Oliver is an experienced and versatile litigator, specialising in class actions and commercial dispute resolution. He is dual qualified as a solicitor in Australia (NSW) and England & Wales, and is also deeply versed in the litigation finance industry, having most recently served as Co Chief Investment Officer Asia Pacific for Omni Bridgeway Ltd.
Oliver joined William Roberts as a principal in August 2023. He acts for claimants in class actions, for claimants and defendants in commercial disputes, and provides general advice to a range of clients including third party funders.
Who I work with and what I do
As a lawyer and funder, Oliver has over 20 years of experience in a wide range of contentious matters, including:
- Commercial court litigation (in particular before the NSW Supreme Court and High Court of England & Wales)
- Representative proceedings (in the Federal Court of Australia)
- Insolvency, including claims by liquidators against directors for breach of duty
- Professional negligence, including audit negligence claims
- Antitrust damages claims
- International commercial arbitration, including under the LCIA, SIAC and ACICA rules
- Investment treaty arbitration (ICSID rules)
- Cross border asset-tracing and enforcement of debts, judgments and awards
Oliver’s international experience covers multiple jurisdictions in addition to the UK and Australia, such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the offshore common law jurisdictions. Whilst at Omni Bridgeway, Oliver performed leadership roles in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), LatAm (Latin America) and APAC (Asia Pacific) groups.
Oliver has a particular expertise in legal issues arising from PFAS contamination (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, used for example in firefighting foam, and known as “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment). His notable cases in this area include Smith v Commonwealth (NSD 1908 of 2016), a class action brought on behalf of the community at Williamtown NSW, which along with two related cases settled in April 2020 for $212.5m: see [2020] FCA 837.
What Clients Say
- “Oliver’s wealth of experience in private practice and litigation funding, together with an acute understanding of the law and its commercial application, affords those he is representing or working with the highest levels of confidence”
- “Oliver does a great job. His communication and responsiveness are excellent. He is very engaged, across all the documents, and provides valuable insights to the legal, commercial and even political aspects of a case”
- “Any client, claimant, lawyer or colleague that has the opportunity to work with Oliver is better off for it”
What I like to do
Oliver is interested in environmental protection and social justice and supports various charities working in these areas. Outside of work, he loves snow sports in the winter, sailing in the summer, and – all year round – sport, travel, cooking and reading a good book.