Bill has over 25 years of extensive experience in private practice, predominantly in litigation and insolvency in Victoria and other jurisdictions throughout Australia. 

His experience in litigation has been across a broad range of matters, including disputes with property, trusts, partnerships, companies, contractual disputes, debts, banking, professional negligence and insolvency-related matters. He has also had experience in administrative law, criminal law, deceased estates and appeal work in that time. 

Bill’s insolvency experience has involved advising and representing insolvency practitioners, individuals, companies, directors and other third parties affected by insolvency. He has had substantial experience advising directors and companies in relation to their duties, obligations and compliance with the Corporations Act. 

Bill has worked with a wide range of clients across all industry sectors. He is equally committed to working with individuals, businesses, and corporations of all sizes. 

Bill applies his experience and knowledge to advise clients and to develop and implement strategies to assist clients in brokering solutions to their problems and disputes. He is committed to turning negatives into positives, delivering commercial and practical outcomes and adding value for his clients.

Expertise: 

• Insolvency and Restructuring 
• Litigation and Dispute Resolution
  

Accreditations & memberships:

• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria
• Graduate member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA)

James is a partner who works across our teams in litigation and dispute resolution, commercial, and workplace and employment. James assists individuals, family groups, small to medium enterprises as well as national organisations.   

His extensive experience in litigation stretches across all jurisdictions throughout Australia and in all courts and tribunals — whether it be VCAT, NCAT, the AAT or the Supreme Court and the appellate courts. 

James has acted in a broad range of disputes, including contractual disputes, property, trusts, partnerships, companies, employment, debts, insurance, building and construction, banking, fraud, professional negligence and insolvency and bankruptcy-related matters.

As well as his litigation experience, James maintains a healthy commercial practice and assists many sole traders, start-ups, small businesses and national organisations across a wide variety of industries, including a speciality in the sports and entertainment industries. 

James has advised on numerous sales and purchases of businesses ranging from start-ups to companies worth in excess of $100M. He has also advised clients across a wide variety of commercial agreements, from international exclusive distribution agreements to service, supply, dealership and licence agreements. James prides himself on meeting set deadlines to ensure clients are able to capitalise on opportunities. 

James also advises companies and individuals in all types of workplace and employment matters from front end to back end, including drawing and reviewing employment and contractor agreements, policies and procedures, and employee share schemes. He advises on workplace investigations and complaints, and termination and redundancy scenarios, including advice and representation in unfair dismissal and general protections applications at the Fair Work Commission and Federal Court. 

James enjoys balancing his litigation and commercial practices and focuses on early identification of critical issues and delivery of prompt, practical and commercial outcomes for his clients. 

Expertise:

• Commercial
• Litigation & dispute resolution 
• Restructuring & insolvency
• Workplace & employment 

Accreditations & memberships:

• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria

John is a special counsel who works in the litigation practice group and has over 25 years experience in litigation and commercial law.

He has a broad litigation practice which includes disputes relating to corporate matters, partnerships, insolvency, franchising law, product liability claims, insurance, property, and construction disputes. John also provides advice in areas that include trade practices and competition law, product safety laws, product distribution agreements, consumer guarantees, unfair contract terms, director’s obligations, the National Consumer Credit Protection Act and the Consumer Credit Code, the Franchising Code of Conduct and the Privacy Act.  

John assists clients in dealing with regulators such as the ACCC, including the conduct of product safety recalls, competition law notifications and regulatory investigations. His clients include liquidators, manufacturers and product distributors, construction companies, lenders and high-net-worth individuals. John also acts as local counsel for several international companies.

John is committed to assisting his clients to achieve commercial outcomes that are cost-effective. He applies his extensive experience in litigation and knowledge gained from acting in a broad range of matters to provide clients with advice that is sound and realistic to assist them in developing strategies that will best achieve their commercial objectives.

Expertise:

• Competition law
• Construction
• Consumer lending
• Franchising
• Insolvency and restructuring
• Litigation and dispute resolution
• Privacy law
• Product distribution

Accreditations & memberships:

• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria

Maria has over 20 years of experience in private practice, predominantly practising in the areas of litigation and dispute resolution, prosecutions and insolvency. She practices in various jurisdictions in Australia and in all courts and tribunals, including the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal, Magistrates’ Court, County Court, Supreme Court and the Federal Court.

Maria also practices in the area of statutory law and prosecutions in which she has extensive experience and regularly acts and appears for councils, statutory authorities and other bodies in both advising to and prosecuting offences, including under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic), the Domestic Animals Act 1994 (Vic), the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) and local laws. 

Maria also acts in the defence of civil claims and judicial review proceedings brought against decisions and actions taken by councils, statutory authorities and other bodies in all levels of the court hierarchy, from the Magistrates’ Court to the Supreme Court, as well as in the review of decisions made to the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal. 

Maria has worked with a variety of different clients in both the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including individuals, publicly listed and private companies, charitable boards and not-for-profit organisations, statutory authorities, councils, litigation funders, insurers, directors and insolvency practitioners. Maria’s ability to expertly deal with all issues, no matter how big or small, in a pragmatic, efficient and strategic manner, adapting to the differing needs of her clients is a testament to her experience and expertise.

Expertise:

• Administrative law
• Contractual disputes
• Debt recovery
• Defamation
• Directors’ duties
• Disputes under the Australian Consumer Law
• Insolvency (acting on behalf of liquidators, companies, directors and other third parties affected by insolvency)
• Insurance-related matters (acting on behalf of insurers, claimants and defendants to actions commenced by insurers)
• Lease and property law disputes
• Litigation and dispute resolution
• Professional negligence cases
• Prosecutions
• Trademark and copyright disputes
• Wills and estate disputes

Accreditations & memberships

• Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Hellenic Australian Lawyers
• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria
• Recognised and included in the 13th and 14th Editions of The Best Lawyers in Australia in the category of Insolvency and Reorganisation Law

Andrew is part of our Litigation and Insolvency team and has over 40 years of experience in this space. 

Andrew came to Frenkel Partners in 2014 after 17 years of representing two of the “Big Four” banks in secured lending disputes, claims against loan guarantors and farm debt mediation. His experience extended to acting on behalf of receivers and managers appointed by the banks to large companies in the manufacturing industry, where he worked on competing claims with other secured parties and often complex business sale agreements. He has used that experience working with insolvency practitioners to resolve competing security issues, transaction agreements and property law issues.       

Andrew brought his debt recovery practice to Frenkel Partners, which involves over 25 years of ongoing work with a high-profile public company hardware retailer. That relationship has given Andrew expertise in credit account agreements, property securities law and credit risk assessments.      

Andrew also has expertise in the building construction industry, particularly in resolving disputes under the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payments Act.

Andrew has considerable experience in all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency law. He advises creditors and insolvency practitioners in preference claims, insolvent trading and complex transactions to avoid creditor entitlements.     

Andrew also works with clients to resolve commercial disputes arising from failed joint venture projects. The subjects of the disputes have ranged from V8 Supercars to an extensive holding of Wagyu cattle.    

Expertise:

• Agribusiness dispute resolution
• Building and construction industry disputation
• Commercial litigation and dispute resolution
• Insolvency under the Bankruptcy Act and Corporations Act

Accreditations & memberships:

• Member of the Law Institute of Victoria