Dr David H Denton, AM RFD KC is one of His Majesty's Counsel Learned in the Law (King’s Counsel - KC) at the Australian Bar and the Singapore International Commercial Court. He is a Certified Arbitrator and a Company Director.
He has a national legal practice as an advocate in the trial and appellate divisions of all State and Federal Courts, the Planning & Environment Court of Queensland and in Administrative Tribunals. He has also been retained to appear in the superior courts in the Fiji Islands.
He has been recognised internationally with awards as Australian Appellate Barrister of the Year by Legal Monthly and Australian Commercial Disputes Barrister of the Year by Finance Monthly. He was previously President of the Commercial Bar Association in Melbourne and also of the Australian Institute for Commercial Arbitration Inc.
He is a Certified Arbitrator with many years experience in Australian and international commercial arbitrations. He is also an experienced nationally accredited commercial mediator regularly retained in complex commercial disputes which need to find workable and innovative commercial solutions.
Dr Denton has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Victoria Law School, Victoria University Melbourne, for over two decades in the fields of commercial arbitration and corporate governance. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in law (BA LLB LLM) from Monash University, Melbourne, a Doctor of Philosophy (constitutional law) (PhD) from the University of Western Australia, Perth, and a Certificate of Business Law (US) (CtBLaw) from Cornell University, New York, United States of America.
In 2020, Victoria University Melbourne conferred on Dr Denton an award of Companion of the University (CUniv) for exceptional service to the law and for his provision of exceptional support in the development and enhancement of Victoria University. The University Council deemed these achievements to be important in the development, promotion and enhancement of both the law and the University.
On Australia Day 2023, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the law.
His principal practice areas concentrate on commercial arbitration and in all aspects of company law, especially insolvency and shareholder disputes; complex property and commercial disputes in the Family Court; environmental torts concentrating on defence work and planning matters. He has been regularly retained for leading Australian banks and financial institutions and otherwise appeared in several notable insolvency administrations following significant corporate collapses, including: Duke Group, Tricontinental Corporation, Pyramid Building Society, Primelife, Opes Prime, Willmott Forests, the Binetter Group and the Westpoint Group.
His early practice at the Bar was one heavily involved in the practice of criminal law, courts-martial and criminal jury trials. This early grounding has shaped his approach to commercial litigation. He has been decorated with the Reserve Force Decoration (RFD) for efficient military service as an officer.
In business, he was Chairman of Intelemetrix Limited (a start up technology company) and then Chaired the Conflicts Committee and was a Member of the Advisory Board of an ASX listed public company engaged in litigation funding in Australia and New Zealand (JustKapital Limited). He is currently a member of the Investment Committee of CASL Litigation Funding. Outside of the law, he is a member of the Cabrini Hospital Research Governance Committee.
As a King's Counsel, his principal practice areas are in:
- Commercial, Equity & Trade Practices Law
- Corporations, Insolvency & Securities Law
- Banking, Finance & Property Law
- Trusts & Family Law
- Commercial Arbitration & Mediation
- Administrative & Constitutional Law
- Planning & Environment Law in Queensland
| Dr David H Denton AM RFD KC 2024.pdf |
