Gavin Stuart

Gavin is head of Bartier Perry’s Dispute Resolution & Advisory team and has over 25 years’ legal experience focusing on commercial disputes, litigation and dispute resolution.

He has a wealth of experience conducting proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW, the Federal Court of Australia as well as specialist tribunals. He helps his clients avoid the litigation treadmill where he can and instead, prefers to solve their disputes through strategies designed to shorten exposure to litigation such as negotiation or mediation.

Gavin’s practice focuses on:

• Insolvency and restructuring

• Banking, finance and funds

• Real property disputes

• Intellectual property matters

• Corporations issues and directors duties

• Partnership, shareholder, investor and joint venture disputes  

• Organisational fraud

Gavin leads the Organisational Fraud and Corruption practice area for the firm. This practice area covers employee fraud, external cyber and related events and institutional corruption. With experience assisting clients in this area with governance, directors duties, internal controls, investigations, responses, reputational management and recoveries, Gavin is well equipped to assist clients dealing with fraud and corruption events.

An area of interest for Gavin is helping his clients extricate themselves from broken partnership, shareholder, investor and joint venture relationships and seeing them to a position where they can get on with their next opportunity. 

Gavin is also interested in the convergence of the law and digital technologies. He specialises in helping clients get better outcomes in disputes involving unlawful online conduct, copyright, confidential information and restraints/non-competition arrangements. He also enjoys working with clients involved with commercialisation of technology. 

Gavin has been involved in cross border disputes involving jurisdictions such as England, New Zealand, India, and the USA. He also has experience with institutional and ad hoc international arbitrations.

Recognition of Gavin’s expertise includes being listed as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Partner of the Year Awards annually since 2019 and winning Mentor of the Year in 2023. Clients include large private companies and listed entities, State Owned Corporations, Statutory Bodies and many Local Government authorities.

 

What Gavin’s clients say

"I admire the approach Gavin takes when working with me and the team at Tecala to meet our legal requirements. Gavin applies the law effortlessly, but perhaps even more importantly, understands the commercial reality behind each legal matter. He is often innovative, considers different options and articulates clearly whether options are feasible or not". - Pieter DeGunst, Managing Director, Tecala Group

"Gavin is very easy to work with. He communicates concisely and clearly and sets reasonable expectations both about what can be achieved legally and when it comes to timelines and delivery. His ability to comprehend a problem and work through the possible options and scenarios makes it easier to make clear decisions and give back directions. He is also a skilled negotiator and has helped us resolve our disputes quickly and favourably". - Luka Vulic, Director, S4B

 

Qualifications/Memberships

• Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Laws (University of Technology Sydney)

• Licensing Executives Society of Australia and New Zealand (NSW Chapter Committee Member)

• Commercial Law Association

• Communications and Media Law Association

• Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand

• Australian Institute of Company Directors

 

A word from Gavin

"Business disputes between owners and investors can be financially and emotionally draining, and there are often a lot of moving parts to consider and manage. I enjoy pulling apart the problem, and designing and implementing an effective strategy to see my clients through as unscathed as possible.

This involves understanding what may transpire a number of steps down the track, as well as the people, behavioural types and likely responses at key (high pressure) times."

 

Career highlights

• Winner of the Lawyers Weekly Mentor of the Year award 2023.

• Leading the firm's Organisational Fraud and Corruption practice area.

• Successfully defending a class action in the Federal Court and High Court. The claim was brought by landowners who alleged our client was trying to avoid the Constitution through misrepresentations and conspiracy with the Commonwealth.

• Assisting a local veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer to defend and settle proceedings brought by a US-based pharmaceutical company for breach of a distribution agreement. Gavin also helped the same client prosecute claims against a US-based contract manufacturer for patent infringement and breach of confidence and trade secrets.

• Acting for a co-trustee who was an employee of a global property services company appointed under the Real Property Act and Trustee Act by the court on the application of stakeholders of a going concern hotel/pub worth upwards of AUD$60 million arising from a shareholder/unitholder dispute and involving real property and business undertaking vesting, trustee sale and transaction support, assistance with management of proceeds of sale, tax and distribution considerations.

• Co-authoring the Litigation chapter of the text “Social Media and the Law” published by LexisNexis, now in its second edition.

 

Specific areas of focus

• Partnership, shareholder, investor and joint venture disputes including oppression claims

• Commercial contract disputes and procurement

• Defamation and redress for attacks on business entities and unlawful online conduct

• Corporations issues and directors/fiduciary duties

• Trusts matters including judicial advice applications and regularising trust arrangements

• Enforcing restraints and non-competition clauses

• Competition and regulatory issues including ASIC investigations and hearings

• Government inquiries

• Copyright, trademark, patent and confidential information disputes

• Financial services and tax disputes

• Securities advice and enforcement regarding real and personal property

• Real property disputes

• Insolvency and debt recovery

• Risk minimisation and asset protection advice

• Insurance related claims and policy coverage disputes

• Organisational fraud and corruption