Caroline Callegari
Associate Principal
Caroline Callegari is an Associate Principal and leads our Disputes & Litigation team.
Professional Background
Caroline Callegari has over 15 years’ experience in the law, being admitted to practice in April 2008. In that time Caroline has acted on a wide variety of disputes for small to medium sized enterprises, as well as providing commercial and strategic advice prior to Court proceedings being issued.
Caroline is a passionate advocate with a keen eye for detail and a focus on practical and commercially driven outcomes. She believes effective communication both inside and outside the Court room and understanding the needs of her customers and stakeholders is important to achieving positive outcomes in litigation.
Caroline has been involved in cases in all levels of the Court including in the Federal Court and High Court of Australia (as well as in other State jurisdictions) and has acted in both large scale multi-million-dollar disputes, as well as smaller more personal disputes. No matter the size of the case, you can rest assured that Caroline will be your trusted advisor and advocate and always ‘on your side’.
Caroline provides advice on a wide range of areas including:
> Contractual Disputes
> Partnership and shareholder disputes
> Matters involving breaches of duty both pursuant to statute and equity
> Consumer Disputes
> Breaches of Intellectual Property
> Spray Drift and other tortious claims
> Debt Recovery
> Mortgage Defaults
> Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Areas of Expertise
> Commercial Litigation
> Court and Tribunal Proceedings
> Corporate and personal disputes
> Debt Recovery
> Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Selected recent cases
> Member of the legal team acting for a large franchisor in a contractual dispute, where the issue of contractual construction went all the way to a special leave application in the High Court and a written judgment was delivered (Western Export Services Inc v Jireh International Pty Ltd [2011] HCA 45)
> Involved, as a senior lawyer and member of the legal team, in a successful claim by a vineyard owner for significant damages against their neighbour due to negligent spraying of pesticides/trespass to land (Riverman Orchards Pty Ltd (as Trustee for the A&C Caccaviello Family Trust) v Rodney James Hayden [2017] VSC 379)
> Misleading and deceptive conduct / contractual dispute regarding sale and purchase of a $15m luxury yacht, including successfully resisting a preliminary discovery application relating to same (Marine Imports Australia Pty Ltd& Anor V Mark Taddei & Ors Federal Court of Australia, Ref QUD 268 of 2022)
Professional Qualifications & Memberships
> Bachelor of Laws (Honours) / Bachelor of Science (Major in Genetics), University of Melbourne
> Admitted to practice in the High Court and Federal Courts as well as in Victoria
> Member - Law Institute of Victoria
Associations
Caroline is featured on Macmillan’s List of trusted legal professionals, compiled by Dr Peter Macmillan, Notary Public, where she also mentors future lawyers.
Media
6 November 2024 - Recognised by Australasian Lawyer as one of the top 50 women in the Australian legal profession in the 2024 Elite Women report
15 November 2023 - Victorian home owners waiting years for VCAT hearings (ABC TV News)
Awards
Can a Facebook post cost you?
Associate Principal Caroline Callegari summarises the consequences of a defamatory Facebook post for both author and victim, in Rodgers & Anor v Gooding [2023] QDC 115.
Can Qualified Privilege be a Defence to an otherwise defamatory Google Review?
Your new purchase turns out to be a lemon. Before voicing your anger on social media, seek legal advice as to your rights as a customer and, further, the risks that can flow from venting your anger in the public domain. Associate Principal and Litigation Lawyer Caroline Callegari reviews a recent case.
As a Director, can I be personally liable for financial risks?
As a director, there are various situations where you are protected from being sued in your personal capacity. However, these protections should not be relied upon as there are some circumstances where you can be personally pursued for liability, Caroline Callegari explains.
