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.

Dean was admitted to practice as a solicitor on 14 February 2006. Before coming to the Bar, in his capacity as Special Counsel, he has gained extensive experience in all areas of personal injury law.

Dean has frequently appeared as Counsel in statutory benefits matters, Serious Injury Hearings and Common Law Damages trials, as well as at interlocutory applications, Judicial Settlement Conferences, mediations and settlement conferences.

He is proficient in drafting appeal documentation and has a comprehensive experience in drafting Serious Injury Affidavits, Statements of Claim, Defences, Interrogatories, Medical Panel referrals, etc.

Dean is the author of the text “Personal Injury Compensation in Victoria” (CCH Australia Code: 39572A, ISBN: 978 1 922042 86 6, Publication: November 2012), which is the prescribed textbook in MLL315 Personal Injuries Compensation Schemes taught at Deakin University as part of its Bachelor of Laws degree.

http://www.cch.com.au/au/onlinestore/ProductDetails.aspx?PageTitle=Personal-Injury-Compensation-in-Victoria&ProductID=10333#Feature

He was also the Author/Editor of “Statutory Compensation Schemes”, Australian Torts Reporter (ATOR), CCH Australia (2012).

Dean is a recipient of Monash University Law School’s prizes in Restitution Law and Citizenship & Migration Law.

Judgments:

Ioannou v SCA Hygiene Australasia Pty Ltd [2013] VCC 819 (24 June 2013)

http://www1.workcover.vic.gov.au/vwa/vwa044-022.nsf/docsbyUNID/F50CE393FC332CD9CA257B95001ED4B0/$file/CC+Ioannou+24.06.13.pdf

Munif v Nestle Australia Ltd & Anor [2012] VCC 1538 (17 October 2012)

http://www1.workcover.vic.gov.au/vwa/vwa044-022.nsf/docsbyUNID/B8973779A1FD1363CA257A9F00823BA9/$file/CC+Munif+17.10.12.pdf

Publications/Presentations:

CPDS Half Day Seminar “The Accident Compensation Act 1985“, 27/3/13, Rydges Hotel Melbourne (co-presenter with Romesh Kumar)

“Personal Injury Compensation in Victoria”(CCH Australia Code: 39572A, ISBN: 978 1 922042 86 6, Publication: November 2012).

LexisNexis, Personal Injury Law 2012 (19/07/12, Stamford Plaza Melbourne), Speaker.

Causation: Increased Risk of Injury; Australian Tort, Personal Injury, Health & Medical Law Tracker, CCH, Issue 1, January 2012

LexisNexis, Personal Injury Law 2011 (23/11/11, Stamford Plaza Melbourne), Keynote Speaker.

Patient or Privilege? November 2011 85(11) LIJ, p.30

Economic loss in ‘Serious Injury’ Applications: business expenses and the corporate veil, PRECEDENT Issue 102 January/February 2011.

Since coming to the bar in 2005, Gavin has been briefed primarily in the areas of insurance and personal injury law. He appears regularly in the Supreme and County Courts both in Melbourne and on circuit.

Before coming to the bar, Gavin was a partner at Deacons (now Norton Rose Fulbright). He has also worked as an inhouse legal counsel at both the Victorian WorkCover Authority and Transport Accident Commission.

1976-1978

Solicitor

1979

Abroad

1980

Solicitor

1981

Associate to High Court of Australia Justice, Sir Gerard Brennan.

1982-April 1983

Barrister, Victorian Bar

April 1983-April 1988

Senior Private Secretary and Principal Adviser to the Hon. Michael Duffy. April 1988 to date Barrister, Victorian Bar.

Counsels areas of practice are Administrative Law/Public Law and FOI. Insurance Law, particularly Indemnity and Contribution. Common Law and Industrial Compensation and Medical Panels. General Commercial Law, including Taxation, Trade Practices, ASC Compliance and Corporations Law, Superannuation, Mortgages and Securities, General Contract, Vendor and Purchaser, Insolvency. Intellectual Property, Professional Negligence. Media Law and Defamation and Broadcast Regulation. Telecommunications Regulation. Employment Law (but not IRC Industrial, other than unfair dismissal), Planning and Environmental, including defence to EPA Prosecution. OH & S including defence to prosecution.

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.