The Legal 500

Allens’ practice is co-headed by Sydney-based Paul Nicols and Melbourne-based Peter O’Donahoo. Past highlights include representing Macquarie Bank in a dispute arising out of the collapse of Storm Financial. Louise Jenkins is ‘outstanding in terms of her commerciality’.

Clayton Utz’s Brigitte Markovic and Zac Chami are acting for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) in high-profile litigation against former directors and officers of companies from the James Hardie Group and its offshore parent. Sid Wang and Paul Fitzpatrick are ‘very good litigators’, and Doug Jones is singled out for his international arbitration experience, particularly within construction.

Herbert Smith Freehills has ‘impressive depth of expertise’, and is currently defending Centro Properties Group in multiple shareholder class actions in the Federal Court. Ken Adams is ‘astute, confident, and assured’; Juliana Warner has an ‘exceptional strike rate’; and Alan Mitchell is noted for his financial services expertise.

King & Wood Mallesons is ‘at the top level for litigation management’, and is particularly active in class actions. It is currently representing PwC as auditor to Centro in five Federal Court class actions; Moira Saville and newly promoted partner Alexander Morris are leading on the matter. Joanne Cameron is an ‘outstanding litigator’; Mark Darian-Smith is noted for his ‘strategic leadership’; while Peter Pether and recent hire Alex Baykitch are ‘leaders in dispute resolution’.

Ashurst LLP’s team is ‘very quick to respond’, and gives ‘sound legal advice while taking account of commercial requirements’. It is currently acting for Samsung as Australian counsel in its dispute with Apple. Newly appointed partner Peter Ward has ‘indubitable skills and knowledge’, while Peter Voss is also ‘a highly experienced lawyer’.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s team instils ‘great confidence’ in clients, and has a ‘real focus on strategic input’; it is also ‘excellent at facilitating problem solving’. ‘Outstanding litigator’ Janet Whiting is assisting Amcor in bringing fraud allegations and other claims against a number of ex-employees. Practice head James Whittaker and Paul McCann are ‘two of the most competent dispute resolution practitioners in Australia’; their ‘clients are in exceptionally good hands.’

Arnold Bloch Leibler has strong financial services expertise; John Mitchell and Jonathan Milner acted for the former executive directors of Allco Finance Group in an investigation by the receivers and the ASIC into its collapse. Leon Zwier’s is also recommended.

Baker & McKenzie’s team is led by Andrew Christopher, and handles disputes relating to competition, restructuring and insolvency, product liability, and corporate regulation. Recent instructions include British American Tobacco. Bruce Hambrett has ‘strategic insights’, and ‘always pays attention to the key drivers, yielding a positive outcome’.

Gilbert + Tobin’s litigation practice is ‘pre-eminent’ within mining and petroleum, and it has ‘niche regulatory expertise’. Led by Colleen Platford and Andrew Floro, it is defending key client Google in an action brought by the ACCC. Mark Gerus and Tim O’Leary are also recommended.

Minter Ellison’s national head of disputes Ross Freeman is representing Sigma in a large shareholder class action brought against it. James Beaton and Beverly Newbold are ‘hardworking, and very dedicated to their clients’.

Norton Rose Australia’s 70-partner litigation group ‘goes above and beyond what is expected’, and is led by the ‘strategic and tactical’ Tom Jarvis, ‘one of Australia’s leading litigators’. Also singled out are the ‘brilliant’ Ashley Tsacalos, and ‘outstanding litigation lawyer’ Justin Marschke. Jackie O’Brien, formerly of Allens, is one of a number of recent additions to the team. Key clients include GlaxoSmithKline and BHP Billiton.

Atanaskovic Hartnell ‘regularly achieves good outcomes for clients’, and John Atanaskovic’s ‘experience and track record befits his position as one of the most senior partners’. Michael Sophocles is ‘diligent, hard-working and intelligent.’

Henry Davis York’s 24-partner team is headed by Michael Greene, who is experienced in banking and insolvency litigation. Kathy Merrick successfully defended a former officer of James Hardie against allegations of breach of duty, and Scott Atkins is also recommended.

Johnson Winter & Slattery’s team is ‘extremely responsive’, ‘pleasant to work with’, ‘practical’, and has a ‘good range of skills and experience’. Paul Reidy ‘always thinks ahead of the client, anticipating what they will require next’.

Clifford Chance Australia’s three-partner team provides ‘first-class advice’; it is ‘very professional and knowledgeable’, with ‘strength-in-depth’, and ‘pays serious attention to detail. Tim Grave led advice to Xstrata on its long-running dispute with Centennial Coal over port access arrangements at the Port of Newcastle. Diana Chang and Ben Luscombe are also recommended.

DLA Piper Australia’s 38-partner team counts Fortescue Metals, Allianz, Investec, and Toshiba as clients. The addition of Amanda Turnill from Clayton Utz strengthened its product liability expertise, and Peter Rashleigh is also recommended.

McCullough Robertson typically represents small and medium-sized listed companies, and for that market is one of the ‘superior firms in the eastern states’. Tony Cotter acted for the SEQ Water Grid in the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. Practice head Guy Humble is also recommended.

Piper Alderman’s 17-partner practice is headed by Greg Whyte. The group is currently representing 70 investors in a class action against Lehman Brothers. Andrew Robertson is ‘commercial, experienced, and efficient’, and Amanda Banton is also highly recommended.

Allen & Overy LLP established its practice in 2011 with the hiring of John Samaha, who is ‘clear and incisive’. It is currently defending The Sage Group against a A$150m claim brought by Archer Capital.

Deutsch Miller can ‘litigate with the best of them’. Mark Deutsch represented Xstrata Coal in its A$200m claim against Bluescope Steel in the Supreme Court. Zoe Hillman is also recommended.

Gadens Lawyers has acted for a number of clients at Federal Court and Supreme Court level. Practice head John Dalzell recently represented Bowen Energy in a contractual dispute, and it continues to provide on-going litigation support to eBay.

New to the ranking, Hall & Wilcox’s key lawyers include Sally Scott, who is ‘technically very savvy, with a down-to-earth approach’. Graydon Dowd is ‘very commercially oriented’ and ‘adopts a very strategic approach’.

Jones Day’s Steven Fleming is lauded for his ‘out-of-the-box thinking’, and Philip Hoser oversees the group. Clients include Morgan Stanley and GrainCorp.

Kelly & Co is currently representing Network Ten in defamation proceedings in the Supreme Court; Peter Campbell and Belinda Grant are leading the matter. A team led by Rob Kennett advised PIP breast implant importer Medical Vision on a proposed class action for allegedly defective breast implants.

Kennedys’ litigation practice covers areas such as reputation protection, privacy, trade practice, broadcasting, and commercial disputes. Clients note a ‘consistently high level of service and responsiveness’. Tony O’Reilly specialises in sports law, and practice head Patrick George is also recommended.

Maddocks’ five-partner disputes team is praised for its ‘knowledge of relevant barristers’. David Laidlaw ‘puts an enormous amount of energy in’, and Michelle Dixon is also highly recommended. The group is currently acting for Peabody Energy.

Marque Lawyers’ Damian Sturzaker is an experienced arbitrator. Key clients include Newcrest Mining, LG Electronics, and Booz & Company.

Sparke Helmore’s practice spans insurance, commercial, workplace relations and health and safety. Rhett Slocombe is recommended.

Thomsons Lawyers provides an ‘excellent level of service’, and the ‘very strong team’ is praised for its ‘thorough research’. It recently represented Mitsubishi Motors in a contractual dispute in the Federal Court. Craig Powell and the ‘hardworking’ John Howard are recommended.

TressCox’s 16-partner practice is headed by Alistair Little. It is defending Colliers in a multimillion-dollar claim arising from an allegedly misleading market appraisal.