Name: John Charles Hall
DOB:
24 August 1955, Melbourne, Victoria.
Contact: C/- Dever Clerks, 205 William Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3000
Telephone: 613 9225 7999
Education:
- I attended School at Peninsula School, Mt Eliza, Victoria 1961-72 and was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship.
- I Completed degrees in Commerce and Law (B.Com/LLB) University of Melbourne in 1979/80.
- I completed the Victorian Bar Reader’s Course in September 1982.
Other qualifications
- Admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the Victorian Supreme Court March 1981.
- Signed the Victorian Bar in 1982, admitted to the NSW Bar in 1986 and the Tasmania Bar 1989.
- Admitted to the Queensland Bar 4th January 2008.
- Accredited Specialist ADR Practitioner by the Law Institute of Victoria November 1996.
- Certificate IV – Mortgage Broking 2007.
- NMAS Nationally Accredited Mediatorthrough Australian Institute Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM) 2013 (current).
- Specialist Accreditation Family Law (LIV - 2013 Current)
- Listed AIFLAM Family Law Arbitrator (2016 – current).
- Senior First Aid (St John’s)
Career
- December 2014 – present - Barrister-at-Law – Victorian Bar
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- Over 80% of my work is in the Family Law Jurisdiction – regularly appearing in the FCC at Melbourne, Bendigo, Dandenong, Albury.
- Mediations as Mediator and as a representative of parties.
- Trials in the FCC and Family Court
- Family Court Appeals
- Family Violence related proceedings Magistrates Court
September 2012 – July 2014 - Senior Lawyer - Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Albury
- 60% + of my workload was in Family Law, the balance was in Estate Litigation - Testators Family Maintenance/Family Provision matters (Victoria and NSW) and other general commercial, criminal and Advocacy work.
- I conducted this work from the Wangaratta and Albury and Wagga Wagga offices of Slater + Gordon Lawyers.
- My Family Law work included all aspects of Family Law work in all jurisdictions (AVO/IVO/PSO, Legal Aid-NSW Early Intervention Conferences, Mediations both as a party’s representative and as Mediator appointed by the parties or their Practitioners), and I prosecuted and defended matters in the F.M.C. and F.C.C. and appeared regularly in the F.C.C. at Albury – HH Judge Harman and HH Judge Henderson.
- I have conducted numerous Conciliation Conferences before Registrars in Albury, Melbourne, and Dandenong.
- I have also conducted numerous Settlement Conferences with fellow practitioners.
- I have Mediated and appeared as a party’s representative in relation to “significant pool” farming cases,
- I have appeared as a party’s representative in property mediations ranging from small to large “pools”,
January – September 2012 – Barrister at Law, Victorian Bar
- My practice was predominantly Family Law in the FMC (now FCC), with the balance made up of VCAT (Building List), Commercial and Crime.
January 2008 – January 2012 - Barrister-at-Law, Queensland Bar.
- In Private Practice at the Queensland Bar, I have completed matters in the Family Court of Australia - trials in Brisbane and Sydney.
- Suffolk v Suffolk (No 2) 2009 Fam CA 917. I acted for the successful Applicant Wife in an application to set aside a BFA. I was in the proceeding from beginning to end. There were three decisions. No.1 was children’s issues (in which I was not involved). No.2 was the substantive case in which I appeared and successfully set aside the Binding Financial Agreement (BFA). No.3 was the successful costs application (primarily based on the conduct of the Husband). The Respondent lodged an Appeal, which was struck out for non-compliance, reinstated, by application then finally struck out.
- Burgess v Burgess (Supreme Court QLD unreported, HH Justice Applegarth), Matrimonial Property case – I Appeared in Sydney in the Children’s issues case (Family Court), and in the Supreme Court in Brisbane in the property case (One of the last to be litigated). I was opposed to (now) Justice Colin Forest (in one of his last appearance before taking Silk and then being elevated to the bench as a Family Court Judge) in Brisbane. The case ran for several days.
- Mediations (both as a party’s representative and as Mediator) in Family Law (property and children’s issues) and TFM matters.
- District Court of Queensland – Trials both Criminal Jury trials and Civil Causes.
- Supreme Court of Queensland – Applications, Mareva Injunction Applications and Commercial matters and Criminal pleas, and Civil Trials.
- Magistrates Court of Queensland in a wide range of Civil and Criminal matters, and Contested Intervention Applications.
- New South Wales Local Court in Criminal and Civil matters including contested AVO matters.
- Arbitration matters in New South Wales Local Court.
February 2007 – December 2007 – Solicitor (QLD)
Solicitor with O’Keefe Mahoney Bennett, Solicitors in Southport, QLD. My work was across a broad range of matters, in the Commercial and Local Government fields, including District and Supreme Court litigation in Property (Sale and Purchase of land and BCIPA (off the plan) and P.I. matters.
July 2006 to Jan 2007 – Sabbatical Leave
Sabbatical leave having sold and settled the sale of my legal firm and sailed from Melbourne completing some 12,000 nautical miles along the East Coast of Australia with my wife and children.
1993 – 2006 - Solicitor Principal
I ran a sole practice at Rye on the Mornington Peninsula and built it to three solicitors and 11 support staff, with two offices. The practice was generally based and included litigation in all jurisdictions. I was, apart from being solicitor principal, involved in litigation and appearance work in all jurisdictions including Family Law.
I was also retained as Solicitor & General Counsel (1998 until 2006) for a “timeshare” company with over 3,500 members, 71 holiday units and a budget of in excess of $6m p.a. I oversaw the legal aspects of a major building and refurbishment program of $3.5m expenditure (2000 – 2002). I attended and chaired many Board Meetings during the period 1999 – 2003. I advised regarding redrafting the Club’s constitution. I traveled to South Africa (2001) to perform due diligence on a timeshare entity wishing to commence business in Australia.
1989 – 1993 - Consultant Solicitor
I practiced as a Solicitor 1989 in Gippsland, working for several firms as a litigation consultant. I completed a lot of the work I had commenced as Counsel in Personal Injury claims over this period.
1982 – 1989 - Barrister-at-Law - Victorian Bar
I first came to the Victorian Bar September 1982 and completed the inaugural reading course and read with Mr. Brian Collis QC. In 1984 I established chambers in Sale, Gippsland with Bar Council approval. My work was varied, but I completed numerous Jury trials in Criminal and Civil matters, also Disputed Estate matters, and Family Law matters in both the Family Court and Magistrates Court.
1981-1982. Articled Clerk & Employee Solicitor
I completed Articles with Barnet Rockman & Co in Frankston, Victoria and continued as an employee solicitor March 1981 - September 1982.
1975 until 1979 – Law Clerk during University Vacations
Prior to graduation, from, I worked as a legal clerk during University vacations with Barnet Rockman & Co in Frankston.
Other Qualifications
- I held a secondary dealer’s licence from ASIC in relation to Secondary Sales in the Timeshare Industry from 2003 until 2006. This was to satisfy licensing requirements to undertake Timeshare transfer work. As Licensee, I acted for vendors and purchasers of timeshare interests throughout Australia, including drawing contracts, disclosure statements, seeing to completion of contracts, distribution of moneys, advising on entitlements, and liaising with exchange companies.
Other Service
- I was elected to and served on the Board of Queensland Yachting (the Peak body representing Yachting in Queensland and a member of the Australian Yachting Federation now Australian Yachting representing all aspects of yachting including High Performance and Olympic sailing) March 2009 –September 2010 when I did not stand for re-election due to work commitments.
- I Served on the Board of ATHOC Southern (Australian Timeshare and Holiday Owners Council), and was Treasurer 2003 - 2006. Previously the representative body was STRMA – Southern Timeshare Resort Managers Association, which I helped to incorporate and sat as Committee member from 1997 – 2002 when that association was subsumed into ATHOC, which was formed as the Australian Peak body for Timeshare in Australia. During 1997 to 2006, I M.C.’d and spoke as Guest Speaker at regional and National Timeshare Conferences regularly.
- 2003 – 2006 I served as a Director on the General Committee of Mornington Yacht Club (elected position) and as Chairman of the Mornington Safe Harbour Sub-committee. This had the aim of establishing a Safe Harbour for the Mornington Community and my service included engaging design, planning, and environmental consultants, liaising with public relations advisers, meeting with Local and State Government Departments and Departmental heads including DSE, Parks Victoria and the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
- I have been president of various Yachting Clubs and Associations including the Victorian S80 Association, The Southern Cross Sonata 7 Association, and have been State Representative of the Melges 24 Association.
- I am presently on the ADR Sub-committee of the Victorian Bar (2017 to present)
- I coach and examine for the Lawyers Mediation Certificate (2018 to present)
- I am currently Commodore at Martha Cove Yacht Squadron (2019 - present)
Other Interests
- I have sailed since 7 yrs old and have competed extensively at state and national level, and have represented Australia in the World Fireball Titles - Adelaide 1974.
- I have raced extensively in one-design yachts.
- I have owned, and renovated and sold several yachts to 44 feet.
- I am a keen fly-fisherman.
- I have been involved in building and construction from 1984 until the present, including project management, multi-unit development and general domestic housing.
- I grew up on a farm, and understand and relate well to “country” folk, as well as people from all walks of life.
- I am married (36 years) and have three adult independent children and one grandchild.
John Hall – June 2017