Best Lawyers in Australia for Litigation
Alicia is a Principal in the Dispute Resolution & Litigation Team. She is an Accredited Specialist in Commercial Litigation in Queensland and Victoria, a Nationally Accredited Mediator, graded arbitrator and has over 18 years’ experience as a lawyer. Alicia assists clients to understand the implications of the matter in which they are involved, the options available to them for resolution and works to achieve cost effective outcomes. She has acted for ASX listed companies, large pro...
Richard Leahy is the Legal Practitioner Director of Cochrane Leahy Litigation. Richard was a partner in an award winning, national firm, practising in commercial and insurance litigation. Identifying a gap in the Queensland legal market, he has now created his own boutique commercial litigation firm, with an emphasis on expert but commercially pragmatic service for businesses and individuals.
Rocco is an internationally recognised dispute resolution lawyer with expertise in court and tribunal matters, advocacy, negotiation, and alternative dispute resolution.He works across Australia to resolve disputes in the corporate and commercial, construction, property, insolvency, defamation and intellectual property fields, as well as representing clients in corporate investigations and commissions of inquiry. He has specific experience in complex, high value, business critical disputes, a...
Tom is a Principal in the firm’s disputes practice. Tom joined DMAW Lawyers in April 2007 as a senior associate, following previous roles at Clifford Chance in London and Hicksons Lawyers in Sydney where he acted in major litigation matters. Tom specialises in commercial disputes. He has acted in a full spectrum of complex commercial litigation, construction, superannuation, transport and trade matters. Tom's experience includes advising and representing a variety of clients, ranging fr...
Nick acts for insolvency practitioners, major Australian and international banks, non-bank lenders, publicly listed companies and financial services providers. He is appointed by the Victorian Legal Services Board to manage legal practices in financial or operational difficulty. He is based in Melbourne. Nick advises across all aspects of corporate insolvency including receivership, voluntary administration and liquidation, and personal insolvency. He also acts for a range of parties involved...
Nancy Collins is a commercial litigation lawyer with a particular focus on private family wealth disputes. Her expertise lies in this complex area of law, together with family trust, deceased estates, and business and commercial disputes. Nancy co-founded King & Collins understanding that people going through a stressful legal experience want the combination of personal attention and expertise that only a small, specialist firm can offer. Nancy understands the emotional impact of these ki...
Sylvia acts for a broad range of clients including State-owned corporations, listed companies, professional services firms and government bodies. Her regulatory practice spans matters involving ASIC, ASX, APRA, ACCC, SafeWork NSW, ICAC, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. She is based in Sydney and is Junior Vice President of the Law Society of New South Wales for 2026, first elected to the Council in 2021. Sylvia advises on h...
Cameron acts for insurers, self-insureds, government departments, statutory authorities, statutory corporations, ASX-listed companies and private companies in the defence of liability claims across Australia. His clients include major government bodies and national insurers. He is based in Melbourne. Cameron advises on and defends claims in public liability, professional indemnity, product liability, contractors all risk, property, industrial special risk and dust diseases. His practice also ...
Kathryn Sharpe is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Commercial Law and Litigation. Kathryn practices law in Melbourne, Australia Best Lawyers has recognized Kathryn Sharpe since 2025. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Kathryn Sharpe is held by other lawyers.
I have been a lawyer since 2001, having worked for five years for a small firm and then for just under ten years at a medium-size firm. I have acted in litigation in most jurisdictions, including trials/hearings in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court, District Court, Magistrates Court, State Administrative Tribunal, Fair Work Commission, the Coroners Court and the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission. My aim is to assist clients to understand...
John Emmerig is one of Australia's leading litigation and regulatory lawyers. He has 38 years' experience and a national reputation for handling high-stakes domestic and cross-border litigation for prominent multinationals and major Australian companies. John's key focus areas are (1) class action defence, (2) high-stakes commercial and government disputes, and (3) regulator investigations and actions. Clients describe John as an " industry great ", " profoundly experienced " and note " his t...
Shelley acts for local and national corporate clients across strata, development, building and construction sectors. Her clients include owners corporations, property developers, contractors, construction companies and corporate entities engaged in disputes and litigation often arising from real estate and construction activity. Shelley specialises in the resolution of corporate governance disputes, commercial and corporate contractual disputes, and residential and commercial construction dis...
Michael Astill is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Construction / Infrastructure Law, Government Practice, Litigation, Planning and Environmental Law and Real Property Law. Michael practices law in Sydney, Australia Best Lawyers has recognized Michael Astill since 2008. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Michael Asti...
Melissa Eaton is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Insurance Law, Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation. Melissa practices law in Adelaide, Australia Best Lawyers has recognized Melissa Eaton since 2020. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Melissa Eaton is held by other lawyers.
Sean has practised in insurance litigation since 1992, acting on behalf of defendant insurers and self insured across the CTP, workers' compensation and public liability regimes. This has included providing advices on the interpretation of legislation and policy submissions on the strategic operation of schemes. Sean has also advised employers in respect of reviews of decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Regulator, and conducting and defending appeals challenging decisions under the Q...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
