David Gaszner

David acts for a wide range of Australian and international clients across complex corporate, commercial and regulatory disputes. His clients span corporations law, intellectual property, competition and consumer law, franchising, agribusiness and education matters. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, an accredited mediator since 1993, and a member of the mediator panels of the Law Society of SA and the Resolution Institute.

David litigates, manages and resolves complex corporate, commercial and regulatory disputes in all Australian jurisdictions. His practice encompasses corporations law, IP, competition and consumer law, franchising, agribusiness and education. He also acts as a mediator across a wide range of commercial disputes. He is Chair of the Law Council of Australia's national Federal Court Liaison Committee and its Federal Circuit Court Liaison Committee, and a former Chair of the Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an honorary life member of the Institute of Managers and Leaders.

David's litigation practice spans complex multi-party corporate and regulatory disputes in federal and state courts. His mediation practice is equally substantial: inducted as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators in 2014, he has been an accredited mediator for over 30 years and regularly mediates significant commercial disputes across multiple sectors.

David's combination of senior litigator and accredited mediator gives him a full-spectrum view of commercial dispute resolution that informs both his advocacy and his advisory work. His national leadership roles on the Law Council of Australia's Federal Court Liaison Committees reflect deep engagement with the development of federal litigation practice.

Recent experience includes:

• Successfully acting for major Australian private higher education provider in having a decision of the Commonwealth regulator (TEQSA) to deregister the Australian business overturned and the client’s accreditation was renewed for a further six years.

• Conducting a range of trademark, breach of confidence, misuse of trade secrets, registered design and patent litigation in the State and Federal Courts and in the High Court.

• Advising and acting in State and Federal Courts of a range of franchising matters (and the mediation of numerous franchise disputes on appointment from the OFMA), development of franchising documents and compliance systems.

• Acting in arbitrations and litigation in relation to grain supply defaults and related trade issues and the resolution of a wide range of disputes arising in the course of the operation of various agribusinesses including disputes relating to forward contracts and financial products, grain pools, port and supply train operation and access and infrastructure management and condition.

• Advising and acting on numerous joint venture disputes in diverse business sectors including oil and gas projects, gold and other mining projects, port terminal development, international grain marketing and higher education.

• Advising on and resolving numerous regulatory matters and related applications for administrative review for private higher education and VET providers arising out of compliance audits, decisions on applications for registration or accreditation and other action by the Australian regulators including TEQSA and ASQA.

• Advising on and resolving issues with DET for clients in matters arising from decisions including a decision to refuse to grant approved authority status to an entity operating a private college, the denial of commonwealth funding to an approved authority and an application for removal of conditions.