Australia

Bird & Bird’s dispute resolution team provides excellent intellectual property services, particularly in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Besides these, the team is active in general commercial disputes including cross-border matters. The team also has substantial experience representing clients at leading arbitral institutions such as the International Chamber of Commerce, London Court of International Arbitration and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. IP specialist Jane Owen is a key figure of the firm who covers a wide range of IP disputes with extensive experience litigating in the life sciences patent arena.

Key cases involve representing Take-Two Interactive Software and RockStar Games in obtaining orders and relief for copyright infringement proceedings concerning Grand Theft Auto V, one of the world's most valuable media titles. This case is highly significant because it is one of very few matters concerning the application of copyright laws to unauthorised modifications to computer games in Australia, as well as technological protection measures. It has attracted media attention in Australia and overseas.

Elixinol Wellness, Football Australia, GlobalTech Corporation, Nine Entertainment and Troy Laboratories are key clients.

Client feedback

“Extremely responsive, good preparation and careful.” – Commercial and transactions

“The firm is able to handle large complex cases and issues.” – Technology and telecommunications

“Bird & Bird is excellent at managing client expectations and timeframes, and has an exceptional knowledge of the relevant legal principles and processes.” – Technology and telecommunications

“Timely, client-orientated and commercial.” – White-collar crime

Jonathon Ellis

“Jonathon is a careful thinker. He is very calm and makes sure everything is planned and resourced and understands and listens to the client's needs.”

“Understands the commercial drivers in the context of complex legal issues. Navigates and advises to an incredibly high standard.”

“Jonathon is fantastic at managing all aspects of litigation – the technical legal aspects, process-driven aspects and client communication and management in order to run litigation efficiently and effectively.”

“Exceptional lawyer – Jonathon is a leader in his field and a pleasure to work with.”

Gilbert + Tobin is renowned for handling complex, strategically significant, and bet-the-company disputes across the commercial, financial services regulatory, and class action arenas. The firm also has deep experience in participating in Australia's highest levels of public inquiry. The team is particularly active in advising Royal Commissions, both government bodies and the organisations being scrutinised.

Richard Harris leads a team of 11 partners and specialises in commercial disputes, including class actions and regulatory compliance. Key figures to note include Dianne Banks, Andrew Floro, Kate Harrison and Philippa Hofbrucker.

The firm’s disputes and investigations team is acting for Gina Rinehart, the owner of Hancock Prospecting, in a commercial arbitration. Hancock Prospecting is one of Australia’s most successful privately held businesses and is a significant player in the Australian mining industry. Any substantial changes to the ownership or control of the company would have significant implications for the industry as a whole. The proceeding is believed to be of national significance.

In 2023, the firm hired Silvana Wood and Lixian Liang from Ashurst as partners. Clare Pope also joined the firm as a partner from PwC.

Client feedback

“Very responsive and can always be relied upon to provide sensible advice.” – Banking and financial services

“Consistently deliver great commercial and legal outcomes for our company.” – Commercial and transactions

“Prompt advice on challenging legal issues arising in the matter, always available to assist.” – Commercial arbitration

“Gilbert + Tobin was well resourced and responsive.” – Tax

Antonia Garling

“Antonia is a pleasure to work with. Antonia is very responsive and has excellent attention to detail. She is across the detail of the matters that her team is dealing with in a way that some partners of other firms are not. She can always be relied upon to provide sensible and practical advice and meet tight regulatory timeframes.”

“Antonia can always be relied upon to provide sensible and pragmatic advice. She quickly gets across the detail of a matter and works with the client to reach the best solution. She is a pleasure to work with from a client perspective.”

“Excellent strategic advice, attention to detail and responsiveness from Antonia Garling. Antonia can always be relied upon to provide sensible and practical advice and is a pleasure to work with.”

Ilona Hunnisett

"Knowledge of our corporate structure, banking arrangements, and our operating business."

Peter Munro

“Peter is responsive and manages the client relationship well.”

Colleen Platford

“Very sharp mind on technical legal issues as well as strategy.”

With offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, boutique intellectual property firm Griffith Hack specialises in all areas of IP and is one of the most active IP litigation firms by the number of IP cases before the Federal Court or IP Australia.

Kellie Stonier heads the firm’s Law & Trade Marks team. She is an enforcement committee member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), and a national committee member for the Intellectual Property Society of Australia & New Zealand and the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia. Emma Mitchell is the non-traditional marks committee member of the INTA. Gavin Adkins and Leanne Oitmaa are other key partners to note.

In a ground-breaking case, the firm acted for Allergan, a multinational pharmaceutical company and maker of well-known anti-aging product Botox, in a case addressing the question of whether the use of a competitor’s trademark by a competitor to promote the competitor’s product, infringes the registered trademark. This was the first case in Australia dealing with a defensive trademark registration. The outcome of the case will set an important precedent for brand owners that are considering using a competitor’s products and associated trademarks as part of their own marketing strategy.

Key clients include Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, Kraft Foods, Puma, Republic of Peru and The NOCO Company.

Client feedback

“Very good communication and strategy in patent litigation.” – Intellectual property

“Griffith Hack has provided excellent advice to help us navigate both simple trademark registration as well as complex trademark disputes.” – Intellectual property

Derek Baigent

"He is knowledgeable and has excellent communication skills."

Kellie Stonier

“Kellie is very knowledgeable and strategic and is also a lovely person to work with.”

With more than 1,000 fee earners across 27 offices, top-tier firm Herbert Smith Freehills has one of the biggest dispute resolution teams in the world. The team is widely recognised for its strengths in all range of disputes, particularly exceptional in the areas of government and regulatory, intellectual property and class action. The firm often wins mandates on some of the largest, most complex and important dispute cases in Australia.

The firm has the highest number of star litigators in the market including Damian Grave, Juliana Warner, Jason Betts, Luke Hastings, Andrew Eastwood and Anna Sutherland. Grave is singled out for his expertise in commercial and class action disputes. Both Betts and Hastings are recognised specialists in class actions and regulatory issues. Sue Gilchrist is a key individual for IP litigation.

In one particular case, the firm acted for an individual in relation to the Australian market’s very first ASIC (Supervisory Cost Recovery Levy - Regulatory Costs) supervisory and enforcement action and now court proceedings against an issuer of credit cards under the new design and distribution regulatory regime. The firm acted for the distributor of the DJ Amex cards and successfully excluded them from the action.

The firm’s recent client roster includes Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, BT Funds Management, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Suncorp-Metway.

Entering Benchmark Asia-Pacific for the first time this year, Marque Lawyers’ litigators represent clients in various dispute resolution processes, from negotiation and mediation to litigation and arbitration. The firm consists of 11 partners and more than 50 lawyers who specialise in dispute resolution and litigation, climate change, energy and resources, commercial and corporate advisory, competition and consumer law, intellectual property and workplace relations. Damian Sturzaker, Michael Bradley, Nathan Mattock and Kiera Peacock are key partners.

The firm represented Private Media, the publisher of Australian news website Crikey, against a defamation claim brought by Lachlan Murdoch. This defamation case garnered significant attention as it pitted Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, against the smaller news outlet Crikey, sparking discussions on press freedom and media responsibility. The case showcased the complexities of defamation suits and emphasised the potential financial and reputational consequences for individuals and media organisations.

The firm hired Belle Jing from Addisons as a partner in September 2023.

Client feedback

“Very strong advice on the legal state of the dispute, the relative strengths of each side's likely case, the expectations we should have in relation to potential success in the dispute. Advice was timely and, where needed, engagement was proactive.” – Commercial and transactions

“Marque Lawyers have a deep understanding of our business and our priorities and are able to ensure advice is in line with those priorities.” – Commercial and transactions

Kiera Peacock

“Kiera is very good at getting alongside us as a client and making a strong 'one-team' feeling for the engagements we have worked on.”

“Kiera is very strong at real, down-to-earth client relationships, and at giving clear advice with a realistic view of potential outcomes. She is able to craft her communication in a way that non-lawyers can get across the legal issues quickly, to allow informed decisions on the right pathway.”

Mills Oakley’s commercial dispute resolution team is composed of 19 partners and 52 qualified lawyers across five offices throughout Australia. The team is well versed in commercially significant and high-profile commercial disputes, including class actions, investigations and royal commissions, across a broad range of industry sectors.

Some key partners of the team include Darren James, Andrew Brown, Stuart Walter, Dale Cliff, Graham Maher, Brendan Taylor and Mark Wenn.

Among the commercial disputes, the firm acted for MSS Securities in its defence of class action proceedings brought against it in respect of claims by the relatives of over 840 persons who died after being infected with Covid-19, and over 22,000 Australians infected with Covid-19, following outbreaks of the coronavirus in the Victorian State Government hotel quarantine programme. This was one of the first class action proceedings to emerge from the outbreaks of Covid-19 from the quarantine programme. The proceeding was very high profile, attracting ongoing media and government interest.

Another ongoing matter sees the firm acting for RP Data in a breach of copyright case related to photographs of residential property across Australia as they appear on the RP Professional and realestate.com.au webpages. The outcome of the appeal has the potential to dramatically change the property data landscape in this country if all historical photographs of residential property need to be removed.

In October 2022, the firm hired Ben Patrick from Patrick and Associates as partner.

Marina Square Retail, Nissan Financial Services Australia, Quest Serviced Apartments and Real Estate Tool Box are key clients.

Class action boutique law firm Phi Finney McDonald was founded in 2017 by leading class action lawyers. Specialising in complex and large-scale class action litigation, the firm is regularly retained and publicly backed by the largest institutional investors around the world. Its clientele includes some of the largest and most influential pension schemes, private investors, sovereign wealth funds and investment platforms.

Ben Phi, Tim Finney and Odette McDonald are key principal lawyers at the firm with profound experience in class action disputes, both on the plaintiff and defendant sides.

The firm acted for a group of workers in a class action against Domino’s Pizza Enterprises for widespread underpayment of tens of thousands of delivery drivers and in-store workers employed at franchise stores. The claim is novel in that it is brought under the Australian Consumer Law alleging that Domino’s engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct about the terms and conditions that applied to the employment of workers at franchisees.

In 2023, the firm welcomed three principal lawyers who specialise in class action: Tania Noonan, Denée Muller, and Joel Phibbs.

Client feedback

“Phi Finney McDonald have expertise in class actions.” – Class actions

"Outstanding legal advice, extensive commercial acumen, excellent claims management, and effective communication." – Class actions

Ben Phi

"A great leader who is highly commercially savvy, possesses excellent market knowledge, has built a stellar team, and is highly personable."

Paul Zawa

“Paul Zawa is an experienced and well-regarded litigator.”

IP specialist firm Spruson & Ferguson acts in a range of IP infringements, and is experienced in defending breaches of consumer protection provisions and trade secrets. The firm has deep expertise in the information technology, telecommunications, mining, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and consumer goods sectors.

IP litigator Katrina Crooks is the principal and head of the firm. She has a particular interest in the life sciences sector, acting for numerous global leaders in pharmaceuticals, animal health, food tech, nutraceuticals, medical devices and biotechnology. Francesca Colubriale is another name to note for trademark disputes.

Among the IP disputes the firm handles, it is currently representing Hytera Communications Corporation in a high-profile IP dispute in Australia. This multi-jurisdictional case involves a dispute over communications technology and raises significant legal questions regarding the extent of copyright protection for computer programs that undergo iterative changes over time. The proceedings were initiated by Motorola Solutions in the Federal Court of Australia, and the firm is specifically handling the copyright aspect of the case. This IP case holds great commercial importance for the parties involved and carries significant implications for the scope of copyright protection for software that undergoes iterative changes.

Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific, McDonald’s Australia, Nalco (Ecolab), Xiamen Huadian Switchgear and Zoetis Services are some of the firm’s notable clients.

Client feedback

"A strong technical understanding of patent law and the underlying technology." – Intellectual property

Duncan Longstaff

“Demonstrated legal and technical expertise.”