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Premala Thiagarajan
List A Barristers
Owen Dixon Chambers West
205 William Street
Melbourne 3000 DX 90
Australia
T +61 3 9225 6258
F +61 3 9225 8395
E [email protected]
Areas of Practice
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Administrative Law (Merits and Judicial Review)
Banking and Finance
Commercial Law
Constitutional Law
Corporate Insolvency
Corporations and Securities
Equity and Trusts
Structured Finance/Complex Transactions
Educational Qualifications
BA/LLB (Hons), Bachelor of Civil Laws (Oxon)
Languages - Indonesian
Legal Experience
Premala practices primarily in commercial and public law. She has particular experience in corporations,
equity and trusts, tax, competition, banking and finance and insolvency. She also has public and
regulatory law experience and has acted for and against regulators.
Before coming to the Bar, Premala was a Senior Associate in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group
at Clifford Chance LLP, London, and a solicitor at Freehills, Melbourne. She has over 10 years experience
as a litigator, specialising in high-value, complex commercial disputes, especially in the banking and
finance sector. She has a broad range of experience in both commercial and public law, acting in cases
before the House of Lords, the Privy Council, the European Court of Human Rights and in international
arbitrations.
Premala holds a Bachelor of Civil Laws from the University of Oxford where she studied as a Menzies
Scholar. Premala won the Supreme Court Prize and was editor of the Law Review at Monash University.
She also received prizes in Corporations Law, Insolvency, Equity & Trusts, Torts and Legal Process and
won the Australian Institute of Administrative Law’s National Essay competition.
Key Recent Matters
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Elecnet (Aust) Pty Ltd (as Trustee for the Electrical Industry Severance Scheme) v Commissioner
of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia (2015, FCA, statutory construction of the term ‘unit
trust’ within Division 6C, with Terry Murphy QC, pending judgment).
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Advising on various matters in relation to the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (with
Peter Collinson QC and Kate Beattie);
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Advising on various competition law matters (mergers) (with Charles Scerri QC and Rowena Orr
SC).
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ICM Investments Pty Ltd v San Miguel Corporation and Berri Ltd [2014] VSCA 246 (with Nick
Hopkins QC).
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Associated Forest Holdings Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed) & Ors v Gordian Runoff
Limited (2014, Court of Appeal, Tasmania, with Jeremy Ruskin QC and Ken Read SC,
construction of an insurance policy and workers compensation legislation, pending judgment).
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ICM Investments Pty Ltd v San Miguel Corporation and Anor (No.2) [2013] VSC 528 (question of
whether a dividend should be paid, with Nick Hopkins QC).
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ICM Investments Pty Ltd v San Miguel Corporation and Anor (costs and judgment orders, unled).
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Hazelwood Power Partnership & Anor v Latrobe City Council & Anor (VCAT & VSC Proceedings,
involving questions concerning the Water Act, proportionate liability and ownership of a drain, with
Jim Delany QC).
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Detailed advice on managed investment schemes and trust arrangements (with Ted Woodward
QC).
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Detailed advice on unfair preferences (with Hamish Austin).
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Corey Edwards & Ors v VLR (VSC, breach of trust case, with Jim Delany QC).
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Detailed advice on implied and express undertakings and subsequent VSC proceedings to have
undertakings released (with Peter Hanks QC).
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Detailed advice on liabilities arising under family and business trust structures (with Jim
Delany QC).
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TVM v Susan Mary Taylor & Ors (VSC Proceedings, complex, high-value case involving directors'
duties and negligence issues, with Dr Andrew Hanak).
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Black v DSE (VCAT, FOI, with Jim Delany QC).
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K-Squared & Ors v Daniel Kagan (Vic Supreme Court) (complex breach of fiduciary duties and
directors' duties, with Dr Paul Vout).
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Unled appearances in VCAT and Federal Court, including winding-up applications.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Premala’s major cases in London and Melbourne include:
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Defending a major international financial institution in threatened LCIA arbitral proceedings
alleging breaches of a management services agreement in a Middle Eastern emerging market and
conducting an internal investigation to examine allegations of misconduct against individual
employees.
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Acting on a complex private client trusts case involving issues in Greece, Switzerland, the United
States and England.
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Acting for a major international financial institution against one of its international clients on claims
arising in relation to two commodity option transactions under a 2002 ISDA Master Agreement, in
LCIA arbitral proceedings. This matter also involved foreign banking law and regulatory issues.
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Acting for Mr Olivier Bancoult, on behalf of the Chagos Islanders, against an order made by the
UK government denying the Chagossians a right to return to the Chagos Archipelago (R (on the
application of Bancoult) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2008] UKHL
61, House of Lords and in the application that was before the European Court of Human Rights.
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Acting for the Society of Lloyd’s in its defence of proceedings brought by an Australian based
Name.
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Acting for one of Australia’s largest corporations in a complex computer software copyright
dispute.
Victorian Bar Committee memberships : Member of the Equality & Diversity Committee