Christine Tran

Partner

Sydney

Christine is an experienced commercial litigator, with specialist expertise in defending class actions.

Christine has a strong history in defending a number of the most significant class actions filed in Australia, and is highly skilled in complex securities claims.

A combined hands-on and analytical approach has seen Christine remain one of the few practitioners with trial experience in both shareholder and product liability class actions. She regularly advises ASX100 and multinational companies across a variety of sectors in managing class action risks.

Clients have commented on her “collaborative approach to practice with our in-house legal team” and her “responsive[ness] to the needs of her client organisations.” She is “always a pleasure to work with” and “engages effectively with all stakeholders."

Christine is an emerging thought leader in the class actions space, regularly commenting on issues arising in the defence of class action claims, litigation costs and third party litigation funding. She spearheaded the firm’s podcast series to connect with clients during the pandemic.

Background

Christine holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) / Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, as well as a Master of Laws from New York University, where she focused on complex litigation and advocacy. She is the recipient of the 2016 NYU School of Law Charles D. Klein ’63 Prize (LLM) for demonstrated excellence in combining the analysis of legal issues and business issues.

Market Recognition

Christine is recognised as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ in Class Actions (Legal 500 Guide 2021-2024); a Leading Class Actions Lawyer (Doyles Guide 2022 & 2023); a ‘Future Star’ in Class Actions (Benchmark’s Guide to Litigation in Asia-Pacific 2023 & 2024); a ‘Future Star’ in Litigation (Benchmark’s Guide to Litigation in Asia-Pacific 2021 & 2022); a ‘Litigation Rising Star’ 2021 by Lawyerly; and selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Australia since 2022 in Litigation, Class Action Litigation, Product Liability Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Experience & expertise

Selected matters

Worley: defending Worley Limited in the ﬁrst successful liability defence of a shareholder class action in Australia, where the Federal Court dismissed the claims against Worley in relation to alleged disclosure failures arising from Worley’s FY14 earnings guidance, and defending Worley in the first successful defence on a remitted (or rehearing) of shareholder class action (this matter is currently under appeal)
BHP: defending BHP Limited in a shareholder class action arising from the Samarco dam failure, involving cross-jurisdictional issues and parallel global litigation
Boral: defending Boral Limited in two shareholder class actions in relation to financial irregularities in its North American business
Ansell: defending Ansell Limited in a shareholder class action in relation to alleged disclosure failures arising from Ansell’s FY22 earnings guidance
Commonwealth Bank of Australia: defending CBA in a shareholder class action in connection with civil penalty proceedings brought by AUSTRAC
National Australia Bank: defending NAB in a shareholder class action in respect of its exposure to collateralised debt obligations
Toyota Motor Corporation Australia: defending Toyota in a product liability class action arising from allegedly defective Takata airbag inﬂators, involving coordination with parallel claims against similarly-situated car manufacturers
Johnson & Johnson: defending J&J and Depuy in one of Australia’s largest product liability class action in respect of hip replacement prostheses, involving a 19 week trial in the Federal Court of Australia