Kelsey is an experienced litigator, having a broad practice in both public law and general commercial dispute resolution. She is passionate about delivering strategic and efficient outcomes for her clients, providing measured and frank advice along the way. She is approachable and personable and enjoys being a trusted advisor to her clients.
She acts for a range of both public sector and large corporate clients, in all stages of disputes, from pre-litigation negotiations through trials, appeals and costs disputes. Kelsey is also regularly instructed to provide advice to her public sector clients, for example, on complex statutory interpretation issues. She has a niche expertise in obtaining expert evidence for highly technical and complex disputes, regularly working with valuers, engineers and planners.
Kelsey was nominated to complete Hall & Wilcox’s national Women in Leadership program in 2022, and is passionate about mentoring and training junior lawyers. She is a mentor to female law students through Victorian Women Lawyers.
- Defending one of the largest insurance companies in South Africa in the Supreme Court of Victoria from a $100 million professional indemnity claim made by a large construction company. The complex claim arose from the design and construction of a natural gas pipeline in Queensland. The proceeding involved the first ever court approved discovery using Technology Assisted Review, which reduced the plaintiff’s relevant documents from 1.3 million to under 100,000.
- Acting for a large corporate client in an action for breach of confidence in the Federal Court, after a competitor stole highly sensitive commercial information from a secure member database. Working on very tight deadlines, we engaged a forensic IT specialist and obtained an urgent injunction restraining use of the information by the competitor, and ultimately the deletion of the information.
- Defending a listed company in a fiercely contested application in the Federal Court as part of a broader partnership dispute.
- Defending a Victorian government department in administrative law proceedings commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria by various environmental groups.
- Successfully defending a Victorian statutory authority from a $35+ million claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria made by a property developer for loss arising from the imposition of a planning reservation on residential land. The claim involved novel questions of law and statutory interpretation, for example, whether a statutory right to compensation under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) can be assigned. We successfully obtained an order for indemnity costs, and defended an appeal made by the developer to the Victorian Court of Appeal.
- Defending a Victorian shire council in a $10 million breach of contract claim made by a waste services contractor in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
- Advising a Victorian university on various student conduct matters, including defending the university in judicial review proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria and Victorian Court of Appeal.
- Acting for public sector clients in pre-litigated contractual disputes with IT service providers, including advising on ongoing performance obligations.
- Acting for and advising several clients in an own motion investigation commenced by the Victorian Ombudsman.
- Acting for acquiring authorities in applications made to the Supreme Court of Victoria and VCAT for determination of disputed claims for compensation under the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 (Vic), including appearance work.
Memberships
- Law Institute of Victoria
- Victorian Women Lawyers