5 Wentworth

Professional Career
James Gibson practices principally in corporate and commercial law, equity and construction.

He appears before courts, tribunals and inquiries mainly in New South Wales.

He commenced practice as a barrister in 2005

Prior to admission, Mr Gibson was a senior associate with Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson); special counsel at Corrs Chambers & Westgarth; and a partner and the National Head of Dispute Resolution at Andersen Legal.

As a solicitor Mr Gibson acted in a number of high profile cases inquiries from the early 1990s, including the Martin Banking Inquiry, the “Westpac letters”; the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Allegations made by Mrs Franca Arena; the Royal Commission into the collapse of HIH; the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Rail Accident and the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation (the James Hardie Inquiry).

Before coming to the law, Mr Gibson was a teacher and taught in schools in the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and the Sultanate of Oman

Recent Matters

Construction/Trade Practices
Junior Counsel in the long running and continuing matter of Stein Heurtey SA v Mainteck Australia Pty Ltd Supreme Court of NSW 2007/2666650, concerning allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct and variation and prolongation claims.

Corporate/ Trade Practices
Junior Counsel in the successful appeal to the High Court in Douglas Ronald Campbell v Backoffice Investments Pty Ltd & Anor [2009] HCA 25 on appeal from Campbell v Backoffice Investments Pty Ltd (2008) 66 ACSR 359 [2008] NSWCA 95. The matter concerned misleading and deceptive conduct and oppressive conduct under 232 of the Corporations Act 2001.

Coronial Inquests
Counsel for Serco Australia Pty Limited in the Inquests into three deaths at Villawood Detention Centre in 2010.

Mr Gibson has also represented parties in matters of public interest, including matters associated with Home Building Insurance Legislation failing to provide adequate protection in the face of defective work by an insolvent builder and in acting in an inquest into the drowning of a child in a backyard swimming pool.

Mr Gibson has also appeared in mediations of commercial disputes

Memberships
Australian Corporate Law Association, NSW Bar Association.