Renee is a commercial barrister with more than 17 years' experience at the Victorian Bar. Her broad practice extends across various industries and she has acted for and against corporations, government, and individuals. 

Renee appears both led and unled before all state and federal courts and tribunals.

Renee’s main practice areas are:

• Commercial disputes (especially breach of contract, misleading and deceptive, disputes arising in the sale of businesses, property disputes, franchising and all matters under the ACL);
• Public and administrative law (incl. judicial review, merits review, disciplinary proceedings and investigations); and
• Regulatory and disciplinary matters (incl. AHPRA, Medical Board and various Colleges, Victorian Building Authority, Tax Practitioners Board and others).
• Media and defamation (incl. injurious falsehood and contempt).

Some examples of Renee’s most recent cases (in the last 2 years) include:

Commercial/Contractual disputes & Australian Consumer Law:

• Acting for a rare car owner in County Court proceedings for breach of contract and breaches of the ACL (2023);
• Acting for a purchaser of large machinery in County Court proceedings for breach of contract (2023);
• Acting for a private school in VCAT proceedings brought by parents for breach of contract and breaches of Human Rights (2023);
• Acting for a city council in County Court proceedings in nuisance, trespass and breach of statutory duty (2023);
• Acting for commercial tenants in VCAT lease disputes (2022 and 2023);
• Acting for a commercial livestock agent in a dispute brought by a purchaser for breach of contract and under the ACL (2023);
• Acting for an individual in County Court proceedings for breach of contract (2023);
• Advising and drawing Supreme Court proceedings for a purchaser of a business alleging breach of contract and misrepresentations (2023);
• Acting for a multinational flooring supplier in County Court proceedings brought against it for breach of contract and breaches under the ACL (2023); and
• Advising an Australian importer / deemed manufacturer in County Court proceedings involving the ACL and an alleged safety defect in a product (2022).

Franchising disputes:

• Acting for an owner of a swim school franchisee in a dispute with the franchisor (2022);
• Acting for a gym franchisee in a dispute with the franchisor about capital expenditure and renewal under the Code (2022);
• Acting for a fast-food burger franchisor in County Court proceedings against a group of franchisees (2022);
• Acting for a Vietnamese street food franchisor in County Court proceedings against a former franchisee (2020 and 2021); and
• Acting for a cannabis clinic and dispensary franchisor in Federal Court proceedings against a franchisee clinic (2021).

Public and Administrative Law:

• Acting for a vocational education and training organisation (RTO) organisation in an application to set aside a suspension of registration (Ayurveda College Pty Ltd and Australian Skills Quality Authority [2022] AATA 4429 (23 December 2022));
• Successfully upholding a decision by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority in an AAT application for review brought by an Australian vitamin and supplement company Carbine Chemicals Pty Ltd and Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority [2022] AATA 2157 (8 July 2022) (2022); and
• Drawing submissions on behalf of clients seeking to prevent disclosure in response to FOI requests (2022 & 2023).

Regulation and Disciplinary Matters:

• Acting for a builder in response to a Show Cause notice from the Victorian Building Authority (2023);
• Acting for a cosmetic surgeon in response to a sanction imposed by the Medical Board of Australia (2023);
• Acting for a doctor in an appeal to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (2023);
• Acting for a doctor in an application for review to the Royal Australian College of Surgeons for review of a decision by the Board of Paediatric Surgery (2022);
• Acting for a company director in response to an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) notice under s206F of the Corporations Act (2022); and
• Acting for an accountant in an AAT review of a decision to terminate his registration as a tax agent (Kennedy and Tax Practitioners Board (Taxation) [2022] AATA 2316 (20 July 2022));

Media & defamation, injurious falsehood and contempt:

• Acting for a defendant (business owner) in County Court proceedings about defamatory material published in Google Reviews (2023);
• Acting for a plaintiff (individual and business owner) in County Court proceedings about defamatory material published on a Whirlpool forum (2022);
• Acting for a defendant (business owner) in County Court proceedings about defamatory material published on Facebook (2022);
• Acting for a defendant (individual) in County Court proceedings about defamatory material published on Facebook (2021); and
• Acting for a plaintiff in contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court (Ultra Tune Australia Pty Ltd & Anor v Cole & Anor [2021] VSC 634)

Renee is a member of the Commercial Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Association. She read with Georgina Schoff QC and her senior mentor is William Houghton QC. Renee has had two readers – Geoff Lake (2018) and Sanjay Schrapel (2020). She also participated as a mentor in the Vicbar Mentoring Pilot program (2021).

Renee is currently mentoring a Reader from the March 2023 cohort - Chris Lees.

Before coming to the Bar, Renee practised in the Dispute Resolution group at DLA (formerly Phillips Fox) and Cornwall Stodart.