Archive

Kim came to the bar with 20 years experience in insurance and personal injuries litigation, focussing in more recent years on asbestos litigation and Commonwealth workers compensation.  Since coming to the bar, Kim has practised extensively in State workers compensation claims, including statutory benefits claims, serious injury applications and damages trials.  She also has extensive experience in the areas of public liability, reinsurance, Medical Panel reviews, s138 recovery claims, claims for wrongful death and personal injury damages claims.  Kim also has an interest in professional negligence and administrative law, including statutory and disciplinary tribunals, as well as immigration and other administrative decision making appeals.  She welcomes briefs in all of these areas.

She has been involved in matters in all superior jurisdictions, at both trial and appellate level.  She has also successfully represented clients in various alternative dispute resolution forums.

Kim was previously a partner at Thomsons Lawyers (now Thomson Geer).  She was a director of the Australian Insurance Law Association from 2001 to 2019 and a committee member of the Victorian branch from 1998 to 2019.  She is a committee member of the Law Council of Australia’s National Insurance Lawyers Group and the Personal Injuries and Compensation Committee.  She also sits as a committee member on the Victorian Bar’s Compensation Law Bar Association, and is a director of the Essoign.  In 2019, Kim was appointed as a director of Volleyball Australia.

Manny specialises in medical negligence, personal injury, health law, coronial matters and professional disciplinary proceedings. He also has a broad practice and accepts briefs in a number of other areas including criminal, commercial and employment matters.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Manny was a General Surgeon. He graduated from medical school at the University of Melbourne in 2005 and undertook his surgical training through Western Health with rotations to the Alfred Hospital Trauma Unit and Goulburn Valley Base Hospital from 2006-2012. Since 2013, Manny has been a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and has been in both public and private practice in Central Victoria. He therefore has unique knowledge, skills and experience in contemporary medical practice and disease/injury causation together with a substantial understanding of the Victorian healthcare system. 

In addition to his medical and law degrees, Manny holds a Master of Business Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was the Board Chair of the Otis Foundation for Breast Cancer Retreats from 2019-2021. 

Manny is reading with Dr Paul Halley and his senior mentor is Ms Michelle Britbart KC.

Duncan practices in the areas of occupational health and safety, environmental prosecutions, disciplinary proceedings, employment law and coronial inquests.

Duncan regularly appears in appeals, jury trials, committals, contested hearings and pleas in occupational health and safety matters in Victoria and interstate.  He also regularly appears in disciplinary proceedings and review hearings at the VCAT and VSC as well as conducting workplace investigations on behalf of employers and government departments.

Duncan is recommended in Doyle’s Guide’s Leading Work Health and Safety Junior Counsel – Victoria (2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025).

Before coming to the Bar, Duncan was a Senior Lawyer at the Victorian WorkCover Authority (WorkSafe) where he prosecuted safety offences.  Before joining WorkSafe, Duncan was a Senior Solicitor in the Workplace Relations Branch of the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, where he provided advice on employment and safety law matters.

In 2010, Duncan was an Associate to His Honour Judge Misso.  Prior to that, Duncan completed his legal traineeship at Slater & Gordon Lawyers.

Stella practices in common law personal injury, administrative law and equal opportunity including discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

Stella regularly appears in common law trials, appeals, serious injury applications, judicial review, coronial inquests, class actions, and in discrimination claims in the state and federal jurisdictions. Stella has been involved in significant litigation involving the duties of statutory bodies, intentional torts, human rights and novel duties of care in negligence.

Gary practices mainly in the areas of commercial law, administrative law, criminal law, personal injury, general torts, defamation and family law.

Gary returned to Victoria in 2001 having practised in South Australia as a prosecutor and then at the South Australian independent bar from 1985 to 2000.

He has prosecuted and defended serious criminal matters over many years at all levels.

Gary has appeared in numerous appeals in the High Court, Full Federal Court as well as various State Courts of Appeal and Criminal Appeal.

Gary has appeared as counsel assisting in a number of Commissions of Inquiry in various States and the ACT and has also represented parties before such inquiries. He has appeared in high profile coronial inquests on behalf of families and potentially affected parties.

Gary has also been appointed to facilitate conclaves of experts in Supreme Court proceedings involving aviation.

He has served as an Army Officer, both Regular and Reserve, and rose to the rank of Colonel.  He was appointed a Judge Advocate and Defence Force Magistrate in 1998 and resigned that appointment to become the Inaugural Director of Military Prosecutions between 2003 and 2006.  He has served two tours in Afghanistan and also served in Iraq and East Timor.

Gary has held a private pilot’s licence and an open water diver’s licence.

Brendan appears regularly in personal injury matters in the Magistrates’ Court, County Court and Supreme Court of Victoria. He has extensive experience in litigation of personal injury claims, having acted for both plaintiffs and defendants.

Brendan practises primarily in civil litigation specialising in personal injury, TAC, WorkCover, Public Liability, Medical Negligence and Dust Diseases. Brendan’s practice also covers Employment and Industrial law in which he has significant experience.

Brendan has appeared led and unled in a number of serious injury applications, and has been led in successful trials in the County Court and Supreme Court.

Before signing the Bar Roll, Brendan worked as a solicitor for over a decade, specialising in the area of personal injuries.  He had also previously worked as a Federal Industrial Officer for the Transport Workers’ Union of Australia appearing regularly in the Fair Work Commission in conciliations and arbitrations in industrial disputes, unfair dismissals and full bench appeals.

Brendan read with Maria Pilipasidis SC and his senior mentor was Paul O’Dwyer SC

Prior to coming to the bar, Millicent was a Judge’s Associate at the County Court of Victoria.

Millicent previously worked as a personal injury lawyer in country Victoria where she instructed in a wide range of matters, including damages trials, serious injury applications and statutory benefit claims. She also instructed in the Beechworth bushfire class action.

Millicent has established a busy circuit practice and deeply values representing plaintiffs from regional Victoria.

Millicent predominantly practices in personal injury law. She read with Judge David Purcell SC and her senior mentor is Tim Tobin SC.

Mr Panayi is an appellate specialist, who predominately acts for government in appeals pertaining to judicial review, administrative law, statutory interpretation, constitutional law, and human rights.  He is lead Counsel in Victorian Government appeals in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and preferred Counsel to the Department of Justice and Community Safety.

Mr Panayi’s trial work includes government, administrative, commercial, criminal, and family law litigation; principally in the Supreme, Federal and Family Courts, VCAT and often before juries.  He has extensive experience before Military Courts, Military Inquiries and Royal Commissions.

Mr Panayi has also appeared before International Courts, including on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia, together with the Solicitor-General and Chief General-Counsel of Australia, before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, in Russian Federation v Australia (Re Volga) 11 ITLOS 2002.

Mr Panayi was first called to the Bar in 1995 and practiced as a Barrister from 1995 to 1998.  He then served as an Australian Diplomat from 1998 to 2005 including overseas and domestically as Director International Law, Director Maritime Law, Executive Director Treaties Secretariat, Acting Assistant Secretary and Senior Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.  Mr Panayi is a Member of the The Honourable Society of The Inner Temple, The International Commission of Jurists, The Royal United Services Institute and holds a Commission as Lieutenant Commander, Royal Australian Navy.