Year of Admission to NSW Bar: 2015
Year of Admission to VIC Bar: 2008
Christine practises in public law, with a speciality in inquiries and inquests. She has been Counsel Assisting in the Inquiry into the convictions of the Croatian Six and the Special Commission into LGBTIQ hate crimes.
She advises and appears on behalf of both public and private entities and has experience at State and Federal levels. She is skilled at getting across complex material quickly and making forensic decisions that best suit the client’s situation.
Chris has advised and appeared in a variety of notable matters including, the Lindt Cafe siege inquest, the Takata Airbag inquest and the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. Chris was part of the legal team that made the first ever applications for Serious Crime Prevention Orders against two OMCGs and ran the first contested variation applications.
Chris has considerable experience working in the terrorism space and maintains an interest in national security.
In 2019, Chris assisted in the Review and Report into the functions and operations of the Employee Performance and Conduct Directorate (EPAC) within the NSW Department of Education. She has also appeared on a number of occasions before the Supreme Court of Nauru in appeals against decisions of the Refugee Status Review Tribunal.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Chris was the Associate to Justice Cavanough of the Supreme Court of Victoria and a solicitor with Minter Ellison Lawyers.
Chris has served on a number of boards and committees including, the Inquests and Inquiries committee (NSW), Australian Women Lawyers (Vice President), Victorian Women Lawyers (President), Victorian Bar Council and Women Barristers Forum (NSW).
Chris is passionate about advocacy and gender equality in the law. She is available to speak about these topics on panels and at seminars. She is a trained Advocacy Instructor with the Australian Advocacy Institute and a previous sessional Lecturer in Trial Practice & Advocacy in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. She teaches with the Australian Bar Association (ABA).
Chris has also taught criminal and civil advocacy to Law Students in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu as part of a teaching crew supplied by the Victorian Bar and funded by the Australian Government. She spearheaded a proposal for a mentoring program for the female participants in PNG which was rolled out in July 2015 and named “Empowering Women in the Law in PNG”.
In January 2014 Chris completed the ABA’s Advanced Trial Advocacy Course in Brisbane.
