David Hastie

John Spender is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. John, who practices law in Melbourne, Australia, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

James holds a Bachelor of Laws, a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice and a Masters of Law. James has practiced exclusively in family law since admission. He is experienced in all aspects of family law including complex property matters, contested parenting matters, Financial Agreements, Child Support matters, same-sex/LGBITQ matters, surrogacy and alternative conception procedures and Intervention Order matters. James prides himself on providing practical and cost-effective advice to ensure t...

Ian Kennedy AM is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Ian, who practices law in Melbourne, Australia, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ian is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David specialises in patent, design and copyright advice for electronics, computer software and communications products, with particular expertise in patents for Internet technology, telecommunications, financial systems, artificial intelligence and image processing technology. He has considerable experience in patent drafting, patent oppositions and patent infringement, due diligence and freedom to operate advice. David lectured for many years on patent and copyright law and integrated circu...

Robert Josephs is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Private Equity Law. Robert, who practices law in Melbourne, Australia, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ramon specialises in patent matters relating to chemistry, and in particular materials and polymer science. His main areas of expertise include the drafting and prosecution of patent applications, and providing validity and infringement advice. Ramon has extensive experience in a diverse range of technologies, including polymer synthesis and analysis, bio-polymers, drug delivery, medical devices, tissue engineering, biodegradable polymers, polymer (nano) composites, polymer processing, reacti...

Lu is a pragmatic disputes and business lawyer who has built a practice helping people solve contractual and property disputes, shareholders disputes, building disputes and other commercial disputes. She also assists clients with debt recovery and insolvency. She is known for putting her clients’ goals and needs at the forefront of all work - and advising from a commercial perspective if they should be proposing a settlement or choosing to proceed with litigation. In any event she will ...

Nik has a broad practice including assisting clients with both potential and actual patent disputes, the drafting and prosecution of patents in the information technology, software and business method fields, and advising on freedom-to-operate, patent infringement and validity in the telecommunications, medical device and software industries. Nik’s background is in both the hardware and software aspects of computer systems, as well as networking and telecommunications. This enables Nik ...

One of Australia’s leading estate planning lawyers, Bernie has over 40 years’ experience advising individuals, family groups and businesses on all aspects of estate and business succession. Often acting as advisor to prominent families, Bernie’s knowledge of family trusts, superannuation and estate and elder law enables him to provide clear, practical solutions for clients with complex family and asset structures. He is often asked to provide a second opinion on existing suc...

Hannah Brown is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Intellectual Property Law. Hannah, who practices law in Melbourne, Australia, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Hannah is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.