Staff Profiles
Mr David Bennett QC
Senior Fellow (The Melbourne Law Masters)
Formerly Victorian Bar
Languages spoken: English, French
David Myles Bennett is a Senior Fellow of the Melbourne University Law School and Chairman of the Faculty of Law Advisory Board Specialisation in Construction Law. He is a former Adjunct Professor in Law at the University of Technology, NSW ("UTS").
A founding board member of the UTS Centre for Dispute Resolution, David has trained in ADR and negotiation courses for UTS, LEADR, Victorian Bar, and for oil industry majors in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei and the Cabinet Secretariat of Indonesia. In 2004, he was engaged to provide a tour of seminars on construction law in Australian capitals and Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
David signed the Victorian Bar roll in 1964. In 1977, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. At the Bar, David had a wide practice in Victoria and inter-State, specialising in major construction and infrastructure matters, defamation, commercial disputes and mediation. From 1983 until 1995, David practised in those areas as a partner of Freehills in Sydney before returning to the Bar in Melbourne. He retired from the Bar and legal practice in 2001.
David's roles in professional bodies include: Chairperson, former VPX Victorian electricity industry mediation panel; member, Vencorp and NECA mediation panels. He is a former member of the Victorian Legal Profession Tribunal, and, until its 2005 demise, one of its conciliators. He is a past President, Building Dispute Practitioners Society.
David's former civic involvements include: Treasurer and Trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria; Chairperson, State Trust Corporation of Victoria; Chairperson, State Classification of Publications Board and a board member, Biennale of Sydney.
Since 1995 David has been a member of the Executive of the State Library of Victoria Foundation.
Areas of Expertise:
Teaching:
The Melbourne Law Masters:
- Advanced Construction Contracts (2009)
- Construction Contracts (2009)
- Construction Contracts (2010)
- Current Application of Legal Remedies (2010)
