Civil/Commercial/Insurance Law
Appeared as junior counsel to Ross Ray QC on behalf of Utility Services Corporation in Matthews v SPI Electricity Pty Ltd and Others in the Supreme Court of Victoria, a class action arising out of the Black Saturday bushfires (Trial March 2013 to June 2014)
Appeared as junior counsel to David Collins QC in the Court of Appeal on behalf of Utility Services Corporation in Utility Services Corporation Ltd v SPI Electricity Pty Ltd & Ors [2012] VSCA 158 (24 July 2012)
Appeared as junior counsel to Ross Ray QC on behalf of Utility Services Corporation in Rowe v SPI Electricity Pty Ltd and Others in the Supreme Court of Victoria a class action arising out of the Black Saturday Bushfires (Trial listed to commence 3 February 2015, settled)
Appeared in the Federal Court at first instance as junior counsel to Peter Murdoch QC in Kernaghan v Corrections Corporation of Australia Staff Superannuation Pty Ltd [2006] FCA 2 (6 January 2006) and on appeal in CGU Insurance Ltd v Corrections Corporation of Australia Staff Superannuation Pty Ltd [2008] FCAFC 173 (21 October 2008)
Briefed to advise and appear in insurance/contract matters in the Supreme Court of Victoria
Appear on behalf of the State of Victoria in police torts matters in respect of claims including assault, trespass, false imprisonment, negligence and malicious prosecution
Appeared on behalf of the TAC in both County Court matters and in the Court of Appeal as junior to Jeremy Ruskin QC in Dressing v Porter & TAC [2006] VSCA 215
Regulator/Enforcement
Appeared for the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority in doping matters before the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport including in:
Appeared as counsel assisting in the Cricket Australia Shane Warne and Rummans hearings
Advise and appear on behalf of Harness Racing Victoria including:
Advise and appear in the Racing Appeals Board on behalf of Harness Racing Tasmania and Greyhound Racing Tasmania including:
Appear in the Fisheries Licensing Appeals Tribunal (now at VCAT) on behalf of Fisheries Victoria, now Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (since 2000)
Advised VGSO in relation to issues arising out of the execution of a warrant and forfeiture of property
Advised WorkCover regarding appropriateness of charges in relation to a fraud matter
Advised the Department of Primary Industries in relation to subpoenas for the production of documents and in relation to the power to enter property under the Catchment and Land Protection Act (Vic) 2003
Appeared at VCAT on behalf of the Department of Primary Industries in relation to a disputed compensation claim
Appeared on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in an action under s37 of the Coastal Land Management Act 1995 seeking damages for costs incurred by the Secretary in relation to rectification works
Prosecuted matters on behalf of Department of Primary Industries in the Magistrates’ Court
Royal Commissions
Appeared as junior counsel to James Judd QC (as His Honour then was) on behalf of the VGS and members of the VGSO in the Metropolitan Ambulance Royal Commission
Appeared on behalf of Utility Services Corporation in the ‘Black Saturday’ Bushfires Royal Commission in respect of the Beechworth fire
Appeared as junior counsel to Ross Ray QC on behalf of Utility Services Corporation in the ‘Black Saturday’ Bushfires Royal Commission in respect of the Kilmore fire
Administrative Law
Provided advice in relation to matters of statutory interpretation to the then Department of Environment and Primary Industries
Junior to the Solicitor General, Pamela Tate QC (as Her Honour then was) advising in respect of the strategy for issuing of new licences under the Forests Act
Appeared before Psychologists Registration Board
Criminal Law
Junior to Robert Redlich QC (as His Honour then was) in Hugo & Anor v The Queen [2000] WASCA 199 (attempt to pervert the course of justice) and junior to Ms. Felicity Hampel QC (as Her Honour then was) in the re-trial in the West Australian Supreme Court
Prosecuted matters on behalf of the OPP in the Magistrates, County and Supreme Courts including as junior to Ray Elston QC in R v Russo [2005] VSC 348 (1 September 2005) (murder trial)
Defence counsel in criminal jury trials in the County Court, and in other criminal matters in the Magistrates’ Court (primarily between 1999 and 2004)]
Advised in respect of Australian Crime Commission matters
Junior defence counsel in rape and murder trials in the Supreme Court of the ACT
OH&S Law
Appearing in prosecutions under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004 (Vic).
Junior counsel to Ross Ray QC advising the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference in relation to the operation of the proposed Work Health and Safety legislation
Appeared on behalf of a Grocon employee resisting a compulsory examination application in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria in respect of the WorkSafe prosecution relating to the Swanston Street wall collapse
Coroners’ Court
Appearing on behalf of the Chief Commissioner of Police in application to re-open investigation.
Appeared on behalf of three Victoria Police members in the Inquest into the death of Thompson
Appeared on behalf of a Grocon employee in respect of the inquest into the deaths of Jones, Jones and Fiawoo arising out of the Swanston Street wall collapse
OTHER PROFESSIONAL
Cricket Australia Code of Conduct Commissioner 2016/17
CIArb Asia-Pacific Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration course in Singapore August 2016.
Victorian Bar Council member 2016/17
Board member of the Victoria Law Foundation (from 2015, appointment for three years)
Chair of the Grants Subgroup of the Board of the Victoria Law Foundation
Member of the Audit, Finance and Investments subgroup of the Board of the Victoria Law Foundation
Member of the Victorian Bar Council 2013/14
Member of Department of Justice Human Research Ethics Committee (2002 to 2012)
Awarded a Justice award by the Secretary of the Department of Justice in 2012 in respect of service on the Justice Human Research Ethics Committee
Member of the Victorian Bar Education and Professional development Committee (2011 to present)
Member of the Victorian Bar Readers’ course sub-committee (2011 to 2015)
Member of the Victorian Bar Professional standards committee (2013 to 2015)
Deputy Chair of the Sports Law Section of the Commercial Bar Association (2012 to 2014)
Chair of the Sports Law Section of the Commercial Bar Association (2015 - )
Chair - Basketball Victoria Member Protection Tribunal (2011 to present)
Member of the Basketball Victoria Disciplinary Tribunal (2010 to present)
Member of Australia New Zealand Sports Law Association since 2008
Appointed to the Australian Olympic Committee list of pro bono lawyers for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games
Assisted the Director of Sport for the Australian Olympic Committee regarding pro bono counsel appearing in selection disputes in the lead up to London 2012
Current mentor under the Victorian Women Lawyers and Woman Barristers Association mentoring program
Sessional lecturer - Trial Practice and Advocacy course at Monash University (undergraduate – in Melbourne and in Prato Italy) (from 2001)
Sessional lecturer and course materials writer - Advocacy Theory and Practice course (LLM) at Monash University (from 2001)
Instructor – VicBar Readers’ Course
Instructor – Australian Advocacy Institute
Instructor/trainer – Australian Centre for Environmental Compliance (2005)
Former committee and executive member of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties during the Presidency of the then Ms Felicity Hampel QC (as Her Honour then was) and Mr. Chris Maxwell QC (as His Honour then was)
Publications:
Co-author with Professor the Hon. George Hampel AM QC of “Ethics & Etiquette for Advocates”
Co-author with Professor the Hon George Hampel AM QC and Randall Kune of “Advocacy Manual”
Co-author of Bar News article “Sports, Drugs and Doping Control” 2013
Presentations:
Reporting on the Forum on Expert Evidence at the National Forensic Accounting Conference 2005 in Sydney for the Institute of Chartered Accountants
Issues in expert evidence at the International Academy of Law and Mental Health conference in Paris in 2005
Drafting of notices of appeal and submissions in the Court of Appeal with S. Senathirajah for the Leo Cussen Institute in 2006
Drafting case studies for advocacy training purposes at the International Advocacy Teachers Conference in Prato, Italy in January 2008
Presented “You’ve briefed Counsel – can you sit back and relax?” with Charles Shaw of the Victorian Bar for the Leo Cussen Institute CPD Intensive on “Ethical Responsibilities of Lawyers when briefing Counsel”, 2010
Presented a paper for the Leo Cussen Institute CPD Intensive on “Ethical Responsibilities of Lawyers when briefing Counsel”, 2011
Presented a paper for the Leo Cussen Institute CPD Intensive on “Ethical Responsibilities of Lawyers when briefing Counsel”, 2012
Presented a paper on the judgment of Croft J in Chief Executive of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and the AFL v 34 Players and one support person [2015] VSC 14 for the Australia New Zealand Sports Law Association on 13 May 2015
Presented at the Australia New Zealand Sports Law Association conference in Wellington New Zealand in October 2016 on "Third Party Witness Compulsion in CAS: Essendon; an issue of fairness?" (considering the limitations on the ability to use Fivision 3 Part III of the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) to compel witnesses to attend an arbitration seated in Switzerland).
To get in touch with Elizabeth Brimer | or for more information please contact the Clerk on: +61 3 9225 7222 or clerkb@greenslist.com.au
