Caroline Spencer
Special Counsel
Areas of Expertise

Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Construction and Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, Restructuring and Insolvency

Caroline acts for a broad range of commercial clients ranging from small family-owned businesses through to ASX-listed entities. She has also acted for high-net-worth individuals and not-for-profit groups. Her clients include mining companies, developers, contractors of all tiers, as well as professional services firms.

Caroline has experience in many types of litigation, including construction and engineering disputes, insolvency disputes, contract and tort claims, debt recovery and enforcement matters including bankruptcy and winding up applications, misleading and deceptive conduct claims and other consumer law matters, and employment matters including restraint of trade and confidential information matters. She also has experience in Takeovers Panel matters.

She frequently appears in State and Commonwealth courts in both simple and complex matters, including both as instructing solicitor and as counsel (both as junior counsel to external barristers and alone).  

As well as her litigation practice, Caroline advises on a large range of other commercial matters, including business sale and purchase agreements, shareholders’ agreements, partnership and business issues (including establishment, breakdowns and disputes), and employment matters (including advice on employment contracts and acting in relation to employee/employer disputes).

What others say

Experience

Mining company dispute

Acting for an ASX-listed mining company on a dispute with its joint venture partner, involving numerous Takeovers Panel applications and Supreme Court proceedings.

Property management group liquidation

Advising the liquidators of a large property management group, including drafting and negotiating deeds of company arrangement and providing advice on numerous issues arising in the liquidation.

Logistics group sale

Advising on the $40 million sale of a logistics group to an ASX-listed company, including negotiating the share purchase agreement and acting on urgent applications to the Supreme Court to rectify historical non-compliances.

Fraud cases

Acting for investors in relation to several multi-million dollar frauds, including Supreme Court and Federal Court proceedings, achieving the winding up of the companies involved and obtaining costs orders against directors personally.

Freight and logistics company

Acting for a long-established freight and logistics company in Federal Court proceedings in relation to a dispute over the failed installation of a new software system.

Law firm Partners

Acting for the Partners of several law firms following partnership breakdowns, successfully negotiating exit arrangements.