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.

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.

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.

Thomas Liu

Thomas regularly advises and appears in public law and commercial matters. He has significant experience in disputes involving government agencies, regulators, revenue authorities and statutory corporations. His commercial practice includes class actions, corporations law, consumer law and equity.

Thomas also accepts briefs in criminal law matters and is on the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions external junior counsel panel.

Before joining the Bar, Thomas was a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills and Clayton Utz where he worked on tax disputes, corporate regulation, representative proceedings, corporate insolvency and administrative law. Thomas was also a legal officer in the human rights section of Legal Aid NSW.

Thomas was the Associate to Justice Buchanan in the Federal Court of Australia from 2014 to 2015.

Thomas speaks fluent Chinese (Mandarin).

Shanaka Jayasuriya

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.

Shanaka is listed as a leading junior in The Legal 500 2023 Asia-Pacific Guide for Crime and Regulatory (Including White-Collar Crime), with feedback including “Very responsive, he provides excellent written work. Very easy to work with and very bright”.

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.

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.

Nuala Simpson

Nuala accepts briefs in all areas of commercial law, but has special expertise in representative (class-action) proceedings and complex, high–value engineering and construction disputes.

She regularly appears in the Federal Court of Australia, Court of Appeal New South Wales, the Supreme Court of New South Wales and in private arbitrations and in mediations.

Nuala is also a Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.

Chambers & Partners ranks Nuala in the Asia Pacific Guide, Construction & Infrastructure – Band 1, as “a very highly regarded junior” who regularly appears on complex construction and engineering cases with clients describing her as “excellent” and “a very bright and very thorough lawyer” (Chambers & Partners Asia Pacific, 2022-2020).

She is recognised as one of Australia’s best lawyers in the areas of “Construction and Infrastructure” (Best Lawyers Australia, 2022 – 2013) “Litigation” (Best Lawyers Australia, 2022 – 2016) International Arbitration (Best Lawyers Australia 2022), Leading Arbitration Barrister – Australia (Doyles Guide 2023) and also rated as “preeminent” in the area of “Construction Law” in Australia (Doyles Guide, 2023 – 2016).

Who’s Who Legal’s latest Construction 2021 – Future Leaders – Legal Marketplace Analysis, reports that Nuala is highly thought of as the “best junior” in the market, known for being “formidable at cross examination”.

Most recently, Nuala was listed as a Leading Junior in Legal 500 – Asia Pacific
‘ Nuala is sharp, agile and immensely hard-working. Her construction law expertise, including in complex issues of delay, disruption and quantum, is market-leading. A fantastic team player and a genuine pleasure to work with. A very diligent and clever junior counsel. Works very hard and is very responsive. ’

Eli Ball

Eli accepts briefs in all areas of civil and commercial law.

Eli regularly advises and appears (both led and unled) in matters before the Supreme Court of NSW and the Federal Court of Australia, as well as lower courts and tribunals. His practice includes general and commercial equity, corporations, class actions, building and construction, insolvency, insurance, professional liability, property, and probate.

Prior to coming to the bar, Eli was a solicitor in the disputes team at Ashurst in Sydney. He was also previously Tipstaff to the Honourable Justice David Ipp AO at the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

Eli has a Doctorate in Law from the University of Oxford, where he focussed on the laws of restitution, unjust enrichment, equity, trusts, and tracing. His doctoral thesis, Enrichment at the Claimant’s Expense: Attribution Rules in Unjust Enrichment was published as a book in 2016. While at Oxford, Eli also completed the Bachelor of Civil Law and Master of Philosophy in Law, and was a college lecturer in contract, equity and trusts, and tort.

Eli was recently listed as a leading junior in The Legal 500 2023 Asia-Pacific Guide for Construction, Infrastructure and Property and as a leading junior in Commercial Disputes
Feedback including: ‘Eli is very quick at absorbing his brief and material and then identifying the issues and strategy. He is very responsive and economic with his advice and preparation work. ‘ and ‘His written advocacy is concise, structured, persuasive, impeccably researched, and trusted.‘

Away from the law, Eli is an accomplished marathon butterfly swimmer. He is the record-holder for butterflying the Rottnest Channel (19.7km) in Western Australia.