Ryan Harvey

Ryan was admitted as a lawyer in 2013 and called to the Bar in 2023, before which he was:

– Counsel Assisting the former Commonwealth Solicitor-General, Justin Gleeson SC;

– an Associate practising in commercial litigation/arbitration in Paris (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) and London (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP);

– legal adviser to successive Commonwealth Attorneys-General during the COVID-19 pandemic; and

– most recently a Senior Lawyer (Executive Level 2 – Special Counsel equivalent) with the Australian Government Solicitor’s Administrative Law Team where his clients included the Department of Home Affairs and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Selected matters (as a solicitor) include representing:

– the Republic of Cyprus in its successful defence of investment treaty claims arising out of the 2009/10 Eurozone financial crisis and valued in excess of EUR 1 billion;

– the State of Belize in its historic land and maritime boundary dispute with Guatemala in the International Court of Justice;

– a United Arab Emirates oil and gas consortium in its successful multi-billion-dollar commercial arbitration against the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq in respect of compulsorily acquired oil and gas fields; and

– together with REDRESS and local counsel, 7,000 of the victims of widespread human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, war crimes, and torture, committed by the Republic of Chad during the régime of Hissène Habré from 1982 to 1990. The proceedings were brought in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Ryan was also an Associate to the Hon Dyson Heydon AC as Justice of the High Court of Australia, and tutored undergraduate constitutional law (UK) at Trinity College, University of Oxford. He is a University Medalist in Law (Macquarie University) and has a Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction) and Master of Philosophy in Law (both from St John’s College, University of Oxford).

Ryan accepts briefs in all areas of law.

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Callista Harris

Callista was admitted as a lawyer in 2012 and called to the Bar in 2023.

Before being called to the Bar, Callista practised at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, in Paris, London and Singapore. She was also an associate to the Honourable Justice Susan Kiefel AC at the High Court of Australia and research associate to Professor James Crawford AC SC.

Callista accepts briefs in all areas of law. She has particular expertise in international commercial arbitration, investment arbitration and public international law. She has acted as counsel in international commercial arbitrations under a range of arbitral rules, including the UNCITRAL and ICC Rules, and in investment arbitrations, including before ICSID tribunals. Callista also has experience in proceedings before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS Annex VII tribunals and the European Court of Human Rights.

Callista holds a PhD in law from the University of Sydney and a Master of Law (First Class Honours) from the University of Cambridge.

Sebastian Hanscomb

Prior to coming to the Bar, Sebastian practiced at Beatty Hughes & Associates and before that King & Wood Mallesons. He has worked at the front end of government infrastructure projects, in construction and insurance litigation, and has particular experience in the NSW Land and Environment Court. He has acted in proceedings in Classes 1, 3 and 4 of the Land and Environment Court’s jurisdiction, as well as in the Equity Division of the NSW Supreme Court.

In 2018, Sebastian worked as a tipstaff to the Hon Justice Lindsay in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Sebastian holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Business Administration from Macquarie University, as well as a Master of Laws from Melbourne University. At Macquarie University, he was awarded the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in Law and the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Law School twice.

Sebastian accepts briefs in all areas of law.

Stephen Thomson

Prior to his call to the Bar, Stephen practised at Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney and in London as a Senior Associate. He has a broad commercial litigation practice, with particular experience in competition and consumer law and class actions. He has acted in hearings before the High Court, the Federal Court, the NSW and Victorian Supreme Courts, Australian and British competition tribunals and two Commonwealth Royal Commissions. In London, he practised in Herbert Smith Freehills’ Corporate Crime and Investigations team, with experience acting for corporate clients in relation to foreign bribery, fraud, and anti-money laundering.

In 2015, Stephen worked as a tipstaff to the Hon Justice Slattery in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours, First Class) and Bachelor of Arts (Politics) from the University of Otago, New Zealand, where he was awarded the Law Society prize for graduating first in his class.

Stephen is admitted to practice both in Australia and New Zealand.

Stephen accepts briefs in all areas of law.

Matthias Thompson

Matthias accepts briefs in all areas of the law.

Before being called to the Bar, Matthias was an Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, where he worked on a wide range of matters in the areas of class actions, securities, white collar crime, antitrust, product liability and general commercial litigation. Prior to that, he was an Associate at Baker & McKenzie in Sydney where he worked in the Energy, Resources, Infrastructure and Corporate group as well as the Climate Change group.

Matthias holds a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar), and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and Bachelor of International Studies (Dist) from the University of New South Wales.

Matthias is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the NSW Bar Association.

Robert Size

Robert has a diverse practice spanning commercial, public and criminal law.

He regularly appears in matters before the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Federal Court of Australia, as well as lower courts and courts in other jurisdictions.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Robert was a tipstaff in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, senior law reporter for Thomson Reuters, research assistant at Eight Selborne Chambers and casual academic teaching constitutional law, criminal law and evidence at UTS. He is currently completing a PhD examining whether profiting by publishing fake news may be prosecuted as fraud. His work has been published in academic journals in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Robert devotes part of his practice to advising or appearing pro bono. He is committed to providing accurate advice and effective advocacy.

Chantal Nguyen

Chantal accepts briefs in all areas of law. She is part of the 7^th Floor’s White Collar Crime Team.

Before being called to the Bar, Chantal acted as a Principal and Senior Federal Prosecutor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, specialising in commercial, financial, and fraud prosecutions and appearing unled in Commonwealth proceedings. Prior to that, she was a litigator at Corrs Chambers Westgarth where she worked on a wide range of commercial disputes as well as Land and Environment Court proceedings.

Chantal holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and International Relations) from the University of New South Wales, and was the UNSW Human Rights Fellow to Legal Aid NSW. She has also appeared for Australia before the United Nations in Geneva.

Chantal was the Associate to Justices Jagot, Griffiths, and Bromwich in the Federal Court of Australia.

Stephen Puttick

Stephen has a broad commercial and public law practice.

Stephen has published almost 30 chapters, articles, and notes in legal books and journals on various subjects, including diversity in legal education and the profession. He is the co-editor of Current Issues in Competition Law: Context and Interpretation (The Federation Press, 2021) and Current Issues in Competition Law: Practice and Perspectives (The Federation Press, 2021).

Prior to coming to the Bar, Stephen was the Researcher to the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales for Justice J K Ward, now President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, and was a solicitor at Clayton Utz.

Stephen is a Reporter for the Commonwealth Law Reports, and previously for the New South Wales Law Reports and the Federal Law Reports. He has held various sessional academic positions and remains an Adjunct Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia.

Outside of practice, Stephen is completing his doctorate at the University of Sydney. His thesis re-evaluates the principles of equitable estoppel.

William Marshall

William accepts briefs in all areas of civil and commercial law, with a specialism in major infrastructure and construction disputes.

Prior to being called to the bar, William was a Partner in the Construction Advisory and Disputes team at Pinsent Masons in Sydney. As a Partner, William regularly provided strategic advice on major infrastructure and construction projects and disputes, and has appeared in NSW courts, in expert determinations, arbitrations, mediations and before Dispute Advisory Boards.

William has also worked as a solicitor and advocate in the Middle East and was a registered lawyer with the Dubai Legal Affairs Department. He has advised on, and appeared in, major international arbitrations in numerous jurisdictions under the ICC Rules, the ADCCAC Rules, the DIAC Rules, and in ad hoc arbitrations under the Singapore Arbitration Act and the UNCITRAL Rules.

William holds a Masters in Construction Law from the University of Melbourne (Hons 1 equivalent), as well as a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Media from Macquarie University. William earned academic prizes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. William has also studied the Harvard model of negotiation at Harvard Law School.

William is currently studying for his LLM at the University of Melbourne.

William was recognised by Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Construction and Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer in 2019 and 2020, and as a leading barrister from 2021: Leading Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel – New South Wales, 2023

Most recently William was included in the inaugural Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Australia^™ 2024 for Construction/Infrastructure law

Michael Lyons

While Michael accepts briefs in all areas of commercial litigation, he has developed particular expertise in complex, lengthy and high-value commercial, construction and resource disputes.
Legal 500 Asia-Pacific guide 2023 ranks Michael as a Band 2 leading junior for Construction, Infrastructure & Property noting that Michael is ‘Very good in large, technically complex cases. Able to absorb large amounts of information and determine the key points for cross-examination.‘
Michael has also ranked as one of the leading junior counsel in Queensland in both commercial litigation and construction disputes, and as one of the leading junior counsel in Australia in construction disputes.