Chris Tam

Chris’ practice, developed over 15 years at the Bar, covers all areas of commercial law (complex commercial disputes and civil fraud), complex financial crime and advocacy.

Key experience includes:

• appearing as sole or leading counsel in numerous higher Court trials and appeals, including stopwatch final hearings and expedited trials;
• appearing in many motions and applications covering all aspects of civil procedure (with specific expertise seeking and resisting injunctions, freezing orders and temporary and permanent stays including in favour of arbitration, of civil proceedings pending criminal proceedings and of criminal prosecutions);
• pleading hundreds of cases (most often as lead and requiring conferral with experts) in wide ranging commercial contexts in higher Courts in NSW, Qld and Victoria concerning all kinds of contractual, property, statutory and equitable rights; and
• advising, directing and collaborating in litigious matters, including corporate counsel pre-proceedings on litigation risks (sector specific experience in ports/shipping, mining and telecommunications).

Specific expertise includes:

• appearing in civil fraud cases – gaining working knowledge of tracing, remedies, asset preservation and enforcement – involving employees, partners and other defaulting fiduciaries, company officers and rogues, for targets including listed companies, smaller entities, individuals, the Commonwealth and the revenue;
• appearing in large-scale cases concerning corporate governance and director’s duties including in many securities class actions, in cases brought by liquidators and regulators and in general commercial cases in the Equity Division; and
• appearing and advising in complex and novel Federal crime proceedings including prosecutions for breaches of the Corporations Act, the Bankruptcy Act, the Tax legislation, and for foreign bribery.

Notable 2024/25 appearances include:

• for the administrators of Qenos defending proceedings in the Corporations List of the Supreme Court of NSW, briefed by Corrs Chambers Westgarth, final hearing;
• for Telstra, in proceedings against a former employee in the Commercial List of the Supreme Court of NSW, briefed by King & Wood Mallesons, final hearing part-heard and stay; and
• for the CDPP in two prosecutions against Clive Palmer in the Magistrates Court of Queensland and in Mr Palmer’s judicial review in the Supreme Court of Queensland,  jurisdiction challenge.