Elizabeth Hilliard

Biography

Elizabeth is a special counsel in our Disputes and Investigations group.

She is a special counsel in the Disputes and Investigations group, specialising in complex commercial dispute resolution and investigations with extensive experience in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court of Australia. She excels in guiding clients through large scale and multifaceted contractual disputes, financial sector litigation, regulatory investigations, and public inquiries. Elizabeth has a keen eye for protecting privilege, confidentiality, commercial interests and reputations.

Before joining Gilbert + Tobin, Elizabeth worked in the London office of a global firm, managing significant cross-border disputes and regulatory investigations in the financial sector. She was deeply involved in high-profile inquiries like the News of the World phone hacking inquiry and the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants in Victoria.

Elizabeth is also skilled in alternative dispute resolution, including informal negotiations, mediation and arbitration, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has co-authored the Australia chapter of the Chambers and Partners International Arbitration Guide. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Law (UK), a Master of Arts (First Class Honours with Distinction) in English Literature and French from the University of Edinburgh, and a Post Graduate Certificate of Education (Distinction) from the University of Leeds.

Experience

Elizabeth’s experience includes advising:

  • An ASX-listed therapeutic goods group in successfully obtaining urgent injunctions in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Court of Australia relating to the use of, and unauthorised access to, certain critical software.

  • A superannuation fund in respect of a complex breach of contract and misleading and deceptive conduct claim against a key supplier of software and administrative services.

  • GTW Investments in successfully appealing the Victorian Supreme Court’s decision against Pacreef Investments in relation to a dispute over a guarantee arrangement for redeemable preference shares.

  • RI Advice (a subsidiary of Insignia Financial) in connection with an Australian first cybersecurity proceeding brought by ASIC alleging a failure to have in place adequate cybersecurity measures.

  • Bega Cheese in successfully defending Supreme Court proceedings brought by Fonterra Brands for breach of Trade Mark Licence Agreements.

  • The State of Victoria in relation to the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, which examined lawyer Nicola Gobbo’s conduct in providing client information to Victoria Police.

  • Cargill in Supreme Court proceedings in a large claim for damages concerning allegations of false and misleading statements by Glencore and Viterra during the sale of the JWM malting business.

  • The Commonwealth of Australia in successfully obtaining declarations in the Federal Court proceedings against Essendon Airport in relation to a significant land tax dispute.

  • Deutsche Bank in relation to a cross-border internal and regulatory investigation relating to the alleged manipulation of the gold and silver “fix” (the setting of London’s daily gold and silver price benchmarks).

  • The Administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) in relation to various disputes with counterparties.

  • News Corporation’s Management and Standards Committee in its handling of the News of the World phone hacking case during the Leveson Inquiry, various police investigations and civil claims.