Dispute Resolution
De Marco Lawyers recognizes that many disputes can and should be resolved without the need for court or tribunal proceedings. De Marco Lawyers is expert in all forms of alternative dispute resolution. Our team has the experience to advise clients on how and when to use negotiation, mediation, conciliation, expert determination or traditional litigation and how to make these forms work best in specific situations. To speak with one of our dispute resolution lawyers in Glenroy or Melbourne, contact us.
Over many decades, the Dispute Resolution Team has delivered cutting-edge and innovative dispute resolution solutions for highly complex or sensitive problems for personal and business clients in a variety of areas including building, construction, debt recovery, defamation, environmental disputes, intellectual property (including copyright, design and passing off), insurance, landlord and tenant, partnership disputes, planning issues, trust and property problems and competition and trade practice disputes.
The philosophy of De Marco Lawyers is that many disputes can be resolved without the need for court proceedings. We are skilled in all forms of alternative dispute resolution. Michael Pickering qualified as an arbitrator in the 1980s and as a mediator in the 1990s. Michael Tourkakes has postgraduate qualifications in commercial dispute resolution. De Marco Lawyers has the experience to advise you when to use alternative dispute resolution techniques and how best to make them work in your specific situation.
When clients have to litigate, our lawyers have the breadth of experience to recommend the best strategy. De Marco Lawyers recognizes that disputes bring threats but also opportunities. De Marco Lawyers recognize that dispute resolution is a means to an end. For our clients, disputes are resolved as swiftly and cost-effectively as possible but we will also act determinedly and tenaciously against unreasonable opponents and will not pull our punches.
De Marco Lawyers places strategic thinking at the forefront of its approach to dispute resolution. De Marco Lawyers has the skill to master the minutiae of document - heavy litigation without losing focus on the bigger commercial objective.
Recently, the Team has been involved in:
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Advising professionals and builders in disputes with owners relating to multi-storey commercial office construction in North Melbourne resulting in our clients redesigning structural elements thereby avoiding lengthy delays and claims for liquidated damages;
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Claim for defamation of a leading martial arts expert by national sporting organisations arising from disputes over management and finances;
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Acting for importers of product alleged to have infringed trademarks and registered designs and to have engaged in passing off – utilizing statutory and common law defences to achieve commercial settlements;
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Acting on behalf of insureds against insurers for unreasonable claim rejections for business interruption, personal accident, total and permanent disablement and life insurance including acting for insureds at the Financial Ombudsman Service, VCAT and courts;
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Acting for landlords to obtain injunctions to evict disruptive and damaging tenants for refusal to pay rent and causing damage to premises;
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Acting for outgoing partners so as to achieve fair and reasonable repayment of partnership capital and income entitlements and for incoming partners who have suffered loss as a result of misleading or deceptive inflated profit projections;
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Acting for owners and occupiers who are being prosecuted by municipal authorities under the Planning & Environment Act for breach of town planning schemes, town planning permits and council bylaws including successfully defending prosecutions for fines;
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Owners’ Corporation disputes acting for owners and occupiers resolving disputes with managers, committees and other owners arising from interpretation of rules and regulations;
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Property and trust disputes including acting for beneficiaries to replace executors of wills and trustees of testamentary trusts arising from conflict of interest and breach of duty; and
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Acting for property owners to remove caveats on title to enable urgent settlements and to obtain specific performance or rescission of commercial and residential real estate.
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