Name: Paul Santamaria QC

Qualifications: BA. LLB. LLM.(Melb.)

Title: Barrister, Arbitrator and Mediator

Organisation: Owen Dixon Chambers

State: Victoria

Immediation Practice Area: Mediation, Arbitration, Expert Determination

Profile

I am an experienced mediator, arbitrator and  barrister (QC) at the Victorian Bar. I have conducted in excess of 250  mediations . My trial practice at the Bar has predominantly been in general  commercial law,with specialisation in professional liability claims.  I have also represented lawyers against  whom allegations of breach of CPA obligations have been made.More significant  trials have concerned alleged negligence of solicitors,valuers, environmental  auditors and engineers and directors and officers liability claims. I have  also appeared in various Royal Commissions and Inquiries, including NSW  Coronial Inquiry into the deaths of sailors in the 1998 Sydney-Hobart Yacht  Race.  

I am a past member of the Victorian Bar  Council, and the Chair of its Readers Course Committee.Outside of legal  practice, I have held various board or committee appointments, including as  Chair of the Advisory Council of the National Archives of Australia.

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Personal Comment

Having practised as a trial lawyer for over 30 years, I am well-positioned to see the benefits to all arties of mediation as the preferred model of dispute resolution.

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Immediation Area(s) of Expertise

Common law and professional regulation(Negligence, Professional negligence, Torts)

Corporate and commercial ( Consumer protection,Contracts, Corporations, Directors’ duties, Franchising, Joint Ventures,Misleading advertising, Misleading and deceptive conduct/fraud, Unconscionable conduct, Partnership,  Product liability,  Shareholder remedies, Sport )

Employment, industrial relations and discrimination ( Discrimination, Employment,and Equal opportunity law)

Government and administrative law (Civil liabilities, Commonwealth employment, Crown liability, Freedom of Information (FOI),Judicial review and merits review, Privacy, Probity, Public administration and governance, Statutory interpretation)

Property, construction, environment, oil, gas and mining (Building and construction, Commercial leasing, Compulsory acquisition, Environmental regulation, Franchising, Local government, Owners Corporation, Property, Residential leasing, Restrictive covenants, Retail leasing, Town planning)

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