Darrell Jardine is a Partner and leads HopgoodGanim's Dispute Resolution practice. He is approaching his fourth decade practising law with HopgoodGanim, having joined the firm in 1986. In this Q&A, we chat to Darrell about the key qualities a client should look for with a litigation lawyer and what contributes to success in litigation.
Listen to Darrell share his insights below, and keep reading for his insights on questions you may like answered if you are considering a litigation lawyer for you and your business today.
Watch now: Litigation lawyer insights with Partner Darrell Jardine
What should a client look for with a litigation lawyer?
What a client should consider when they are choosing a litigation lawyer is simple, but not easy to find. They need to find somebody who really cares about their matter, cares about them and will do literally everything reasonably possible to put them in a position where they achieve the result they are hoping for. A litigation lawyer has got to be very skilled; got to be tactically strong. Preparation has got to be paramount. But overall, that person needs to really care about your matter and care about you. Without that, you're losing a significant part of the equation, which could well be problematical, particularly when matters don't go as well as hoped for during the course of the matter.
You need to know your litigation lawyer has your back and will do everything for you. As I say to the practitioners that work in litigation at HopgoodGanim, every word counts. When you read a document, you read every word; not just skim through the sentences - every word. Incredibly, so many matters are determined by a sentence or a clause in a document and how that's to be interpreted, constructed, and applied, and what the intention of the parties were.
What are your personal strengths as a litigation lawyer?
My great strength is absolute thoroughness. You know, to strategize the way the matter should progress; gathering the evidence that is needed, being absolutely and completely all over the issues, the facts and the legal principles and the evidence. There's no other way to run a litigation. What we do as a litigant from the client's point of view is achieving the best possible outcome we can for them in view of their circumstances; in view of the facts; in view of the evidence; in view of the law. So, we literally do everything we can to put them in that position. Our paramount duty though is to the court.
What has running marathons taught you about resiliency that you bring to your work?
I see a significant degree of commonality between running a marathon and actually running a litigation, as funny as that might sound. Running a marathon, at 30 km the pain is kicking in; you start to cramp up. At 35 km, it's really hurting. But it's incredible what I've learnt about running marathons - I've done twelve now - and that is how powerful the mind is. The body is saying, 'Please stop,' but the mind is so… it's like a steel trap. 'No, no, you've got to keep going, you’ve got to get to that finishing line.'
There's no stopping... Litigation is the same. Marathon running for me has taught me so much about resilience. You need that in running a litigation - particularly a stressful case where a matter is progressing quickly. It's coming up to a hearing. You're preparing evidence, you're preparing submissions, you're dealing with the client all the way through. You're dealing with the opposition on the other side, their barristers. A lot is happening. It's the cut and thrust. And in litigation it doesn't always run smoothly. There's always some issues that you need to deal with. You think: 'How are we going to deal with that?' That's the resilience I'm talking about that marathon running teaches you about: Never give up and tough it out to the end.
What have been the highlights of your career?
One of the major highlights has been becoming firstly a partner and then mentoring and overseeing the commercial litigation section at HopgoodGanim to see where it is today, and the people that have come through, including some practitioners then becoming partners. From a work point of view, there are cases you run you never forget. You never forget the people. In some cases, clients' lives literally depend commercially on the outcome, and being able to achieve good outcomes for these clients, and just seeing the gratitude and just absolute relief that they have as a result of that is really, really important.
That's one of the great things about being a lawyer. We've got a skill and we've got to use that skill for the benefit of not only business, but certainly private individuals as well. And it's a skill that we've got to ensure is available for all to be able to take the benefit of. And that's one of the great things about what we do.
About Darrell Jardine
Darrell Jardine's expertise includes advising on contractual disputes, negligence claims, product liability litigation, class actions, insider trading and other claims brought by ASIC for statutory breaches and Royal Commissions. He offers a particular expertise in liquor licensing and gaming regulation and represents major participants in the leisure, sport and entertainment sector.
Darrell is consistently recognised by leading publications, including recommended by Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Litigation & Dispute Resolution Lawyers — Queensland, 2015–2022. Most recently, he was named by The Best Lawyers™ as a leading Australian practitioner in the 2022-2024 editions for Corporate Law; Hospitality and Tourism Law; Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation Law categories. Darrell was also named as The Best Lawyers™ "Lawyer Of The Year" for Hospitality and Tourism Law 2023.
This article was originally published by HopgoodGanim Lawyers as Litigation lawyer insights: Q&A with Darrell Jardine, Partner, Dispute Resolution and Litigation. HopgoodGanim is a leading Australian independent legal and advisory firm operating nationally and internationally with a focus on Asia from the two key locations of Brisbane and Perth. The firm offers highly skilled and agile legal teams across key sectors and areas of practice, with its lawyers recognised by legal publications and companies including Best Lawyers® as leaders in their fields.
