Cross border disputes

Trust your cross-border disputes and litigation to Australian lawyers with a track record of delivering commercial results for multinational businesses.

We have added over $250 million dollars in value to clients through disputes resolved and litigated.

Cross-border disputes
Setting up business in Australia
Ongoing operations

Keeping the commercial lens
on cross-border disputes

Australian litigation lawyers representing international companies

Our clients are looking for a commercial approach — a legal strategy that prioritises their commercial goals over unnecessarily protracted litigation, which might result in only an expensive technical victory.

Typically, these matters might involve:

  1. resolving a dispute that has developed with an existing client or customer, often involving a claim for defective goods or services,
  2. acting urgently to stop damaging conduct directed at them or their business in Australia, conduct that might also impact their global brand,
  3. being joined as the defendant in Australian court proceedings

Cross-border litigation and dispute resolution experience

Achieving commercial results in disputes requires investing the time to understand your business, then applying legal expertise to turn those insights into a litigation or negotiation strategy to deliver the best result for you.

The differences between the Australian legal system and the corporate parent’s jurisdiction can create confusion that hinders effective decision-making. Our experience with clients from many jurisdictions means that we can bridge those cultural gaps and bring your team together to make confident decisions.

Out-of-court resolutions are faster and less expensive. You might also achieve a solution that would be impossible in court.

Achieving those results requires experience. We know what to prepare, when to act, when not to act, and what words and actions are most likely to force the other side to negotiate.

Disputes can be complicated and technical. That is especially true when they are over valuable intellectual property or where the court will need to understand state-of-the-art machinery and processes.

The better result in litigation will often go to the lawyer who is better prepared — we take the time to absorb (and understand) the detail, we know how to ask the right questions to find the winning arguments (and navigate the weak ones).

Protecting your business is often about more than what is in dispute. How you handle a dispute sends a message to the market about where your business draws the line and how it expects to be treated. And the audience for that message might be outside Australia.

When you have a lawyer who understands that full picture, the message you want to send can be folded into the legal strategy.

Key Contact

Fiona Henderson

Director
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International
client base

We specialise in representing overseas businesses who are in a dispute with someone in Australia (whether or not they have an entity in Australia) and in representing clients outside Australia who have been served in proceedings in an Australian court. We have a track record of resolving 85% of our clients’ disputes outside the courtroom.

Australian lawyer representing Germany clients
Australian lawyer representing Austria clients
Australian lawyer representing Switzerland clients
Australian lawyer representing Norway clients
Australian lawyer representing Italy clients
Australian lawyer representing USA clients

Resources and insights

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Recent testimonials

Far better prepared than the other side

The way Fiona puts things together is exceptional; it’s diligent and thorough. In the cases that she’s handled for us, I’ve noticed we’ve been far better prepared than the other side. And, of course, that is the reason why we were successful!! It was only because of how diligent and how thorough Fiona is

Some lawyers ruin a negotiation fighting over a point of law. Fiona gets the commercial element when she’s negotiating. She doesn’t push the legal points at the expense of reaching a good deal. That’s because she’s always listening to the client.

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Sandro Ianni
Head of HUB Region
Oceania/South East Asia,
LISEC Australia Pty Ltd

Maintains the human touch for her clients

Litigation can be a daunting maze, but Fiona was able to understand that it can be a rollercoaster, as well as break down what was happening so that we could work together effectively.

Somehow, Fiona has maintained the human touch while being aggressive in pursuit of the right result for her client.

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Ross Campbell
Managing Director,
HOMAG Australia Pty Ltd

Probing questions to get results

Fiona’s understanding of the business means she asks probing questions when we’re talking about a dispute or a claim we’re looking at pursuing.

She gets her head around the issues quickly and cuts through to what matters, including the commercial reasons why we would pursue one case and not another. And then she keeps us focused on what’s important.

She’s also able to use different strategies to get a positive result, not just litigation. If you can get the result you want without going to court, that’s excellent.

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Malcolm Stewart
Managing Director,
Preformed Line Products (Australia) Pty Ltd

Focused on the actual issues

A common tactic in legal representation is for the other side to make claims and counterclaims to keep your lawyer distractedly spending your money chasing everything down. It’s a trap to wear you down and tie up your lawyer on things that aren’t the main point.

Fiona doesn’t let that happen. She keeps the matter focused on the end goal and the actual issues.

Also, with Fiona, you don’t get passed through the firm to people who might not understand your business. You’re dealing with Fiona, with her extensive network of colleagues and barristers.

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Chad Brown
CEO,
James Glen Pty Ltd

Rapid grasp of key concepts in complicated matters

Even though our matter was involved, and I had to send through a lot of documentation, Fiona grasped the whole overview and concept of everything really, really quickly.

I was surprised how little we had to explain. Instead, she quickly gave us a detached, professional opinion about whether our case was worth pursuing.

With Fiona, it’s not like sitting with lawyers in boardrooms, getting bombarded or feeling like you’re a nuisance. It was actually pleasant.

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Michel Scheuble
Managing Director,
Fracht Australia Pty Ltd

Excellent cross-cultural communicator

Fiona immediately understood the size of our business and the scale of our problem — being treated dismissively by a larger company. She knew exactly how to defend us. Now, they know her by name in the home office and often ask for her opinion.

Fiona is a great lawyer and an adept cross-cultural communicator. She’s insightful, listens well and provides seasoned advice with great customer service.

We appreciate that our work isn’t handed down to a junior associate; it’s handled by Fiona herself with all her skill. And with her experience, she quickly understands our context and the situation, and gives it due consideration and comes back with options that I would not have come up with myself.

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Dan Credazzi
Country Manager,
Australia & New Zealand, DNV Imatis AS

Achieved all our goals

We found a competitor had substantially copied part of our software so asked Fiona to provide advice regarding our legal options and also how to manage aspects of the media communications.

The outcome was better than we expected, and we achieved all our goals. Fiona’s advice was invaluable.

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Hans Egger
The Modern Adviser
Co-Founder Astute Wheel

Very capable in complex matters

Fiona works hard, is extremely motivated and positive, very capable in complex legal matters, realistic and very successful. At the same time she is a nice person too.

Wolfgang Bennedik
Former Managing Director,
Connect Hearing Australia Pty Ltd

Strong team member

Fiona has provided the NACC and its members with valuable advice, and been instrumental in the chamber’s growth. Fiona is a strong team member and I highly recommend her and her work.

Sophia Demetriades Toftdahl
President,
Norwegian Australian Chamber of Commerce

Using the law to get the right outcomes

Fiona is an exceptional lawyer who blends her ethics and morality into the way she practices law. Rather than using the law as a weapon, she leverages it as a guide to get the right outcomes.

All of the business and personal matters Fiona has handled for us have been dealt with professionally and successfully.

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Phillip Evans
Founder, Managing Director
eeStrategy

Culturally sensitive and tactful — but frank

Fiona’s assistance has been invaluable in negotiating the terms of several joint venture agreements and in resolving a few potentially expensive disputes, avoiding the need to commence court proceedings.

Fiona’s legal advice is always honest, practical and commercial. She has the ability to analyse a problem and master the detail whilst not losing sight of the big picture and commerciality of the situation. She explains complex legal concepts clearly and at a level that can be easily understood and applied in a commercial context.

At times her advice has needed to be frank and not necessarily what I wanted to hear. In those circumstances, she has always managed to communicate that advice with tact and understanding.

In addition to being an excellent lawyer, I have really appreciated the respect and sensitivity which she has shown towards my indigenous cultural heritage.

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Scott Franks
CEO,
Tocomwall Pty Ltd

Negotiating excellent results

Fiona has saved us a lot of money negotiating complex contracts with large corporate venues. Her skills negotiating with difficult individuals and keeping track of the details while not losing sight of our broader goals are fantastic.

She achieved a great outcome for us every time.

She’s also helped me to be across the myriad legal issues and requirements that are often overwhelming when you don’t have in-house lawyers.

I am so grateful for her expertise, friendly manner and integrity.

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Ainsley Poulos
Director,
Eastside Speech Solutions

Looking for an Australian lawyer
experienced in litigation and cross-border matters?

If you’re looking for experienced Australian lawyers to represent and protect your interests in Australia,
please let us know how we can help.

+61 2 9173 9894
Free consultation