After 12 years at the Bar, combining advocacy and mediation work, Deborah commenced full time practice as a mediator in 2016. Deborah has been conducting mediations since 2000, initially as a court appointed mediator/Registrar of the Supreme Court and from 2004 in private practice.

Deborah is an accredited mediator under the Australian National Mediator Standards and is appointed to both the Supreme and District Court mediation panels. She was a member of the ADR Committee of the Bar Association from 2012-2018, making regular contributions to mediators’ conferences and continuing professional development seminars conducted by that Committee as well as policy developments under consideration by the Committee.

Deborah completed a Certificate of Advanced Mediation from the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre in 2000. She held various positions as a Registrar of the Supreme Court from 1999 to 2004, including acting as Registrar in Equity, the Professional Negligence List Registrar and the Possession List Registrar. During her time at the Court Deborah conducted court annexed mediations in Equity and Common Law, primarily in relation to disputes involving family provision, medical negligence and possession.

In private practice from 2004 Deborah has successfully mediated across a wide range of disputes including litigation in the areas of insurance, wills and estates, commercial law, real property, equity and trusts, medical negligence, defamation, restraint of trade and personal injury and has conducted facilitated family conferences in Guardianship matters.

Deborah is committed to interest based negotiation and to achieving commercial outcomes.

As counsel she had appeared in a range of matters including family provision, probate, trusts, guardianship, real property, restraint of trade, professional negligence and defamation.

Deborah is recognised in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for the practice areas of Alternative Dispute Resolution, Defamation and Media Law, and Trusts and Estates.

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