Ashurst

Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, the class action team at Ashurst has been active in complex class actions and acting for clients in major disputes, including shareholder, securities and employee class actions. Within the common fund order space, the firm has challenged the conventional approaches to class actions, having led the first Federal Court matter on whether common fund orders should be made early in class actions, as well as appearing in High Court joint appeals from separate Full Federal Court and NSW Court of Appeal decisions in relation to common fund orders. Ian Bolster heads the dispute resolution side and co-heads the class actions team, and has acted in complex disputes for high-profile clients. John Pavlakis specialises in shareholder class actions, as well as consumer class actions and class actions against governmental bodies, while Mark Bradley also co-heads the class actions practice and is active in commercial disputes. Sally-Anne Stewart and Ellena Cavell are names to note, and Angela Pearsall recently joined the firm from Clifford Chance.