Commercial Dispute Resolution

Like it or not, every business will have disputes.  Cost effective resolution is the key. Our focus is on understanding your predicament and providing the strategy, whether for litigation or alternative dispute resolution, to help you achieve your business goals.  We have played a role in resolving many of Australia's largest commercial disputes.

Fully transferable expertise

Our expertise has developed through acting for clients from virtually every area of commerce and industry - manufacturing, banking and finance, commercial property, construction and engineering, health, infrastructure and utilities, petroleum, telecommunications, tourism, transport and distribution. 

Our approach

In every instance, we:

• identify the legal issues and commercial drivers behind the dispute
• align the dispute resolution strategy with the demands of your business
• agree the right individual or team to deliver the required outcome
• create open lines of communication with key stakeholders
• ensure progress is within your preferred timeframes
• critically review progress with you until the dispute is resolved
• conduct a debrief to identify key lessons learnt.

If you can't prevent - pre-empt

Pre-empting litigation is a wise strategy and putting measures in place to minimise disputes in the first place is even wiser. We can conduct rigorous audits to identify potential pressure points and advise on effective measures to address them.

Not only in Australia

We have a highly mobile network of dispute resolution lawyers. This means we can have a 'rapid response team' on site almost anywhere in the region.  This is more economical and effective than would be possible if the matter had to be sent to main regional centres in Australia, Singapore or Hong Kong. Our established presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China, gives us the edge when it comes to setting up an on-site team.

• Legal update: When is a label not a brand? – Polo/Lauren v Ziliani Appeal

  In dismissing an appeal by Polo/Lauren against an unauthorised importer who was selling its genuine brand label clothing at discount prices, the Full Federal Court has recently underscored the difficulty that brand owners face controlling the secondary channels of distribution for their genuine goods.

  26 Feb 09 Stephen Clune, Cameron Harvey , Kristen Migliorini

• Deacons in the press: Light shines in the gloom

  Deacons has announced that Justin Marschke will join the firm as a partner in its Brisbane commercial dispute resolution practice, reports The Australian, 23 January 2009.

  23 Jan 09 Kate Alexander

• Legal update: High Court’s timely judgment on punctual payment

  In Agricultural and Rural Finance Pty Ltd v Gardiner [2008] HCA 57, the High Court considered the meaning of “punctual payment” and whether late payments by investors in a failed tax minimisation scheme triggered an indemnity under that scheme. The High Court held that the investors who delayed payment could not rely on the indemnity. This judgment is a timely statement in an economic climate where investors and other debtors are more likely to seek to stretch and avoid their payment obligations.

  13 Jan 09 Adrian Honnery, Douglas Raftesath

• Media release: Deacons to welcome new dispute resolution partner

  Leading law firm Deacons has announced the appointment of Justin Marschke as a partner in the firm’s commercial dispute resolution (CDR) practice.

  19 Dec 08 Paul McKeon, Wayne Spanner

• Legal update: Damages awarded for breach of confidence

  An Australian court has, for the first time, made an award of damages to compensate a plaintiff for “mere distress” which had resulted from a breach of confidence. On the authority of this decision, it is no longer necessary to prove an actual psychiatric injury in order to obtain damages where a duty of confidence has been breached.

  16 Dec 08 Peter Cash , Marnie Farrant

• Legal update: Penalty clauses clarified

  A recent unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal (Interstar Wholesale Finance Pty Limited v Integral Home Loans Pty Limited [2008] NSWCA 310), in which Deacons acted for the successful appellant, has given some guidance on the law of penalties.

  10 Dec 08 Chris Cruikshank, David Goldman

• Legal update: Dissolving a joint venture – breaking up is not easy to do

  In difficult economic times hard decisions – like to dissolve a joint venture – may have to be made. But those decisions need not be rushed or unprincipled. And good money can be thrown away if the right course is not adopted, as a recent Federal Court case demonstrates.

  18 Nov 08 Adrian Honnery, Douglas Raftesath

• Legal update: Australian Government Employment Bargaining Framework released

  The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations released the Australian GOvernment Employment Bargaining Framework (the Framework) on 29 February 2008. The Framework provides for the negotiation of new collective agreements and has been designed in part to deliver commitments made by the Rudd Government in relation to industrial relations.

  7 Mar 08 Sarah Ralph , Andre Didenkowski

• Legal update: High Court grants special leave in Ketchell’s Case

  The High Court has granted special leave to the franchisor to appeal the decision of the NSW Court of Appeal in Ketchell v Master Education Services Pty Ltd. Readers will recall that the Court of Appeal last July found that a franchise agreement made in breach of regulation 11(1) of the Franchising Code of Conduct was unlawful and unenforceable.

  21 Feb 08 Nigel Jones, Dylan McKimmie

• Newsletter: D-brief - December 2007

  After the first edition of D-brief we received very positive feedback on the publication and the quality of the articles. It is our intention to maintain this high standard and your input will ensure that the content always remains relevant.

  20 Dec 07 Christine Small, Jacinta Studdert, Michael Tooma, Ashley Tsacalos , Robert Chin, Alena Titterton, Stephanie Sinclair, Edward Campbell and Adam Harvey