Co-led by Belinda Thompson and Alex Tolliday, Allens' disputes and investigations team is pre-eminent in the field of financial services class actions, with team members such as Paul Nicols and Andrew Maher experienced in defending class actions brought against each of the ‘big four’ retail banks. The firm also specialises in shareholder class actions, consumer, employee and environmental class actions, with Jenny Campbell noted for her experience in business interruption and Covid-19 class actions, and Ross Drinnan‘s expertise extending to major securities class actions. Jaime McKenzie advises clients in relation to class action risk exposure and Australia’s class action regime. Matthew McCarthy is noted for his experience both in the United States and Australia in defence of his clients' class actions concerning a range of claims, from shareholder to environmental damage and product liability.

Representing both plaintiffs and defendants, the class action team at Ashurst has been active in complex class actions and acting for clients in major disputes, including shareholder, securities and employee class actions. Within the common fund order space, the firm has challenged the conventional approaches to class actions, having led the first Federal Court matter on whether common fund orders should be made early in class actions, as well as appearing in High Court joint appeals from separate Full Federal Court and NSW Court of Appeal decisions in relation to common fund orders. Ian Bolster heads the dispute resolution side and co-heads the class actions team, and has acted in complex disputes for high-profile clients. John Pavlakis specialises in shareholder class actions, as well as consumer class actions and class actions against governmental bodies, while Mark Bradley also co-heads the class actions practice and is active in commercial disputes. Sally-Anne Stewart and Ellena Cavell are names to note, and Angela Pearsall recently joined the firm from Clifford Chance.

Clayton Utz‘s defendant-focused commercial litigation practice is led by Greg Williams and is active in class actions across Australia, representing a range of different clients and governmental bodies across consumer, pharmaceutical and financial class actions. Andrew Morrison recently represented the Victorian Department of Health in multiple alleged unpaid overtime class actions. Ross McInnes has a strong grasp of the defence of financial services class actions, while Matthew Spain combines his expertise in litigation and regulatory investigations with his class actions work. Alexandra Rose has defended leading clients in the health technology sector, and Katie Wood is active in class actions and product liability claims in a number of sectors, including technology and financial. Sheena McKie is noted for her class actions expertise in the pharmaceutical and medical technologies fields.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP is active in high-profile class actions across Australia, including defending banks in shareholder class actions. Jason Betts leads the department and is active in large class actions, including major securities and product liability cases. Damian Grave defends class action claims, including for clients in the government and financial sector, and Elizabeth Poulos specialises in class actions in the energy, mining and natural resources, banking and financial services sectors. Ante Golem heads the Perth disputes team, with experience in class action litigation, and Christine Tran deals with issues arising in the defence of class action claims, including shareholder and product liability class actions. Melissa Gladstone is another name to note.

Matthew Swinn leads the King & Wood Mallesons dispute resolution practice, which is active in a large range of claims in multiple fields, including insurance and cybercrime, with a strong focus on the financial services industry. Team members have been defending regulatory proceedings and class actions that followed the Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services space. Moira Saville is active in the defence of financial and corporate clients in civil penalty proceedings and responsible lending class actions, while Alexander Morris is skilled in shareholder class actions and consumer credit insurance class actions. Liam Burgess is experienced in defending responsible lending class action claims and civil penalty proceedings, as well as consumer class actions and consumer lending remediation. Eleanor Atkins is noted for her work in securities class actions against large companies in Australia.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers‘s USP resides in its strong grasp of shareholder and listed securities actions in Australia. As such, the team is entrusted by large clients in significant and high-profile cases. Rebecca Gilsenan leads the team of 'top-tier class action practitioners'. Other key practitioners in the department include Elizabeth O’Shea, Julian Schimmel, Richard Ryan and Miranda Nagy.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth represents a range of clients from both the government and corporate arenas in domestic and cross-border class actions, particularly involving technology, cyber security, ESG and financial services. The firm’s key specialism lies within its technology disputes practice, where team members act for high-profile technology platforms, as well as those in connection with cyber class actions, with head of the practice Chris Pagent handling a number of matters in this area. Brad Woodhouse is adept in product liability claims, as well as acting in class actions across the financial services and products spaces. Daniel Marquet was involved in acting for the Victorian Government in defending a wrongful detention claim arising from its COVID-19 response lockdown in the housing sector. Katrina Sleiman is skilled in representing a range of corporate and financial clients in class actions and regulatory investigations, while Teagan Lewis is noted for her involvement in class actions within the automotive industry.

Independent firm Johnson Winter Slattery acts for a range of defendants and claimants in class actions, as well as acting for class action funders in Australia and overseas. The firm has acted in ‘bet the company’ class actions, with Paul Reidy acting in one of the largest consumer class actions arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Robert Johnston has a broad class actions practice, representing clients across motor vehicle class actions and data breach class actions. Frances Dreyer focuses on claims in the health sector, as well as in the financial and investment spheres, while Andreas Piesiewicz and Felicity Karageorge have acted for clients in the corporate space in high-value and high-profile consumer class actions.

Boutique firm Phi Finney McDonald specialises in high-value, plaintiff-side class actions, with a focus on shareholder class actions. Managing director Ben Phi leads the team alongside Tim Finney and Odette McDonald. Phi is experienced in litigation and in multi-jurisdictional class actions, with McDonald skilled in shareholder class actions and cross-border matters both in Australia and the UK, and Finney’s expertise extending to class actions and litigation in the financial services sector. Jeremy Zimet specialises in shareholder class actions, and Jack Gracie is noted for his work in employee and shareholder class actions.

Baker McKenzie represents a range of defendants and plaintiffs, as well as advising litigation funders across a range of class actions, from shareholder to employee to product liability class actions. The global firm has the capabilities to handle both domestic and cross-border matters, and can access its network of other specialist class action lawyers from other offices across the world. Mark Chapple and Peter Lucarelli lead the class and funded actions group, and David McCredie heads the dispute resolution group in Australia and specialises in defending class actions in the healthcare and consumer goods arenas. Paul Forbes handles technology and telecoms industry disputes, and Jayme-Lyn Hendriks acts for major firms in class actions.

DLA Piper‘s class actions team handles a wide range of matters within class actions both domestically and internationally, as well as mass tort litigation. Team members have been involved in the AFL concussion class actions issued in the Supreme Court of Victoria, as well as other high-profile matters. Kieran O’Brien co-leads the litigation and regulatory team with Liam Prescott, and Tricia Hobson has covered class actions relating to natural catastrophes, securities, mass tort, construction and infrastructure. James Morse and Cameron Scholes are also key practitioners in the firm.

The team at Gilbert + Tobin handles high-stakes class actions, including those in the financial services arena. It also provides clients with pre-litigation risk advice, including in disputes arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Richard Harris heads the practice and assists large corporates and boards through disputes and litigation, class actions and regulatory investigations. Colleen Platford is a specialist within class actions involving insolvency issues and restructuring, and Crispian Lynch has worked on class actions within the automobile industry and in securities class actions. Matt Mackenzie is experienced in advising clients involved in class actions as well as regulatory enforcement actions. Rebecca Spigelman has global class actions experience, and Philippa Hofbrucker is noted for her class actions experience involving cyber clients and corporations.

Situated in Sydney, Minter Ellison‘s class actions team is led by James Beaton and Beverley Newbold. Newbold is noted for her experience in acting for ASX-listed companies, as well as large private and government-owned entities in various class actions, including those related to electricity rates and shareholder class actions. David Taylor specialises in class action litigation, having appeared in significant shareholder and superannuation class actions across Australia, while Jacky Wong, who works closely with Taylor and Newbold, has experience in prosecuting and defending class actions, as well as advising on class action risk to clients. Rafael Aiolfi is a name to note.

Norton Rose Fulbright’s class actions team acts for a diverse client base and handles an equally broad range of work, from consumer to financial services. Cameron Harvey leads the litigation and consumer markets departments, and acts for a range of international and domestic clients in the commodities, telecoms, pharmaceutical and technology sectors. Nigel Jones focuses on franchising and consumer protection law and is also experienced in high-profile government class actions and franchising class actions. Ann Donohue covers class actions within the context of business interruption matters as well as franchising class actions, while Kate Green advises clients on domestic and international disputes, including ‘bet the company’ cases.

Shine Lawyers handles a diverse range of class actions across Australia and New Zealand, including employment, product liability, environmental contamination and financial services. The team is jointly led by Vicky Antzoulatos and Craig Allsopp, with Antzoulatos covering a range of class actions, while Allsopp specialises in shareholder class actions. Kione Johnson, who joined from King & Wood Mallesons, is active in customer class actions against corporations, and Sarah Thomson acts in class actions within the insurance sector. Max Russ and Kate Gough are names to note. Lorne Franks is another recent arrival, joining from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers in 2024.

Led by Leon Zwier, the team at Arnold Bloch Leibler handles high-risk matters for clients across a range of sectors in Australia. John Mitchell is experienced in class actions both domestically and in cross-border matters involving high-net-worth individuals as well as overseas corporations, while Teresa Ward combines her expertise in class actions, financial and commercial disputes, as well as competition and intellectual property to represent a range of clients in industries including telecoms and manufacturing. Stephen Lloyd specialises in insolvency class actions as well as regulatory investigations.

Based in Brisbane and Sydney, insurance-focused firm Clyde & Co LLP acts in defence and in a coverage monitoring capacity in class actions. It regularly represents directors and officers in insurance cases and is also active in shareholder, maritime, health and safety, and employment class actions. John Moran handles class actions within the securities space, while Gareth Horne is experienced in class actions both in Australia and New Zealand, with experience in matters arising out of COVID-19 business interruption claims. Melissa Tang, who was promoted to partner in 2024, works closely with Ernest Van Buuren; they often act for clients in class actions and Federal Court proceedings.

Piper Alderman handles class actions at both the national and international level, with involvement in a variety of areas from consumer to shareholder class actions. Martin del Gallego is the national leader of the dispute resolution and litigation practice group, and handles disputes for clients across a range of sectors, including insurance, energy and natural resources. Greg Whyte is the Brisbane leader and is well regarded for his experience in the litigation funding industry, having represented clients financed by litigation funders as well as the funders themselves. Kate Sambrook has experience acting for both plaintiffs and defendants, and Millie Byrnes Howe is involved in a range of commercial disputes and class actions.

Wotton + Kearney‘s class actions team has been involved in numerous class actions and insurance disputes, providing insurers with advice and monitoring class actions brought against blue-chip companies, statutory agencies and corporate agencies. The team has seen significant growth, with the hires of eight lawyers from Corrs Chambers Westgarth, led by Richard Leder and Georgie Austin, as well as the head of class actions Amanda Beattie who brings experience from King & Wood Mallesons in Sydney and Hong Kong.