Robert Size

Robert accepts briefs in any area of law.

He has a particular interest in matters involving broken promises, disappointed expectations, lies, mistakes, misunderstandings, and misuses of power.

Before he was called to the Bar, Robert worked as a research assistant at Eight Selborne Chambers, a tipstaff at the Supreme Court of New South Wales and a law graduate at Hall & Wilcox.

He is currently completing a PhD at UTS. His research examines whether publishing fake news online to profit via advertising may be treated as a form of fraud. His work has been published in academic journals in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. He has taught constitutional law, criminal law and the law of evidence.

Robert is a Senior Reporter for Thomson Reuters. He reports cases for the Federal Court Reports, Federal Law Reports, Administrative Appeals Reports and Australian Resources Law Reports.

He is committed to providing accurate advice and effective advocacy.

Stephen Puttick

Stephen has a varied commercial and public law practice. He accepts briefs in all areas of law, with a particular interest in commercial, competition, class action, insurance, and trusts matters.

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 has been widely published on a range of 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).

Stephen has held several sessional academic positions, including most recently at The University of Sydney. He remains an Adjunct Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia. He is also a Reporter for the New South Wales Law Reports and was previously a Reporter for the Federal Law Reports.

Outside of practice, Stephen is completing his doctorate. His doctoral thesis re-evaluates the law of equitable estoppel, including its relationship to common law estoppels, contract, and unjust enrichment.

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.
Michael has 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.

David Smith

David accepts briefs to appear in all courts and tribunals. His primary areas of practice are equity and trusts, corporations/insolvency and general commercial litigation.

Prior to joining the Bar, David earned a broad range of litigation experience working for 10 years as a solicitor at leading firms in Sydney, London and Hong Kong.

David Birch

David has a BA and LLB from the University of Sydney, including being awarded a University Medal in Philosophy. He also has an LLM from the University of Cambridge and was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for English Law. David was awarded the Christopher Gee QC Memorial Prize for Advocacy and Evidence for the May 2016 Bar Practice Course.

David principally practises in commercial and public law. David has appeared led in the High Court, and has appeared led and unled in various federal and New South Wales courts and tribunals.

David is a contributor to Robson’s Annotated Corporations Law.

Prior to coming to the Bar, David practised as a solicitor in the Commercial Litigation group at Clayton Utz for 4 years and was the tipstaff for Justice J C Campbell in the NSW Court of Appeal.

David has also been a casual tutor at the University of Sydney in public law, constitutional law and equity.

Nathan Li

Nathan accepts briefs in all areas of law.
Prior to joining the Bar, He was a solicitor at Allens and Herbert Smith Freehills working on a range of commercial, taxation, regulatory and public law matters.
Nathan was previously the Associate to Justice Edmonds in the Federal Court of Australia.

Nathan holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and Bachelor of Arts from Sydney University and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School.
Nathan is also a reporter for the Federal Court Reports and Federal Law Reports.

Nathan was recently recognised as a recommended junior in Doyles Guide’s Leading New South Wales Construction & Infrastructure Junior Counsel – New South Wales, 2021.

Rhea Thrift

Rhea accepts briefs in all areas of law.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Rhea worked as a solicitor at King & Wood Mallesons. As a solicitor, Rhea worked on a wide range of commercial matters, specialising in insolvency litigation. She has acted for insolvency practitioners, public companies and government clients.

Rhea has a Bachelor of Civil Law with Distinction from the University of Oxford.

Rhea was previously a Tipstaff in the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

Peter Gaffney

Peter accepts briefs in all areas of civil law.

Prior to coming to the Bar in 2015, he was a Senior Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills. As a solicitor, Peter worked on a wide variety of complex commercial matters, particularly in relation to public law, joint ventures, cross-border disputes, corporations law, and gambling law.

Peter has lectured in civil procedure and alternative dispute resolution at the University of New South Wales. He was formerly Tipstaff to the Honourable Justice PA Bergin of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws with Honours (First Class) from Macquarie University.

Professor Matthew Conaglen

Professor Conaglen is an Academic Barrister in New South Wales. He is currently Deputy Head of School and Deputy Dean at the University of Sydney Law School, where he is also the Professor of Equity and Trusts.
He teaches and researches in the fields of equity, trusts and obligations. He is the author of Fiduciary Loyalty: Protecting the Due Performance of Non-Fiduciary Duties (Hart, 2010), and a co-author of Snell’s Equity (33rd ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2015), as well as numerous book chapters and articles in leading journals such as the Law Quarterly Review and the Cambridge Law Journal. His writing has been cited by the High Court of Australia, the United Kingdom Supreme Court, the Privy Council, the Supreme Court of New Zealand and the Singaporean Court of Appeal, as well as numerous lower courts in those jurisdictions. Prior to becoming an academic, he was a Senior Solicitor at a major New Zealand law firm where he was involved in a wide range of commercial litigation. In recognition of his expertise in the fields of teaching and research in the Chancery sphere, he was made an Academic Member of the Chancery Bar Association in England.
Professor Conaglen accepts instructions to provide advice, and assist in the preparation of submissions, in relation to matters involving aspects of the law of trusts and equity, including fiduciary duties.

Shanaka Jayasuriya

Shanaka has a BA in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, where he graduated with First Class Honours. He also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) with Distinction from the University of Oxford.

Shanaka has a diverse practice and accepts briefs in all areas of the law. He has a particular interest in commercial law, regulatory law, and white-collar crime, and has appeared both led and unled in various New South Wales and Federal courts and tribunals. He is valued for his forensic analysis, written skills, and oral advocacy.

Prior to coming to the Bar, Shanaka practiced as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in London and Henry Davis York in Sydney and was the tipstaff in the NSW Court of Appeal for Justice McColl AO and the tipstaff in the Supreme Court, Equity Division for Justice Robb.

Shanaka is also admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales.