Charles Noonan

Charles holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Monash University, graduating with First Class Honours in Law. While working as Associate to The Honourable Justice Bernard Murphy of the Federal Court of Australia, Charles was awarded the Charles Allen Scholarship (Cambridge Australia Scholarship) to study a Masters of Law at the University of Cambridge. Charles’ postgraduate studies focused on transnational litigation, competition law and public law.

Charles’ broad range of legal experience includes practising in multi-jurisdictional matters for leading corporate/defence firms in the areas of commercial litigation, international commercial arbitration and competition and consumer law. Before joining Maurice Blackburn, Charles was an Associate in the London office of US litigation firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, practising in the firm's Dispute Resolution group.

Some notable matters that Charles has worked on include:

• defence of a Bahrain-based investment bank in a Privy Council appeal (from the Cayman Islands Grand Court and Cayman Islands Court of Appeal) pertaining to US$136m rescission claim based on unauthorised leveraging of an investment
• defence of a leading international bank facing a £300m rescission claim based on alleged implied fraudulent misrepresentations for LIBOR manipulation
• defence of a Saudi Arabian company in ad hoc international commercial arbitration seated in London under the UNCITRAL Rules
• representing a Saudi Arabian client in coordinating the pursuit of a fraudulent multi-jurisdiction transaction spanning Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Lebanon and Japan, and
• representing a high net-worth Turkish client in English Court proceedings seeking to prevent state seizure of multi-billion pound assets.
   

In addition to having a breadth of experience in a range of large-scale commercial disputes, Charles is also a strong advocate for access to justice and has extensive pro bono experience. He has been a research volunteer at the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, and has worked for the Barristers' Animal Welfare Panel, the Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic, the Human Rights Law Centre and the Refugee Legal Service.

"Having practised in defendant firms in Australia and overseas, I came to realise that my skills and experience were better utilised in the pursuit of access to justice for victims of wrongdoing,” says Charles.

"Through the mechanism of class actions, I can obtain redress for ordinary people, and I am pleased that my work acts as a deterrent against corporate misconduct.”

Charles has had various works published and has been an academic advisor to one of Australia's leading law journals. In 2016, he was shortlisted for the Rogers Legal Writing Award.

Accreditations & memberships

• Law Institute of Victoria member
• Law Council of Australia Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section member
• Barristers' Animal Welfare Panel Secretariat member
   

Awards & achievements

• Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law editor
• Charles Allen Scholarship (Cambridge Australia Scholarship) recipient
• Rogers Legal Writing Award shortlisted