The Legal 500

Allens Arthur Robinson is a ‘go-to’ firm for contentious matters. Paul Nicols and Peter O’Donahoo head the practice, which also houses the ‘very capable’ Jim Dwyer. This ‘extremely high-quality’ team has broad experience and capability including class actions, competition cases, takeover disputes, and public inquiries.

Brigitte Markovic heads Clayton Utz’s dispute resolution team, which is ‘number-one choice for major litigation’. Although ‘fees are expensive, they are justified for the fast response times, professional advice, and outcomes’. John Rowland QC, formerly of London’s 4 Pump Court, was appointed partner. ‘Incredibly intelligent and trusted adviser’ Ian Bloemendal is leading representation of Vale Australia in a series of disputes between the latter’s wholly owned subsidiary Bowen Central Coal and its joint venture partner Aquila Coal over the A$2.3bn Eagle Downs hard coking coal project. The team is also acting for CBA in disputes regarding CBA’s alleged liabilities arising from The Storm Financial Group’s collapse in 2009. Robert Cutler, Fred Prickett, John Collins, the ‘very well experienced’ Sid Wang and ‘strategic thinker’ Mary Still are recommended.

Freehills provides a ‘superb’ level of service and remains a leader in this field. Michael Mills and Michelle Fox continue to advise Lend Lease in litigation pursuant to the World Trade Center cleanup. Department head Damian Grave is recommended, as is new partner and class action specialist Jason Betts; Grant Marjoribanks; the ‘standout and highly experienced’ Ken Adams; and the ‘impressive’ Geoff Healy.

Mallesons Stephen Jaques knows when to ‘advocate litigation’, particularly considering when ‘there’s an ongoing relationship to preserve’. The team acted for ASIC at the court of first instance and in appeal in ASIC v FMG & Forrest. Michael Clough is recommended for his ‘combination of technical knowledge and business acumen’. Beth Cubbitt, Larissa Strk-Lingard and the ‘excellent’ Domenic Gatto were promoted to partner in 2011, while Ashley Black departed following his appointment as a judge of NSW Supreme Court.

The ‘very good’ dispute resolution team at Baker & McKenzie has ‘strength in depth across a range of practice areas’, and ‘is capable of dealing with the largest and most complex matters’. It recently defended a client in an environmental class action relating to a landfill site adjacent to plaintiffs’ homes. Practice head Andrew Christopher, Andrew Salgo and Bruce Hambrett are recommended.

Blake Dawson provides ‘litigation services of the highest quality’. Andrew Carter, John Pavlakis, Peter Voss, Chris Davidson and Wen-Ts’ai Lim are ‘outstanding litigation lawyers’. John Emmerig, who has ‘exceptional ability’, is defending Lehman Brothers in a A$350m-plus class action pertaining to CDO investments.

Arnold Bloch Leibler’s ‘outstanding’ team provides ‘thorough, considered, informed and timely’ advice, delivering ‘a much more bespoke service than some of the other firms’. ‘Standout’ Jonathan Milner and ‘intuitive and persuasive’ practice head Leon Zwier led representation of the former non-executive director of James Hardie in proceedings brought by ASIC in the Supreme Court of NSW. Alex King, John Mitchell and senior associate Susanna Ford are also recommended.

The ‘quality of advice and services’ at Corrs Chambers Westgarth is ‘always of a high standard and practically based’. Highlights for the team included acting for the Commonwealth government in the Pan Pharmaceuticals class action and related proceedings, and representing Fortescue Metals Group in the ASIC civil penalty proceeding. Practice head James Whittaker, Mark Wilks and Paul McCann are recommended.

Minter Ellison’s Beverley Newbold acted for Qantas Airways in its misleading and deceptive conduct claims against Rolls-Royce arising following an emergency landing in Singapore in November 2010 by a Rolls-Royce powered Airbus A380 designated Qantas Flight 32. Ross Freeman and James Beaton are ‘astute litigators who get to the core issues quickly’.

Atanaskovic Hartnell ‘punches well above its weight’, and this boutique houses some of ‘the best litigators’. It is defending four ex-directors of James Hardie in the ASIC v Macdonald & Ors litigation. John Atanaskovic and the ‘exceptional’ Lisa Wright are highly recommended.

Gilbert + Tobin’s absorption of Blakiston & Crabb brought some well-regarded practitioners to the firm. Blakiston & Crabb’s former head of dispute resolution Mark Gerus is recommended for his ‘breadth and depth of knowledge’, and new partner Tim O’Leary is ‘extremely professional and efficient’. The team is defending Google in an action brought by the ACCC regarding its sponsored links AdWords system.

Cross-border insolvency work is a core source of instructions for Henry Davis York. It acted for the Cayman Islands liquidators of Saad Investments in their application for recognition as foreign representatives of assets located in Australia. The team continues to act for the liquidators of Octaviar. Practice head Michael Greene, Kathy Merrick and Scott Atkins are recommended.

Clients rate Johnson Winter & Slattery ‘at the highest level’ for ‘corporate defence and litigation’. Other strengths include regulatory and receivership investigative processes, media litigation (it is acting for Channel 7 and Channel 9), and also directors and officers cases. It is currently acting for Edmund Groves, former CEO of ABC Learning Centres, in a series of proceedings including prosecution by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP). Tony Johnson, senior associate Sophie Rayner and the ‘first class’ Paul Reidy are recommended figures in this team of ‘experienced lawyers’.

Norton Rose Australia’s 50-partner dispute resolution team acted for Australian retailer David Jones in its A$37m dispute with former employee Kristy Fraser-Kirk. The group was also instructed by the State of Victoria and its insurer to act on claims arising from the Victoria bush fires. Tom Jarvis and Wayne Spanner are the main contacts.

Clifford Chance Australia’s new operations benefit substantially from Diana Chang’s well-established reputation. Chang is leading representation of HNA Group and related companies in shareholder rights proceedings. Tim Grave and Ben Luscombe are also recommended.

DLA Piper Australia adopts ‘a common-sense approach to litigation’, producing ‘good outcomes at a low cost’. The team’s greatest strengths lie in insurance-related matters and the firm’s extensive cross-border capabilities. The group recently successfully defended FMG against 18 criminal charges brought under the WA Occupational Safety and Health Act. Grant Hooper and special counsel Brendan O’Brien are recommended.

Kennedys provides ‘excellent tailored advice’ and ‘reassuring consistency’. The highly recommended Patrick George and Tony O’Reilly acted for Football Federation Australia in reputational matters relating to the FIFA World Cup bid. Penny Taylor is ‘great at ensuring the whole team executes to strategy’.

McCullough Robertson successfully represented VDM Bellero in an action concerning the Bundaberg Ring Road Project, a matter led by Matt Bradbury. Tony Cotter is leading a team representing the South East Queensland (SEQ) Water Grid Manager in the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. Other clients include Macarthur Coal, Peabody and AMCI. Senior associate Tom Ritchie and Guy Humble are recommended for ‘their timeliness and the appropriateness of advice and strategy’.

Piper Alderman’s dispute resolution group is ‘responsive, reliable and very quick to deliver on-point advice’. It is acting for 12 applicants in the Federal Court of Australia against Local Government Financial Services, ABN Amro Bank and McGraw-Hill International in seeking damages for losses sustained on a Constant Proportion Debt Obligation. The ‘tough, commercial and patient’ Gordon Grieve is recommended along with Mark Waters, whose ‘service is absolutely sensational’.

At TressCox, Alistair Little ‘heads an exceptionally good litigation team. He assesses the complexity of the cases well and assigns solicitors at appropriate experience levels’. The firm is well recognised for its medical defence expertise, but also has broader commercial litigation capability. It acted for Shoalhaven Council in a matter before the High Court regarding the duty of experts in handing down determinations; a decision that could be of significance to the construction industry. It also acted for EMI in an appeal against a Federal Court decision in relation to copyright infringement. Don Munro and Mark Sheller are recommended.

Highlights for Cooper Grace Ward included representing RACQ Insurance in the Queensland Floods Commisson of Inquiry. The team is also acting for Dr Groves in a multimillion-dollar appeal of a tax assessment as well as in relation to administrator’s examination of the directors of ABC Learning. Rocco Russo heads the practice.

Only in its second year of practice, Sydney-based Deutsch Miller has already acted in some notable cases. Zoe Hillman is representing the former CFO of Allco Finance Group and the former CFO of ABC Learning in relation to liquidators’ and receivers’ investigations. The ‘excellent and commercially minded’ Mark Deutsch is leading representation of Xstrata Coal Sales in its A$200m claim against Bluescope.

Gadens Lawyers’ team is ‘extremely responsive’ and bills competitively. It acted for Austpac Resources in a matter in the Supreme Court of NSW concerning the sale of a mining resource valued at more than A$2bn. Practice head John Dalzell is recommended. Special counsel Louise Massey recently joined the team from PwC.

HWL Ebsworth has a well-established reputation in insurance-related matters. Tim Griffiths, Andrew Miers (for defence work) and ‘formidable opponent’ Matthew Harding are recommended.

Kelly & Co’s nine-partner dispute resolution practice counts among its clients News Limited, Santos and Seven Network. The team also acted for Clipsal in opposing a A$4bn Federal Court claim regarding IP in the Cbus 2 product suite and was successful in having proceedings dismissed; Rob Kennett led on the matter.

Michelle Dixon and Carmen McElwain lead Maddocks’ dispute resolution group, which is acting for Cheung Kong Infrastructure in proceedings against BlueScope Steel and Merrill Lynch International in Federal Court in NSW. The team is also representing Nintendo in IP protection litigation in Australia.

The seven-partner boutique Marque Lawyers provides ‘exceptional value for money’ and ‘surpasses expectations’. Damian Sturzaker and Kim Middleton successfully represented Newcrest Mining in court proceedings against the State of NSW. Sturzaker also represented political activist group GetUp! in a successful action against the Commonwealth.

Middletons typically advises in contractual and property disputes, trade practices, tax and insurance litigation. Andrew Chambers, Tim Webster and Stephen Hume are the main contacts.

Specialist business litigation firm Samaha & Associates is ‘nimble compared to big law firms’, with ‘reasonable fees’, ‘well-considered and pragmatic advice’ and a ‘first-class service’. Name partner John Samaha is ‘a consummate professional, highly knowledgeable and commercially minded’, and has particular expertise in telecommunications; he represented certain clients in ACCC v Axis Telecoms & Ors. Senior associate Kylie Virtue recently joined from Allens Arthur Robinson.

Sparke Helmore provides ‘very quick service’. Malcolm Cameron is recommended for his expertise in directors and officers and professional indemnity disputes.

Thomsons Lawyers is increasingly visible in the market, having represented high-profile clients in a number of multimillion-dollar contract disputes. Stephen Voss heads the group and is recommended, along with the ‘technically astute’ Peter Hegarty.