Christopher has a broad practice in commercial and public law.
He advises and appears, led and unled, in a wide range of areas, including corporate insolvency, equity and trusts, class actions, land law and judicial review.
Before coming to the bar, Christopher was a senior associate at Clayton Utz. In that role he worked on complex commercial and public law matters, primarily in relation to corporate insolvency, trusts, contractual disputes and judicial review.
Christopher holds a Master of Laws with distinction from University College London, where he specialised in comparative law. His undergraduate degrees are from the University of Melbourne, where he was an editor of the Melbourne Journal of International Law. Christopher holds an Advanced Certificate in Insolvency from the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association. He is a reporter for the Victorian Reports.
Christopher is also a Senior Fellow at the Melbourne Law School, where he recently taught in the subject "Administrative Law in Tax Matters".
Christopher read with Robert Craig KC. His senior mentor is Chris Horan KC.
Please click here to view Christopher's List G Barristers profile.
Recent cases in which Christopher has been briefed include:
General commercial law
- Northern RV Pty Ltd v DCJ Plumbing Pty Ltd (S ECI 2022 01979): acting for the plaintiff in a contractual dispute (unled)
- Vantage PI Management Pty Ltd v Twinkle Investments Pty Ltd (S ECI 2021 03981): acting for the defendant in a dispute regarding principles of contract and agency (led by Robert Craig KC)
- Streicholz Fabrik Pty Ltd v Taylor [2023] VSC 240 and [2023] VSC 592: acting for the plaintiffs in a contractual dispute regarding implied terms and abandonment (led by Sandro Goubran KC)
- Re Blockchain Tech Pty Ltd [2021] VSC 640: acting for the plaintiff in a claim involving oppressive conduct and related issues (led by Greg Harris KC)
- Geko Pit Pty Ltd v Raftery (VID422/2021) acting for the defendants in a claim regarding allegations of a breach of directors' duties and PPSR issues (settled) (led by Michael Hodge KC)
- Bolitho v Banksia Securities Ltd [2021] VSC 666; 69 VR 28: acting for one of the "lawyer parties" in relation to alleged breaches of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) (led by Robert Craig KC)
Insolvency
Public law
Real property, land acquisition and valuation
- Brompton Lodge Pty Ltd (in admin) v Head, Transport for Victoria [2020] VSC 797, [2020] VSC 881 and [2021] VSCA 302: acting for Head, Transport for Victoria in an application for compensation following the reservation of land (led by Sandro Goubran KC)
- Hermal Timber Nominees Pty Ltd v Head, Transport for Victoria (S ECI 2020 4594): acting for Head, Transport for Victoria in an application for compensation following the compulsory acquisition of land (settled) (led by Susan Brennan SC, Jason Pizer KC and Barnaby Chessell)
- Vella v Vella (S ECI 2019 5450): acting for the defendant in a dispute about the ownership and development of land (settled) (led by Peter Wallis KC)
- Murray River Land Pty Ltd v Schwarz (S ECI 2021 04216): acting for the plaintiff in relation to the construction of a contract for the sale of land and related contracts (settled) (led by Sandro Goubran KC)
- Grand Ridge Plantations Pty Ltd v Valuer-General Victoria (S ECI 2021 04209): acting for the plaintiff in a proceeding regarding the assessment of the capital improved value of land used for forestry (led by Sandro Goubran KC)