Stephen Puttick

Stephen accepts briefs in all areas of law.

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

Stephen has been published in various journals 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, forthcoming) and Current Issues in Competition Law: Practice and Perspectives (The Federation Press, forthcoming). Stephen is a Reporter for the New South Wales Law Reports. He was previously also a Reporter for the Federal Law Reports. Outside of practice, Stephen is completing his doctorate. He aims in his thesis to articulate a rationalised model of equitable estoppel.

Stephen has held several sessional teaching and research positions. He remains an Adjunct Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia Law School.

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.

Bachier Mawassi

Bachier accepts briefs in all areas of law.

Bachier holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Optometry (Hons).
He received numerous academic prizes, including the University Medal for law.

Prior to joining the Bar, Bachier practiced across a wide range of jurisdictions and areas of law, including commercial litigation, property law, tax and criminal law.

Bachier was previously a tipstaff to the Honourable Tobias, Sackville and Campbell AJJA, in the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

Bachier has also previously worked as an Optometrist across Australia in metro and rural practices.

David Smith

David practises primarily in corporations/insolvency, equity and trusts and general commercial litigation.

Since joining the Bar in 2018, David has appeared in the NSW Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of NSW, the Federal Court of Australia, the District Court of NSW, the Local Court of NSW and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Appearances have included final hearings (including cross-examination), both led and unled.

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.

Michael Wells

Michael practises in commercial law and public law, and has a particular interest in tax law.

Michael is a member of the New South Wales Bar and an interstate member of the Victorian and Queensland Bars. He has appeared led and unled in trials and appeals in a range of courts and tribunals, regularly appears in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Federal Court of Australia and is entitled to practise in all Australian jurisdictions.

Before coming to the Bar, Michael practised as a litigation solicitor at Allens and Herbert Smith Freehills specialising in class actions, complex contractual and corporate disputes, and tax and financial services regulatory investigations and disputes. Before practising as a solicitor, Michael was Tipstaff and Researcher to the President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the Hon Justice Allsop AO.

Michael has postgraduate qualifications in law and tax from the University of Sydney.

Michael is a member of the Law Council of Australia Business Law Section Taxation Committee, Australian Bar Association Taxation Committee, Tax Institute Dispute Resolution Technical Committee, Federal Court of Australia Taxation NPA User Group, Tax Bar Association, International Fiscal Association, and the New South Wales Bar Association Costs and Fees Committee.

Michael is also a reporter for the Commonwealth Law Reports, New South Wales Law Reports and Australian Tax Reports.

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.