABILITY
• TORTS (OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURIES)
• VETERANS’ ENTITLEMENTS
• EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & DISCRIMINATION

Kevin is briefed by a number of law firms that act for commercial insurers and also is briefed by Crown Law.

Kevin’s practice also includes advising local government bodies (LGM Queensland).

Kevin has acted as a mediator in a wide range of matters.

He also regularly appears in all Queensland Courts.

Kevin has an interest in veterans entitlements and is interested in developing his practice in that respect also.

OVERVIEW

Recognised as a skillful advocate and astute negotiator, Alex has developed a practice with a focus on complex matters which have established him as one of the leading Counsel in the fields of insurance and medical negligence. Alex has practised at the bar in Brisbane since 2011, and his practice has since expanded outside of Queensland to New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Further to his prominence in the medical negligence and insurance spheres, Alex is also widely experienced in other areas including banking, finance, trusts and superannuation. He has been briefed in several appellate matters before the Court of Appeal of Queensland and High Court of Australia.

Alex is relied upon by his clients for his ability to cut through the complexities of a matter and to identify the issues that are truly at its heart, and is known for his meticulous preparation of advices and his level-headed and innovative responses to practical issues that arise in litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

EXPERIENCE

Medical Negligence

Alex has gained a profound knowledge of medical practice over the years, and he has applied this nuanced skill set in hundreds of matters involving many types of medical negligence cases. Some examples of his experience in this area include the following:

• Representing plaintiffs in various matters involving misdiagnosis or mistreatment of spinal cord abscesses, vascular injuries, liver poisoning, fractures, pulmonary embolism, meningitis, many different types of cancer, acute bacterial endocarditis, sepsis, kidney disease and colon perforation, many of which resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements;
• A high-profile case determined by the Court of Appeal, involving a general practitioner’s failure to detect and diagnose the presence of cryptococcal meningitis, which resulted in one of the largest awards of damages in Queensland;
• Complex matters involving perioperative care and surgical errors, including anaesthetic mismanagement of patients and errors made during plastic and reconstructive surgery;
• Appearing in a High Court matter involving the duty of care of paramedics, which considered the reasonableness of medical care performed in exigent circumstances, and the importance of manuals in determining breach at common law;
• Acting and securing large settlements for child plaintiffs in complex birth injury claims. One example includes a child who unfortunately developed cerebral palsy requiring substantial future care and assistance, which resulted in a settlement for more than $12,000,000.00;
• Acting for mothers who have sustained trauma during childbirth (such as prolapse, levator avulsion, 3^rd or 4^th degree tears, or pudendal nerve injuries); and
• A significant claim involving failures by a hospital, general practitioner and radiologist to adequately treat a nerve sheath tumour resulting in spinal cord injuries. Interlocutory applications in that matter led to seminal jurisprudence on the statutory limitation of actions, and what constitutes a plaintiff becoming aware of a material fact of a decisive character.

Insurance

Instructed by both plaintiffs and defendants, Alex has appeared in hundreds of insurance cases relating to personal injuries and other liability claims, covering many different case types from motor vehicle accidents to product liability. The following are some examples of interest:

• Acting for the plaintiff in a major personal injury matter that led to a seminal Supreme Court decision about obviousness of risks and dangerous recreational activities – elements of Queensland’s Civil Liability Act which had previously lacked useful jurisprudence;
• A significant workers’ compensation claim determined by the Court of Appeal, testing the principles of the tort of negligence in the context of manual musculoskeletal injuries sustained over a prolonged period in the workplace;
• Acting for insurers in a multitude of cases, both in Queensland and interstate, applying his expertise in negotiations to deliver favourable outcomes for his clients; and
• Representing the plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident claim involving catastrophic injuries, which resulted in one of the largest settlements in the State’s history, exceeding $20,000,000.00.

Commercial Law

Alex has advised on and appeared in various matters relating to banking and finance, and owing to his international experience working in the financial sector and his degree in Commerce, he is astute at dealing with very complex financial arrangements. Some prominent examples include:

• An important banking matter in which the Court of Appeal recognised that the Code of Banking Practice binds banks and forms part of bank guarantees. This case raised the topics of agency, estoppel and the general functions of appellate courts, including the Anshun estoppel and the principles from Fox v Percy; and
• A complex contractual matter determined by the Court of Appeal involving 23 parties about a proposal to form and run a real estate company, requiring scrutiny of parties’ intentions to create legal relations, and more generally, dealing with a tension between the principles of contract law and commercial realities.

Other areas of practice

Over the years, Alex’s practice has also expanded into other areas of the law, including property law, trusts, superannuation and criminal law. The various matters he has worked on include:

• Representing the plaintiff in an intricate matter relating to trusts and superannuation which over the course of more than a decade traversed each level of the Queensland court system and was heard by several boards, the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal and ultimately by the High Court in a special leave application. Alex became involved towards the end of the protracted dispute, and was required to exercise his knowledge of trustee-beneficiary relationships and their co-existence with contractual relationships. The matter also concerned elements of administrative law and questions of natural justice;
• Appearing in the Land Court of Queensland in a matter about whether compensation was payable for the compulsory acquisition of land, requiring analysis of planning approvals, the nature of interests in resumed land, and elements of evidence law; and
• Acting for the defendant in a hearing before the Court of Appeal, which ultimately overturned a criminal conviction of unlawful killing, relying on medical evidence to show the prosecution had not sufficiently proven causation.

David is a commercial silk principally with interests in tax and revenue law as well as an established general Chancery practice.

David also regularly appears for parties in commercial and administrative law disputes involving issues ranging from commercial contracts to professional negligence; and company disputes to reviewing tax posture of large corporations.

David also appears in private client matters, about trusts and estates.

David has increasingly been involved in professional conduct matters, principally as a member of STEP’s disciplinary panel.

Details of the matters David has been involved in can be reviewed on his personal website.

While chambers are in Brisbane, Australia he accepts instructions to appear and acts for clients in all Australian jurisdictions.

Prior to being called to the Bar, David worked at a solicitors’ firm for 10 years in the area of tax law. David was called to the private Bar in 2000 and took silk in 2015.

David has developed a particular practice in accepting instructions for opinion briefs from accountants who are members of the major professional associations.

David has been consistently recognised in Doyle’s Guide as:

• Leading Wills and Estates Litigation Senior Counsel – Australia 2021
• Leading Wills and Estates Litigation Senior Counsel – Queensland 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023
• Leading (Preeminent) Taxation Barrister (Senior Counsel)– Queensland 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023

Prior to commencing practice as a barrister, Jessica practised as a solicitor and was a Queensland Law Society Accredited Specialist in personal injuries law.

She has practised almost exclusively in that area, over the course of her legal career spanning more than 20 years.

Jessica’s practice is spread across all aspects of personal injuries law.

She is a panel member of most major insurers within the Queensland jurisdiction, including WorkCover Queensland, Suncorp CTP and General Insurance and Q-Comp.

She accepts instructions on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

Joshua was called to the Bar in 2020, following more than eight years practice as a lawyer in senior positions (including Principal) in the Litigation Branch of the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

Joshua has a keen interest in the areas of white-collar and regulatory crime and administrative law, specifically judicial and merits review, having developed significant expertise in these areas throughout his career.  In this space, Joshua’s deep insight into in-house Government regulatory authorities, and their processes, places him in a unique position to achieve successful outcomes, both negotiated and in Court, for government and private clients.

Since coming to the Bar, Joshua has maintained a broad Public Law practice as well as regularly taking briefs in Criminal & Quasi-Criminal, Planning and Environment, Land and Property, and Commercial matters, often with a significant Public Law aspect.  Joshua regularly advises and appears for government and private sector clients across all Queensland and Federal jurisdictions.

In Public law recent experience includes:

• Acting for a private client in a successful appeal in the Queensland Court of Appeal against the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission.
• Acting for the State of Queensland in Judicial review proceedings that sought to challenge the Covid-19 ‘High-risk setting’ directive.
• Advising the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation on matters involving the recent inquiry into the Star Casino operations in Queensland.
• Acting for private clients in disciplinary matters in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
• Acting for Government Departments in the Land Court in relation to valuation disputes and mining objections.
• Advising a statutory authority on specific questions arising from the interaction between its licensing regime and the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).
• Acting for and advising a Local Council responding to a Native Title Claim involving complex extinguishment considerations.
• Advised a private client on options for challenging a development approval under a local planning scheme in circumstances where the matter of the approval was attended with an error of law.
• Advising various State Government Departments, Agencies, and private clients on statutory construction emanating from various Queensland and Federal enactments.

In Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Law recent experience includes:

• Acting as a prosecutor for the Crown in a large complex indictable prosecution for offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld).
• Acting as a prosecutor for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) in a summary trial for 19 offences under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 (Qld) and the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008 (Qld).
• Acting for QFES as the respondent to an appeal against conviction under s 222 of the Justices Act 1886 (Qld) in the District Court and successfully resisting the appeal.
• Advised private clients on matters of regulatory compliance in relation to the Planning Act 2016 (Qld), Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld), and Building Act 1975 (Qld).
• Acting for a private client in negotiating a successful outcome regarding significant environmental non-compliance to avoid prosecution.
• Acting for a private commercial entity defending a development offence under the Planning Act

In Civil disputes recent experience includes:

• Acting for the State of Queensland in a contested Supreme Court application seeking further and better particulars in relation to a malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office suit against the State of Queensland and others.
• Advising a private client on the application of ss 53 and 55 of the Property Law Act 1975 (Qld) to a ‘give and take’ agreement involving a large cattle property.
• Acting for a private client in a simple private nuisance and trespass to land claim involving over-excavating land.
• Acting for a private client in a complicated failed joint venture claim involving the operation of a regional hotel.
• Advised a private client about constructive trusts in relation to jointly held real property.

David Schneidewin commenced private practice as a barrister in Brisbane in 2003.

Prior to that he was a solicitor for 8 years and a partner of a leading boutique insurance practice in Brisbane.

He holds an LLB from the University of Queensland.

He practices predominately in health law (litigation, regulatory and advisory), general insurance (including other professional indemnity matters) and has a comprehensive background in all personal injuries litigation. He also practices in administrative law.

He regularly and usually appears without leaders in the State District and Supreme Courts as well as the Coroners Court and other tribunals (QCAT).

In the health law area he has comprehensive experience in representing hospitals (including public and private hospitals throughout the State , as well as an international hospital), medical practitioners (general and specialists) on instructions through most medical defence organisations (MDOs), nursing homes and community nursing organisations, as well as other health care providers (for example radiologists) and allied health care providers (including physiotherapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, podiatrists, pharmacists and paramedics) in a variety of civil proceedings, administrative proceedings including disciplinary proceedings (QCAT), as well as at coronial inquests.

David has significant experience in cases investigating the causes of and contributing factors to incidents of Stroke.

In the general insurance area, he has consistently maintained a solid practice acting for a variety of private insurers in public liability and professional indemnity matters. His general insurance practice also has a particular focus on matters involving local government and public authorities.

He is experienced in trial advocacy and appellate advocacy and regularly appears at mediations.

He has also acted as mediator in health law and general insurance matters.

David regularly acts for clients in the Northern Territory and he is Visiting Counsel at William Forster Chambers, NT.

Richard has more than 23 years experience as a commercial barrister and specialises in administrative law, corporations law, superannuation, and tax.

He is highly experienced in tax and superannuation litigation and regularly appears in the Federal Court and AAT.

In tax, he advises and litigates in respect of all aspects of revenue law (including income tax, capital gains, GST, and judicial review of decisions).  Richard acts for taxpayers in respect of “front end” tax advice, advising in respect of audits, interviews, negotiations, and to advise and settling tax objections and private ruling applications through to litigious matters. Increasingly, he appears and advises with the assistance of a junior.

Richard also accepts direct briefs from accounting firms.

In superannuation, he advises and litigates on behalf of fund trustees and members in respect of regulatory matters and appeals, which includes the performance or discharge of obligations and powers and the conduct of investigations by or proceedings initiated by a regulator.

Richard advises trustees and investors of the legal issues confronting the SMSF market and its funding.

Recent matters that Richard has been involved in include:

• Acting on behalf of taxpayers in tax appeals in the Federal Court and the AAT.
• Advising on the federal and state revenue, Corporations Act, and Superannuation compliance of certain investment products.
• Advising on the interplay between State superannuation products and Federal superannuation.
• Advising on the superannuation law aspects of a Family Law and third party settlement arrangement.
• Advising on objections and appeals in respect of state revenue matters.
• Advising on Federal pension schemes.
• Acting and advising in relation to Part IVA litigation, NALI litigation, and group consolidation.
• Advising on the prospects of success of an objection concerning the interplay between superannuation and income tax.
• Advising on the interplay between superannuation and income tax;
• Advising on stay of review proceedings where the applicant is charged with numerous criminal offences;
• Appearing in interlocutory proceedings (interlocutory injunction, subpoenas, discovery) concerning a large tax liability matter;
• Advising superannuation trustees on and appearing at appeals from the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal;
• Appearing on review and appeal of income tax assessments for self -managed superannuation fund transactions;
• Appearing in judicial review (and subsequent successful summary judgment) of various tax estimates;
• Appearing on review of income tax assessments based on fraud and evasion, involving significant cross-examination (of 32 witnesses);
• Appearing in State court appeals in respect of tax recovery matters.
• Appearing in appeals from the AAT to the Federal Court.

Richard has also been recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Tax Barrister (Queensland) in 2020, 2021, 2022, and again in 2023.

Richard is also a commercial litigator and mediator.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Bachelor of Civil Law, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Durham. 

Giles was called to the NSW Bar in October 2012 after a 20 year career in banking and commerce in Sydney and London, holding senior positions in Banking and Investment companies.

Giles was previously called to the London Bar in 1994.

He maintains chambers in QLD and NSW.

Giles practices predominantly in Family Law and Property and Equity. In Family Law cases he appears for clients in all types of property and parenting disputes.

He has extensive experience having appeared led and unled in in excess of 120 contested interim and final hearings since 2013.

He also has ever increasing appellate experience.

Giles also acts for clients in all aspects of commercial law in all jurisdictions, bringing his extensive commercial property, banking and finance experience to his advocacy practice for the significant benefit of his clients.

Other areas of law in which Giles accepts briefs include:

• Commercial, Property and Equity disputes
• Estate Law matters including Family Provision Applications

Michael practises nationally in taxation law and related areas including commercial, corporations, public, property, superannuation and trust law.

He has practised in taxation law for 10 years, initially as a solicitor at Allens and Herbert Smith Freehills and then at the Bar.

His practice focuses on the conduct of tax audits and disputes, including advising on the audit process, preparation of position papers, settlement negotiations and the conduct of litigation, as well as providing advice on a broad range of taxation issues. He has appeared in the Federal Court and High Court and has assisted in all aspects of the conduct of disputes.

He is a member of the Bar Association of Queensland’s Taxation Law Committee, the Australian Bar Association’s Taxation Committee and is Deputy Chair of the Tax Institute’s Dispute Resolution Technical Committee.

He has postgraduate qualifications in law, tax and international tax and is currently undertaking a doctorate in corporate and international tax part-time at the University of Melbourne.

He is also a reporter for the Australian Tax Reports and Commonwealth Law Reports.

Ben holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws (commercial law) and was first called to the private Bar in 1999 after practising for several years as a litigation lawyer with particular interests in resolving legal disputes involving the agribusiness, construction, engineering, and resource sectors.  Ben has a unique understanding of the Engineering Construction, Mining and Resources area having worked as a qualified electrical fitter mechanic with BHP prior to coming to the Bar.

Since coming to the Bar in 1999, Ben has developed a broad commercial and equity practice with a wealth of experience and particular expertise in the resolution of commercial litigation and insurance disputes, primarily involving construction and engineering disputes and related professional negligence matters, major project and infrastructure disputes, agribusiness and resources liability insurance and contract claims, directors liability and shareholder disputes, corporate insolvency, and property and estate disputes.

Ben has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Construction & Infrastructure Counsel – Queensland (2019 to 2024).

He is an active member of a number of relevant professional associations, including BDPS, CLA, ER Law, AILA and SoCLA, as well as being a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and an interstate member of the Melbourne Technology Engineering and Construction Chambers (MTECC).

Ben is also an NMAS qualified mediator and holds chambers in both Brisbane and Melbourne.

Ben has particular experience in the following areas:

• large scale infrastructure projects:
  • including Curtis Island (Gladstone LNG development), Brisbane City South State Secondary College, Sarina Hospital, Ferny Grove transport and retail centre project, sewage treatment plant for a remote school, Ipswich roads and related pipeline construction.

• resource, agricultural and industrial projects, including:
  • commercial contract issues over the sale of a Bowen Basin coal mine, the construction of shipping berth and pier for LNG export, multiple underground drilling in Central and Western Queensland large scale cattle properties, hire and supply of agricultural plant and equipment, slab defects in large scale industrial sheds and workshops, and defect claims on high-rise cranes and other construction plant.

• large scale commercial and residential construction projects including:
  • high rise office and apartment complexes, earthworks and subsidence in residential, commercial, and industrial property developments, multiple service stations in Queensland and Victoria.

• significant commercial and related property litigation issues including:
  • easements disputes, access agreements for construction projects for cranes and rock anchors, road and private access issues for large scale commercial developments (appearing in the High Court).

• statutory demands, winding up applications, preference claims, insolvent trading, uncommercial transactions, and proof of debt insolvency matters, both moderate and large involving many millions of dollars in dispute, acting for liquidators and administrators.

• numerous estate administration and significant family provision applications.

• defects and causation issues arising from large scale and catastrophic failures in the agricultural, construction, engineering, resources, and transport sectors and critical analysis and testing of architectural, engineering, building, quantity surveying, delay and programming, geotechnical, hydrological, accounting and historian expert evidence.

• numerous matters involving the interpretation and application of Security of Payment legislation, Subcontractors Charges legislation and QBCC and related legislation.

• proper interpretation and application of contested contracts of engagement, joint venture, supply, security and credit in the agricultural, construction, engineering, resource and transport sectors.

• conducting (often leading junior barristers) complex and large-scale multi-party litigation and alternative dispute resolution processes including settling pleadings, settling lay and expert evidence, appearing on contested applications, trials and appeals in the Queensland Court of Appeal.

Matthew practises principally in general civil and commercial law, and industrial and employment law.  He appears regularly in the Supreme and District Courts of Queensland and the Federal and Federal Circuit Courts.  He is a nationally accredited mediator and mediates disputes in all of his areas of practice.

He is experienced in the management of a broad range of litigation, having been briefed to advise and appear in relation to misleading or deceptive conduct claims, breach of contract claims, franchising disputes, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, insurance disputes, claims of professional negligence, trust and estate disputes and employment law claims.

Matthew has particular expertise in relation to regulatory enforcement proceedings, pecuniary penalty proceedings and accessorial liability proceedings against directors and other persons involved in alleged contraventions.  He has acted as Counsel in enforcement proceedings commenced by various Commonwealth regulatory agencies (including the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Communications and Media Authority).

Matthew also has experience acting as Counsel in commissions of inquiry; he was briefed to appear in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (2018) and to advise in relation to the Commonwealth Senate Inquiry into underpayments of workers in the retail industry (2018).

Matthew is an editor of and contributing author to ‘Queensland Civil Practice’ and a contributing author to ‘Federal Court Practice’ (both published by Thomson Reuters).  He regularly speaks at conferences and publishes papers in his areas of practice.

He is a member of the Bar Association’s General Litigation Committee, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Industrial Relations Society of Queensland, and a Sessional Academic in Law at the Queensland University of Technology, where he teaches Civil Procedure.

Matthew was called to the Bar in early 2013.  He holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), Bachelor of International Business (Finance) and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice.