Master of Construction Law (in progress) — University of Melbourne

Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) — University of New England (A Rose Memorial Prize — 1st in Corporations Law)

Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice — Australian National University

Called to the New South Wales Bar — 2023

Admitted to the High Court of Australia — 2014

Michelle Meares is a barrister practising in commercial litigation, insolvency and bankruptcy, building and construction and property disputes. She accepts briefs in the Federal Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Supreme Court of NSW, District Court of NSW, NCAT and other tribunals.

Michelle was called to the NSW Bar in 2023, bringing to chambers over nine years of experience as a commercial litigator and litigation principal. She holds First Class Honours in Law from the University of New England — where she received the A Rose Memorial Prize for first place in Corporations Law — and is currently completing a Master of Construction Law at the University of Melbourne. Solicitors briefing Michelle can expect thorough preparation, precise advice on prospects, and confident advocacy at all stages of a matter.

Commercial Law & Insolvency

Michelle accepts briefs across the full range of commercial and insolvency matters.

In Gleeson (Trustee) v Eades, in the matter of Eades (Bankrupt) [2026] FCA 477, Michelle appeared unled for the trustee in bankruptcy and successfully obtained orders appointing the trustee as receiver and manager over a commercial property held in a SMSF with a sole member and individual trustees, with authority to sell and apply proceeds to satisfy creditor debts and annul the bankruptcies. The matter required analysis of the intersection of SMSF trust deed provisions, the SIS Act disqualification regime, and the trustee’s right of indemnity vesting in the bankruptcy trustee confirmed in Boensch v Pascoe [2019] HCA 49.

Michelle’s commercial insolvency practice includes:

Creditor petitions, sequestration orders, and annulments

Appointment of receivers and managers over trust and SMSF assets

Voidable and antecedent transaction claims

Corporate insolvency, winding up, and derivative actions

Setting aside transfers made to defeat creditors

Commercial contracts, ACL claims, and misleading conduct

Restraint of trade, interlocutory injunctions, and freezing orders

Building & Construction and Building Defect Disputes

Michelle has hands-on experience in contested building and construction proceedings, including in the Supreme Court and complex multi-day NCAT hearings with concurrent expert evidence.

In Deady v LPC Group Pty Ltd [2026] NSWCATCD, Michelle appeared unled for the homeowners in a two-day contested NCAT hearing involving 12 defect items across a newly constructed Northbridge residence. She obtained a money order of $142,110 plus costs against the builder, persuading the Tribunal to depart from the preferred work order outcome under s 48MA of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) on the basis that repeated rectification attempts had failed and the homeowners had reasonably lost confidence in the builder. The hearing involved concurrent expert evidence from a builder, structural engineer, and quantity surveyor, and contested issues of quantum, mitigation, balustrade load testing to AS 1170, waterproofing membrane failure, and the s 37 Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) duty of care.

Michelle’s building and construction practice includes:

Security of payment — adjudication determinations and appeals

Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) statutory warranty claims

Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) — s 37 duty of care

Australian Consumer Law — breach of consumer guarantees in building contracts

Delay, variation, and quantum meruit disputes

Proportionate liability, contribution, and subrogation

Equity, Real Property & Complex Property Proceedings

Michelle accepts briefs in complex property proceedings, including matters with intersecting insolvency, trust, or family law dimensions.

In Pauwels & Radu (No 2) [2025] FedCFamC1F 523 (Boyle J), Michelle appeared unled for the wife in complex family law property proceedings involving a large multi-entity corporate structure. She successfully obtained an interim costs order of $300,000 against the husband (payable into the wife’s solicitors’ trust account) and an injunction restraining the husband from using matrimonial property to fund a proposed $5,000,000 share investment in a third-party company. The hearing involved contested issues of relative financial strength, litigation funding, disclosure obligations, and the court’s obligation to act conservatively in preserving the asset pool.

Her practice includes:

Complex property proceedings in family law — companies, trusts, and bankruptcy

Urgent injunctive relief — s 114 injunctions and freezing orders to protect assets

Equity and trusts — constructive and resulting trusts, tracing, and beneficial interests

Real property — caveats, easements, adverse possession, and co-ownership disputes

Bankruptcy and family law intersection — setting aside antecedent transactions

Family provision claims, testamentary capacity, and breach of executor duties

Joint venture and partnership disputes in property development

NSW Property & Family Law Conference – Bankruptcy and Family Law March 2025

NSW Bar Association BarNews – Cyberstalking & Technology Facilitated Abuse – Autumn 2024

NSW Property & Family Law Conference – Setting Aside Transactions to Defeat Claims in Family Law Proceedings March 2024

Lawyers Weekly – Women in Law Conference Melbourne November 2023

My Health Record posing ‘significant’ concern for at-risk family law clients, Jan 2019, Lawyers Weekly

Mass surveillance & Data Retention in Australia: Balancing Rights & Freedoms, Apr 2018, Journal of Internet Law

Privacy law: Mass surveillance and data retention, Dec 2017, Law Society Journal

NSW Bar Association Women Barrister’s Forum – Cybersecurity, Privacy and Technology Expert Panel Member 2020

NSW Law Society Specialist Accreditation Conference 2017 – Data Retention Panel

NSW Law Society Specialist Accreditation Conference 2019 – Cyberstalking and technology facilitated abuse in family law

NSW Law Society Specialist Accreditation Conference 2020 – Vaccinations and Family Court

NSW Law Society Specialist Accreditation Conference NSW Law Society Annual Conference 2022 – Drug testing in family law matters

IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Annual Colloqium Speaker, New Zealand- Lawfulness of Sea Dumping of former naval vessels 2013.