• Federal Courts
• High Court of Australia
• South Africa

• Banking and Finance
• Bankruptcy/Insolvency
• Commercial Law
• Corporations (Company) Law
• Equity and Trusts
• Insurance Law
• Professional Negligence
• Property Law/Sale of Land
• Tort
• Trade Practices
• Public Law
• Administrative Law

Hugo is an experienced commercial litigator. He has a broad practice, which includes areas such as contract law, property and leasing, consumer law, banking and finance, trusts, corporations (including breach of director’s duties), bankruptcy and insolvency, tort (including breach of fiduciary duties and professional negligence.

Examples of his work include:

· Yiqing Xu v Aussie Investment Group Pty Ltd & Ors [2022] VCC 104.

· Shan v Zhang & Ors [2021] VSC 452.

· Ex parte Shan v Zhang (Unreported, Supreme Court of Victoria, Delany J, 15 April 2021).

· Six Bruce Pty Ltd v Milatos & Ors [2017] VSC 784.

· Batrouney v Forster [2016] VSCA 80 (27 April 2016).

· He appeared on behalf of the plaintiff in a supreme court trial against a national law firm in a case based on breach of contract, breach of a duty of care and breach of fiduciary duties.

· He appeared as junior counsel to Michael Osborne QC (as His Honour then was) in the Victorian Court of Appeal in the matter of Knorr v CSIRO & Ors [2014] VSCA 84.

· He acted on behalf of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries in the Kilmore East bushfire class action.

· He appeared as junior counsel to Peter Cawthorn QC in a matter that restrained a major Australian bank from exercising its rights under a number of securities held over commercial properties.

· He acted on behalf of one of the directors of Opes Prime Stockbroking Limited following the company’s collapse, in R v Emini & Blumberg [2011] VSC 336 (27 July 2011), as junior counsel to Jane Dixon QC (as Her Honour then was).

Hugo regularly presents professional development seminars. Recent examples include:

· Unfair Contract Terms under the Australian Consumer Law (March 2022)

· Contract Formation and Interpretation (December 2021)

· Avoiding Guarantees (November 2018)

· Unlawful Fetters in Government Contracts (November 2016)

· Admissibility of expert evidence: Has the basis rule survived s 79 of the Evidence Act? (December 2014)

His paper on unfair contract terms is published by LAWCPD and his paper on s 79 of the Evidence Act 2008 was published in the Australian Construction Law Newsletter, issue #159 (November/December 2014).

Before coming to the Bar he was a solicitor in Melbourne for more than 4 years practising in commercial litigation. Between 2002 and 2005 he was a barrister in Cape Town. He undertook civil as well as criminal litigation.

He holds a LLM in International Trade Law from the University of Stellenbosch, where, while doing his masters, he taught Law of Things and tutored in Law of Succession and Roman Law.

He served on the Policy Committee of Liberty Victoria from 2015 until 2018.

From 19/11/2009: Professional Standards Act 2003 [Vic] “Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.”