Dispute Resolution & Litigation

Carter Newell has market-leading, award-winning expertise in all aspects of litigation and dispute resolution, including court proceedings, arbitration, adjudication, mediation, expert determination, and dispute resolution boards.

Our team is trusted to support clients across construction litigation, corporate and commercial litigation, and specialist areas such as insurance, environmental law, and employment law.

We are highly skilled at extricating our clients from commercial disputes as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, allowing them to focus on their core business.

Our clients’ best interests are central to our approach. We therefore work with our clients to avoid disputes and to innovate pathways for managing those disputes that cannot be avoided. For example, we have successfully averted lengthy and expensive trials for clients with pre-action facilitation – using a retired Supreme or High Court Judge as a facilitator. We also apply our experience to build robust cultures of compliance that help clients minimise future risk and avoid potential claims.

Our team is proficient with all modern briefing, document review and research platforms. We conduct e-discovery and e-trials, and utilise emerging technology to facilitate virtual court hearings and mediations. As such, clients can benefit from faster and more cost-effective dispute resolution.

Navigating a wide range of dispute resolution paths, we can often resolve disputes for our clients without incurring significant legal costs or affecting key commercial relationships.

Led by Partner Patrick Mead, our team is committed to sharing knowledge via workshops, podcasts, webinars, newsletters, and legal guides to help clients better understand and traverse their situation.

In 2026, Carter Newell was named Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team of the Year, and Partner Patrick Mead recognised as Litigator of the Year. The team is also ranked as a ‘Leading’ firm in Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Law Firms – Queensland by Doyle’s Guide 2026.

Five of our lawyers are recognised by The Best Lawyers Australia 2027 in the Alternative Dispute Resolution category. Lastly, our firm is also ranked as Tier 1 (Brisbane) for both Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Best Law Firms – Australia Region (2027 Edition).