Peter Francis

Accredited Criminal Law Specialist | Co-Founder of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers Bill Doogue is a distinguished criminal defence lawyer based in Melbourne, Australia, with over 30 years of experience in the legal profession. Admitted to practice in 1989, he has been an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998 and was recognised as one of Australia's five 'pre-eminent criminal lawyers' by Doyle’s Guide in 2024 .​ As a co-founder of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, Bill leads a fir...

Deborah has extensive experience across a broad range of commercial transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and other corporate transactions, equity investments, shareholders and joint venture arrangements, management equity arrangements, ASX listed company advice, and a wide variety of commercial arrangements. Deborah’s major clients span a range of industries, with particular focus on the technology and biotech industries, and on agribusiness, and vary...

Chris’ major area of practice is intellectual property litigation. He has more than 30 years experience in patent, trade mark, design, copyright, trade practices and confidential information litigation on behalf of both applicants and respondents. He has also acted in patent and trade mark oppositions before IP Australia. Chris joined the firm in 1989, becoming a partner in 2001. Chris has successfully acted in a number of significant matters before State Courts and the Federal and High...

Phil heads Sladen Legal’s superannuation team. He is a member (and past member) of multiple superannuation related committees, and is a regular author and presenter. He regularly liaises with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Treasury in relation the implementation and administration of the superannuation laws. Phil’s clients include private business owners, accountants, financial planners, self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees and high and medium net worth indiv...

Sarah is a dynamic problem-solver, with a strong record of success in securing skilled visas across all industries and occupations. She has specialist knowledge and experience in labour agreements and strategic advice in workforce planning and employer sponsored migration policy, with significant advisory experience in compliance and audits. Sarah has skillfully represented employers who are subject to monitoring or sanctions by the Department of Home Affairs. Sarah supports the Visa Executiv...

Wendy Kayler-Thomson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Wendy, who practices law in Melbourne, Australia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Wendy is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Evan is an Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations. With extensive experience in employment and industrial relations law, Evan advises and represents a broad range of clients with a particular emphasis on assisting executive employees and registered organisations. Evan works closely with his clients to identify their goals and uses his experience to find the most efficient path to achieve those goals. Evan’s areas of expertise include: drafting, advising on and enforcing employment...

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...

Chantal Kirkwood is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Leasing Law. Chantal, who practices law in Richmond, Australia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Chantal is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ian has extensive experience in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law disputes and transactions covering all intellectual property regimes including patents, copyright, trade marks and related competition law issues, with a particular emphasis on strategic intellectual property litigation. Recently Ian’s practice has involved major national and multi-jurisdictional patent litigation in the pharmaceutical, life sciences, and resources/metallurgical sec...