John Werner

LL.B: BA.
John Werner
  • Chambers: Floor 9, Room 908, Douglas Menzies
  • Year Admitted: 1st May, 2000
  • Year Signed Bar Roll: 9th Nov, 2006
  • Admitted to Practice in: Victoria, Federal Jurisdictions..
  • Phone: 03 9225 8509
  • Facsimile: 03 9225 7907
  • E-Mail: werner@vicbar.com.au
  • Areas of Practice
    • Bankruptcy/Insolvency
    • Commercial Law
    • Equity & Trusts
    • Family Law (Including Defacto)
    • Property Law/Sale of Land

John practices in both commercial law and family law.

His background as a solicitor was in commercial litigation with a particular focus on debt collection and bankruptcy. Since coming to the bar, John has added family law to his practice.

Within a family law context, he has a particular interest in binding financial agreements (BFAs), bankruptcy and third party property claims.

 He recently appeared for the successful appellant in Senior v Anderson (2011) FLC 93-470,now the leading Full Court authority on binding Financial Agreements.

Other significant cases in which he has appeared include

  • Griffiths & Beerens v Duggan (2008) 66 ACSR 472 (with P Cawthorn SC and R Craig) (restraint of trade, breach of fiduciary duties)
  • Knowles v Gaudi (2008) FamCA 436 (sham transactions in the Family Court)
  • Malak v Mairie (2011) FamCAFC 134 (procedural fairness in the Family Court)
  • Senior v Anderson (2011)FamCA 802 (binding financial agreements, on remitter from the Full Court)

 An updated version of his paper on the 2010 amendments to the Family Law Act in relation to Financial Agreements (originally presented on 14 October 2010) is available on the List website.

He identifies the principle distractions from his practice to be motorcycles, wood turning and the many pleasures of the Bellarine Peninsula.