Steph has over a decade of experience in litigation and international dispute settlement, including mediation. She has worked both in the private and public sector, advising corporations and the Commonwealth Government, including as a legal adviser in the Foreign Affairs portfolio.
She has language capabilities in French, Spanish and Mandarin, and leverages her legal, policy, negotiation and language skills to achieve optimal results for clients and manage their legal risks.
Volunteering
During her school years, Steph hosted a weekly youth show on community radio in Fitzroy. Steph also volunteered through her legal career serving many clients pro bono, including via Justice Connect, PILCH and her law practice more recently as a sole practitioner.
She became a Brighton Rotarian on her return from Canberra, with attendance from 2022, where she continued her passion for volunteerism, after serving for half a decade in the national interest.
In 2023, she set up a group of Women in Health and Sport to improve livelihoods for women, she became the Vice President for Bayside Community Emergency Relief, and an Ambassador for the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation.
Background
Before becoming a Sole Practitioner in 2023, Steph's experience includes working at a top tier law firm in the area of international taxation from 2010 to 2011, shadowing barristers in Victoria in 2013 and assisting arbitrators in Singapore in 2015. She also practiced as a litigation and international arbitration lawyer at a top tier law firm in Victoria from 2016 to 2017, until she accepted the role as Legal Adviser to the Foreign Minister, advising the Commonwealth on international dispute settlement among other international law and policy-related matters.
Steph is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) and the Swiss Arbitration Association, and has completed Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation, and on Mediation and Conflict Management. She is an Accredited Mediator, and is a Councillor of the Australian Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
