News
Chambers and Partners 2025 Asia Pacific GuidePlease join us in congratulating Katrina Howard SC for being recognised in Chambers and Partners 2025 Asia Pacific Guide. Katrina continues to be the only female silk ranked in Band 1 of the Intellectual Property: The Bar – Australia listings.
See the rankings here. [...]
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Doyle’s Guide – Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Senior Counsel – NSW 2024Congratulations to Michelle Painter SC for her inclusion in the Doyle’s Guide rankings for Leading Wills & Estates Litigation Senior Counsel – New South Wales, 2024.
See the full guide here. [...]
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Doyle’s Guide – Leading Class Action Barristers – Australia, 2024Congratulations to Thomas Bagley for his inclusion in the Doyle’s Guide rankings for Leading Class Action Barristers – Australia, 2024. [...]
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Best Lawyers 2025Congratulations to our eight barristers who were featured in 2025 edition of Best Lawyers for their expertise in various areas of law:
1. The Hon P A Bergin AO SC – Alternative Dispute Resolution
2. Katrina Howard SC – Intellectual Property Law
3. Jack Hynes – Insolvency and Reorganisation Law
4. Mark Newton – Insurance Law
5. Michael Swanson – Shipping and Maritime Law
6. Frank Tao – Insolvency and Reorganisation Law
7. Josh Sukkar – featured on the Ones to Watch list for Insurance Law
8. Andrew Berriman – also featured on the Ones to Watch list for International Arbitration and Litigation
See the listings here. [...]
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Australian College of Strata Lawyers 2024 conferenceDavid Knoll regularly presents updates for the profession in the field of Strata and Community Title. His most recent paper, presented on 6 March 2024 at the Australian College of Strata Lawyers 2024 conference was entitled: “Liability for Breach of Statutory Duty”. The focus was primarily on water ingress cases and the capacity of Tribunals to award damages to lot owners, which differs across the Australian States and Territories. A pdf extract can found be here. [...]
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Justice of the Piece – AFRMichelle Painter SC receives a feature in the The Australian Financial Review‘s latest article “Justice of the Piece”.
Her curated chambers and collection of Asian-origin headpieces are displayed alongside the grand collections of The Hon Chief Justice Andrew Bell, The Hon Justice John Sackar KC, The Hon Justice Richard Weinstein SC and Laina Chan of 2 Selborne Chambers.
Explore the collections of the Bench and Bar in the full article here. [...]
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![Liprini v Thirdi William Street Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 1375](https://9selborne.com.au/wp-content/plugins/wp-latest-posts/img/default-image.svg)
Liprini v Thirdi William Street Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 1375Junioring Frank Hicks SC, Michael Swanson successfully defends his client against security for costs in a representative proceedings. Justice Ball was asked to considered whether security for costs should be awarded against the lead applicant in a representative proceedings arising out of a residential construction development. The lead applicant and group members did not have the benefit of a litigation funder. The Court declined to make an order for security for costs as it would not have made one against the lead applicant or each of the group members if they had brought proceedings individually. The decision considers the relevance of UCPR 42.21 to representative proceedings and the role of litigation funders when ordering security for costs.
Read the full judgement here: https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18bc6230c0c755f20bad5a88 [...]
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Doyle’s Guide Leading Professional Indemnity Senior Counsel and Junior Counsel – New South Wales, 2023We are pleased to announce Andre Zahra SC and Mark Newton have been listed in the latest edition of Doyle’s Guide‘s Leading Professional Indemnity Senior Counsel and Junior Counsel – New South Wales, 2023.
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Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental LawDavid Knoll AM’s article entitled: “Quality standards for tribunal decision making in strata disputes” has been published by the Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law this month.
The article analyses decisions across Australia in which tribunal decisions are appealed by reason of the poor quality of the decision making. Knoll contends that the impact on community living of uncorrected poor quality tribunal decisions can be immense, depending on the degree of error. For example, water ingress into people’s homes might remain unremedied for many years.
Read the online version here. [...]
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Artificial Intelligence CPD – Wednesday 13 SeptemberNinth Floor Selborne Chambers would like to invite you to our upcoming virtual CPD on Artificial Intelligence, presented by Sam Adair, Phillip Lonergan and Josh Sukkar, and chaired by Michelle Painter SC.
The event will be hosted via zoom on Wednesday 13 September at 1:00pm. We hope you to see you there.
To dial in, please use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84700238025
To be sent a calendar invitation, please contact the clerk, Ella Baxendale, at ebaxendale@selbornechambers.com.au.
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Doyle’s Guide Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel – NSW 2023Congratulations to Jack Hynes for his preeminent ranking in the 2023 listing of Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel in NSW.
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We are pleased to welcome our new reader, Josh Sukkar.Josh joins us from Barry. Nilsson. Lawyers, where he was a Senior Associate acting and advising on insurance coverage, public and products liability, construction and property damage, commercial transactions and professional indemnity disputes.
Josh accepts briefs in all areas of the law, with a particular emphasis on:
– Insurance and Reinsurance (incl. coverage and dual insurance disputes)
– Professional Negligence
– Common Law (incl. Personal Injury, Intentional Torts, and Products Liability)
– Consumer Protection and Trade Practices
– Building and Construction
– Regulatory Prosecutions
– Contracts and Commercial Transactions
– Real Property
– Corporations Law
Josh can be contacted on 02 8915 2133 or jsukkar@selbornechambers.com.au, or through his Clerk, Ella Baxendale on 02 8915 2101.
We all look forward to working with Josh during his reading year and in the years to come.
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Best Lawyers 2024Congratulations to Katrina Howard SC, who has been recognised in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers Australia for her work in Intellectual Property law.
We would like to extend our thanks to the peers that voted for Katrina.
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Welcome Sam Adair!Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers is delighted to announce a new addition to our floor – Sam Adair!
Sam is a leading barrister in the areas of insurance law and professional liability. His strong commercial practice includes matters in building and construction law, class actions, consumer protection, contracts, corporations law, ADR, real property, strata law and trusts.
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Andre Zahra SC successfully defends client, Sparke Helmore, in NSW Court of AppealAndre Zahra SC, and his junior Jonathan Burnett from 11 Wentworth Chambers, successfully defended their client, Sparke Helmore, in the NSW Court of Appeal against claims of professional negligence for allegedly failing to remind a client of advice they had already given. The Court of Appeal overturned the judgment of the primary judge and dismissed all claims against Sparke Helmore with costs, following the “general rule” that a solicitor is not negligent in failing to remind a client of advice already given or to advise the client of what the client already knows.
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Ian Faulkner SC and David Knoll AM successfully defend stolen money claim brought by Westpac.Westpac had claimed that their client, a Greek machinery manufacturer, A. Giamouridis P.C., had received $12.6 million obtained fraudulently from the bank by Bill Papas, and that the client was required to pay that money back to the bank under the rule in Black v S Freedman & Company (1910) 12 CLR 105. However, in defending the claim they submitted that all of the funds were used to pay for machines that were ordered, and that their client was wholly innocent of any knowledge of breach of trust by Mr Papas and his companies. Part way through a three week hearing, the case against Giamouridis settled today, 10 February 2023, with the bank’s claim dismissed, and Giamouridis not paying any money to the bank.
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We are delighted to see our barrister’s listed in The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2023 rankings.Katrina Howard SC has been recognised as a Leading Silk in TMT and IP law, with Andre Zahra SC and Thomas Bagley being recognised as Leading Senior and Junior Counsel in Commercial Disputes.
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Doyle’s Guide’s Leading Professional Indemnity Senior Counsel – New South Wales, 2022We are pleased to announce Andre Zahra SC has been listed as Recommended in the latest edition of Doyle’s Guide‘s Leading Professional Indemnity Senior Counsel – New South Wales, 2022
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Doyle’s Guide’s Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel – Australia, 2022We are pleased to announce Jack Hynes has been listed as Preeminent in the latest edition of Doyle’s Guide‘s Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Junior Counsel – Australia, 2022.
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Doyle’s Guide’s list of Leading Class Actions Barristers – Australia, 2022Congratulations to Thomas Bagley, who has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide‘s list of Leading Class Actions Barristers – Australia, 2021
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Admin Law CPDPlease join us for a virtual CPD on Admin Law, presented by Michelle Painter SC, Garry McGrath SC, Nicole Maddocks and Phillip Thomas.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4877166073?pwd=bkxEN0VXd1VQcEZBb2pSU1I0cnpHdz09
Password: 9SelbCPD
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Doyle’s Guide’s list of Leading Intellectual Property Senior Counsel – New South Wales, 2022.Congratulations to Katrina Howard SC has been recognised in Doyle’s Guide listing of Leading Intellectual Property Senior Counsel – New South Wales, 2022.
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“Leading light” Katrina Howard SC presented on important recent cases in which she has been involved as part of the Super Patent Session at The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) Annual Conference last week.Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers is very proud to have had Katrina represent the floor and women in the patent profession. [...]
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Congratulations to Mark Newton for being listed as Preeminent Doyle’s Guide list of Leading Professional Indemnity Junior CounselThe 2021 listing of leading New South Wales Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel details counsel practising within the areas of professional indemnity and negligence matters in the Insurance legal market who have been identified by the state’s defendant insurance and plaintiff personal injury lawyers for their expertise and abilities in these areas. [...]
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2 Congratulations to Mark Newton for being listed as Leading Junior Counsel on the Doyle’s Guide list of Leading Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel- New South Wales, 2020The 2020 listing of leading New South Wales Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel details counsel practising
within the areas of professional indemnity and negligence matters in the Insurance legal market who have been
identified by the state’s defendant insurance and plaintiff personal injury lawyers for their expertise and abilities in … [...]
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Congratulations to Mark Newton for being listed as Leading Junior Counsel on the Doyle’s Guide list of Leading Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel- New South Wales, 2020The 2020 listing of leading New South Wales Professional Indemnity Junior Counsel details counsel practising
within the areas of professional indemnity and negligence matters in the Insurance legal market who have been
identified by the state’s defendant insurance and plaintiff personal injury lawyers for their expertise and abilities in … [...]
Read more...
Phillip Lonergan recently spoke at Tahota Law Firm's seminar based in Xi’an, China. Mr Lonergan gave a presentation on the different approach to Commercial Litigation in Australia and China. He then joined the Partners in a roundtable discussion and answered questions relating to Chinese Enterprises landing in Australia.
The seminar was joined by numerous solicitors, directors and entrepreneurs in both countries and was highly regarded amongst attendees.
Mr Lonergan will be presenting similar seminars to Australian/Chinese firms over the coming months. If you think your firm could benefit in hearing Mr Lonergan’s presentation, please contact his clerk, Ella Baxendale on +61 2 8915 2101 or ebaxendale@selbornechambers.com.au.
Thank you to all who came to the AILA’s “Insurers in Court” Mock Trial which was conducted in the Supreme Court Banco Court before the Hon. Justice Cavanagh. The evening was a great success with over 200 insurance and legal professionals in attendance and, with a victory for the (insured) Plaintiff represented by Ninth Floor Selborne Chambers's Andre Zahra SC and Josh Sukkar in an interesting fictional case concerning an insurance claim following the cancellation of a music festival as a result of bushfire dangers. The mock trial case raised a number of interesting legal and factual issues and was based on the real and recent case of Commens t/as Subsonic Music v Certain Lloyd’s Underwriters subscribing to Policy No ALTCNX1900332 (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 434 before Jackman J (in which the insured lost!), see: https://lnkd.in/gVm6RUpR
The evening concluded at Verandah Bar, where Insurance Law professionals gathered to discuss their speciality over a glass of champagne.
We are very grateful to Marcus Vella for his efforts in ensuring the success of the event.
Congratulations to Thomas Bagley for his inclusion in the Doyle's Guide rankings for Leading Class Action Barristers - Australia, 2024.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales (Slattery J) has delivered judgment in Gemi 193 Pty Ltd v Zhu [2024] NSWSC 1113, in which Andre Zahra SC appeared (leading James Lee of Tenth Floor Chambers and instructed by Amie Crichton and Joshua Carton) for the successful defendant, Mrs Zhu. Justice Slattery rejected financier Gemi's claims against Mrs Zhu in relation to a loan agreement and guarantee procured from her, finding that Gemi's conduct was unconscionable and that Mrs Zhu is entitled to relief setting aside the loan agreement and guarantee by reason of Gemi’s unconscionable conduct and also pursuant to s. 7 of the Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW). The case demonstrates the sort of conduct by a lender which the courts will not condone and the risk of loan agreements, guarantees and securities being set aside when lenders obtain guarantees in that way.
See the full judgment here.
